Memories of trampled dignity haunt former sex slaves

The following is the second in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug. 15. ― Ed.GWANGJU, Gyeonggi Province ― Nearly 70 years after her release from a military brothel in China, Lee Ok-seon, 86, is still haunted by the nightmarish memories of having her dignity trampled upon by frontline Japanese troops.At the tender age of 16, Lee, from a poor family in Daegu, was cajoled into

Aug. 20, 2014

Former senior lawmaker appointed envoy to Japan

Yoo Heung-soo, a former lawmaker, provincial governor and national police chief with close ties to Japan, was appointed as the new ambassador to Tokyo on Wednesday. The 76-year-old head of the Korea-Japan Friendship Association will succeed Lee Byung-kee, who is now director of the National Intelligence Service.  The announcement came as the two countries’ relations are at their lowest ebb in decades due to heated historical and territorial feuds. Skepticism has erupted in the diplomatic circles

Aug. 20, 2014

[Herald Interview] Ex-U.N. rights expert urges Tokyo to resolve sex slavery dispute

COLOMBO ― A former top U.N. expert on women’s rights urged Japan to come up with a resolution to a decades-long dispute over its wartime sex slavery, criticizing Tokyo for moving “backwards” with its historic revisionism. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the U.N. special rapporteur on violence against women from 1994-2003, warned that the issue of the so-called comfort women would “come back to bite” Japan if it continues attempting to whitewash its imperial past and undermine earlier apologies. “Recently,

Aug. 20, 2014

[Herald Interview] KOICA seeks balanced, sustainable aid

Korea’s 2010 enrollment in the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee was a milestone in the history of its economic growth, epitomizing its unprecedented ascent from a war-stricken backwater to an aid donor. The country has since been scaling up its aid commitments and personnel to help the developing world fight poverty, disease, climate change and other grave challenges. Last year, it doled out more than $1.74 billion in official development assistance as the world’s 16th-largest patron.At t

Aug. 18, 2014

‘Comfort women’: Living, harrowing mark on history

Following is the first in a series of articles on Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement of Asian women on the occasion of the 61st anniversary of the foundation of The Korea Herald on Aug. 15. – Ed.On Aug. 14, 1991, a feeble yet upright old woman stepped forward for a historic news conference in Seoul. In front of a crowd of reporters and a flood of flashlights, she surprised the world by declaring that she was a sex slave for the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. “Why do they (the Japane

Aug. 17, 2014

India, Korea jointly celebrate independence, friendship

The Embassy of India and the Korea India Association jointly celebrated the independence days of India and South Korea, which fall on the same day, at the Indian Cultural Center in Seoul on Friday. Over 500 guests took part, including Indian expatriates and friends of India.Two large delegations from India were there for the event, a 40-member group of the Indian Revenue Service and a 20-member Indian Youth Delegation sponsored by India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The youths are here

Aug. 17, 2014

Korean bonanza from Mexican energy reform?

For the first time in its 76-year history, the monopoly of Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, Pemex, was broken as the country signed into law last week reforms that would open the country’s energy sector to foreign competition. Opening Mexico’s energy sector to foreign competition ― and therefore also massive foreign direct investment ― means South Korean power plant construction companies led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation would likely stand to reap lucrative contracts to the tun

Aug. 17, 2014

Ecuadorian flowers decorate Seoul beatification

When hundreds of thousands gathered on Saturday for a beatification ceremony of 124 Korean martyrs at Gwanghwamun Square, they may have been awed by the ceremony’s beauty. On Monday, thousands were to gather for the pontiff’s Mass for Peace and Reconciliation at Myeongdong Cathedral, the last official event of his Korea trip.Ecuador’s diplomatic mission here was instrumental in providing the flowers for the two events. “The embassy of Ecuador in Korea and the Commercial Office of Ecuador in Seou

Aug. 17, 2014

(Photo News) Goodwill envoy for ASEAN Summit

Korean actress Lee Young-ae poses with Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on Wednesday after Yun appointed her the goodwill ambassador for the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit in Busan on Dec. 11-12. (Yoon Byung-chan/The Korea Herald)

Aug. 13, 2014

Yun urges international support to combat N.K. nukes

South Korea’s foreign minister on Sunday urged the international community to send more clear and stern messages to North Korea to convince it to end its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se made the appeal at a meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia’s biggest annual security conference, which brought together top diplomats from 26 Asia-Pacific countries and the European Union.“North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile developments pose threats to world peace an

Aug. 11, 2014

Yun presses Japan on history

NAYPYITAW ― Foreign minister Yun Byung-se urged Japan on Saturday to resolve simmering diplomatic tension by ceasing denials of its wartime atrocities, including its use of tens of thousands of Korean and other Asian women as sex slaves for its World War II soldiers.Yun made the statement before meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, on the sidelines of the annual security forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, dubbed the ASEAN Regional Forum. The last officia

Aug. 10, 2014

Seoul, Washington vow cooperation on curbing North Korean nukes

NAYPYITAW (Yonhap) ― The top diplomats of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to continue to closely cooperate on curbing North Korea’s nuclear weapons program during their one-on-one meeting in Myanmar Saturday, Seoul officials said.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry were in Myanmar for an annual security forum hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, dubbed the ASEAN Regional Forum. “The two ministers agreed to continue to cooperate in ma

Aug. 10, 2014

Pope ‘hasn’t changed at all’

With just days before the highly anticipated visit of Pope Francis, Argentina’s top diplomatic representative here recalled the pontiff, as he knew him in the 1980s and early ’90s when the Pope was known simply as “Father Jorge.” Argentine Ambassador to South Korea Jorge Roballo often met with Jorge Bergoglio before he became Pope Francis, and even before he became Cardinal Bergoglio, when Roballo was himself a junior diplomat covering protocol for the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and W

Aug. 10, 2014