The Korea Herald

Denmark marks 150 years since C. Nielsen’s birth

The Danish Embassy teamed up with communications company Jabra to hold a concert Tuesday to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Danish composer Carl Nielsen. The event at the Seoul National University Museum of Art attracted 150 guests from diplomatic missions, cultural industries, educational institutions and business communities, part of worldwide performances celebrating the occasion. Danish-Korean group “Trio con Brio Copenhagen” ― comprised of Korean sisters, violinist Hong Soo-jin and cell

Dec. 20, 2015

Denmark marks 150 years since C. Nielsen’s birth

French language gets boost in Korea

The International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF), an agency dedicated to popularizing French language and culture worldwide, launched a support group in Seoul last week to widen collaboration with Korea.The Council of Promotion of Francophonie in Korea is comprised of diplomats with networks in Tokyo, Hanoi, Bangkok and Jakarta. The agency will support cultural events, academic conferences and business partnerships, meeting once or twice a year.“We are here to celebrate Francophonie’s es

Dec. 20, 2015

Tunisian Embassy celebrates quartet’s Nobel Peace Prize

The Tunisian Embassy on Tuesday held a reception to commemorate the awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a coalition of unionists, employers, lawyers and human rights activists that brokered peace and forestalled a civil war.The quartet is credited with preventing violence in 2013, following the Jasmine Revolution that overthrew longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and ended six decades of dictatorship. By facilitating compromise between dive

Dec. 20, 2015

Tunisian Embassy celebrates quartet’s Nobel Peace Prize

Indonesia honors Korean Army general

The Indonesian Embassy on Friday awarded a former Korean military chief for his contributions to strengthening the bilateral alliance and Indonesia’s defense capacity. Former ROK Army Chief of Staff Kim Yo-han was awarded the Order of Service Medal, an honor bestowed to individuals who made distinguished achievements benefiting the Indonesian government or military. The medal is conferred by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. “The Indonesian government and army express deep gratitude to Gen. Kim

Dec. 20, 2015

Kazakhstan, Korea deepen partnership

The Kazakh Embassy on Tuesday marked the country’s founding on Dec. 16, 1991, and burgeoning ties with Korea at a reception in Seoul that featured photographs of the country’s remotest regions. The pictures, part of the exhibition “Undiscovered Kazakhstan,” were selected by the Foundation of the First President of Kazakhstan, a public organization supporting young scientists, artists, students and researchers. “Within a span of 24 years, Kazakhstan and Korea pushed our close relations to a compr

Dec. 20, 2015

Pentagon rejects accusations that USFK lied about anthrax shipments

The U.S. Defense Department rejected accusations that U.S. Forces Korea lied about a record of anthrax shipments to South Korea, claiming that the first anthrax-involved training mentioned in a May press release meant the first such training only at Osan Air Base. USFK came under fire after a joint Korea-U.S. working group found that USFK brought anthrax test samples into South Korea 16 times since 2009 as part of its bio-defense tests in South Korea, including the latest shipment in April of p

Dec. 20, 2015

S. Korea opens embassy in Georgia

South Korea has opened an embassy in Georgia, 23 years after the countries establish diplomatic ties, Seoul's foreign ministry said Saturday.The embassy in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi opened on Tuesday, one day after the countries marked the 23rd anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties.One diplomat will be permanently stationed there with the South Korean ambassador to neighboring Azerbaijan concurrently serving as the chief of the South Korean mission in Georgia, a member of the former

Dec. 19, 2015

Korea to host largest ministerial-level African cooperation meeting in 2016

South Korea will host the largest ever ministerial-level African cooperation meeting in 2016, as the country moves to strengthen economic ties with the continent, the government said Friday.The Korea Africa Economic Cooperation gathering set for Oct. 24-27 in Seoul is expected to be attended by some 54 senior policymakers, officials from the African Union and the head of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the finance ministry said.This is much larger than the 36 ministerial officials who were

Dec. 18, 2015

Lippert back to forum nine months after being attacked

Mark Lippert, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, rejoined a forum on inter-Korean reconciliation Friday, nine months after he suffered a knife attack.In March, he was attacked by a knife-wielding man during a breakfast function in downtown Seoul hosted by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation. He sustained face and arm injuries that needed 80 stitches.The council invited the envoy back to its forum, though it did not open its forum to the media.Around 60 members of the pro-unifi

Dec. 18, 2015

‘USFK conducted 16 covert anthrax tests since 2009’

The U.S. Forces Korea has conducted 16 rounds of clandestine experiments involving dead anthrax samples and one plague test since 2009, a joint investigation panel said Thursday, upending Washington’s previous claim that last May’s anthrax shipment marked its first-ever trial here. In late May, 22 U.S. servicemen were found to have possibly come into contact with the lethal bacteria sent to Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province from a military laboratory in Utah. Though the USFK said that none of t

Dec. 17, 2015

‘USFK conducted 16 covert anthrax tests since 2009’

‘China shifting toward knowledge-based economy’

This is the 10th installment in a series of interviews with scholars and experts on China as a resurgent Asian power that is changing the regional order. This installment looks into China’s industrial innovations. -- Ed.　China’s economy is transitioning toward a knowledge-based one through its constant pursuit of technological innovations, mitigating its notoriety for churning out low-quality and fake products, China expert Eun Jong-hak said.The transition has been substantiated by China’s massi

Dec. 17, 2015

‘China shifting toward knowledge-based economy’

Seoul, Tokyo fail to bridge differences over sex slavery issue

Seoul and Tokyo failed to bridge their differences Tuesday over the issue of Japan’s colonial-era sexual enslavement of Korean women during their 11th round of director-general-level talks in Tokyo, dashing hopes of settling it by the end of the year. Lee Sang-deok, director general of Northeast Asian affairs at Seoul`s Foreign Ministry speaks to the press in Tokyo on Tuesday. (Yonhap)The two sides agreed to hold an additional round of consultations at the “earliest date,” Lee Sang-deok, direct

Dec. 15, 2015

Seoul, Tokyo fail to bridge differences over sex slavery issue

Korea, Japan hold talks on 'comfort women' issue

South Korea and Japan opened another round of talks Tuesday to resolve the issue of Korean women forced into sexual slavery for Japanese soldiers during World War II. The issue of the so-called comfort women has been a major thorn in bilateral ties and the two countries' leaders agreed last month to accelerate negotiations for a swift solution. On Tuesday, the two sides met in Tokyo for the 11th session led by Lee Sang-deok, director-general of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Northeast Asi

Dec. 15, 2015

Seoul to offer aid to Honduras, Guatemala hard hit by climate change

South Korea will provide Honduras and Guatemala with $550,000 in humanitarian aid as the countries are troubled by frequent disasters caused by climate change, the Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday. The government has decided to offer $300,000 to Honduras, which is reeling from the worst drought in half a century. Around 13 million people, 15 percent of the nation's population, are facing a food crisis. South Korea will also deliver humanitarian assistance worth $250,000 to Guatemala, which i

Dec. 15, 2015

Sierra Leone seeks Korea's help in reconstruction plans

Sierra Leone has asked for more participation from South Korean firms in its reconstruction efforts following the Ebola outbreak, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Sierra Leonean Vice President Victor Foh delivered the request to Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se when they met Monday during Foh's five-day visit to South Korea. "Vice President Foh assessed the high quality of roads and bridges that our firms have built in Sierra Leone and asked that South Korean businesses make full use of the eco

Dec. 15, 2015

S. Korea, Laos agree to work closely on hydropower project

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-Ahn and his Lao counterpart, Thongsing Thammavong, agreed Monday to work closely on a hydropower project in the Southeast Asian country, a South Korean official said.The two sides had planned to sign a deal on the development of Sepon III hydropower plant at their meeting, though they failed to ink the deal due to differences.The two sides remain at odds over which country will build a road leading up to the power plant, among other things.Still, Hwang and T

Dec. 14, 2015

S. Korea to continue efforts for talks with N. Korea: minister

South Korea won't give up efforts to improve ties with North Korea despite a failure to strike a deal in their latest talks, a top official said Monday.Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said the government will "leave the door for dialogue open and continue efforts for the development of South-North relations and peace on the Korean Peninsula on a step-by-step basis."He was speaking at a parliamentary forum on the feasibility of a second inter-Korean industrial complex.The two Koreas had two da

Dec. 14, 2015

Poland awaits investment as Europe’s transport hub

Poland is modernizing its roads, railways, airports and seaports to be a “pan-European” transportation hub. The Central European powerhouse is well positioned for the European Union’s infrastructure policy ― the Trans-European Transport Network ― unveiled by the European Commission in January last year, aimed at boosting East-West and North-South linkages across the continent. Covering both passengers and freight, the ambitious initiative will close transport capacities between 28 member states,

Dec. 14, 2015

Poland awaits investment as Europe’s transport hub

Keys to happiness in Denmark

The United Nation’s World Happiness Report listed Denmark as the world’s happiest nation in 2013 and 2014, while it came in at third place behind Switzerland and Iceland this year. When Koreans think of the Nordic nation, they conjure up ideas of work-life balance, plentiful welfare and fancy lifestyles, an egalitarian utopia far from “Hell Joseon,” a phrase Korean youth have recently used to describe Korea’s structural malaise. In the same report, Korea was ranked 47th of 158 countries for this

Dec. 14, 2015

Australia, South Korea mark free trade pact anniversary

Marking one year of the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement that entered into force on Dec. 12 last year, the Australian Embassy held a press conference last week to reflect on the deal’s positive impacts and gauge potentials for growth. The comprehensive agreement covers a broad spectrum, including trade in goods and services, investment, technology and information sharing. Korea agreed to a 94 percent tariff reduction on goods imported and Australia consented to a 100 percent elimination. (F

Dec. 14, 2015

Australia, South Korea mark free trade pact anniversary