This is the last installment in an 11-part series of interviews with chiefs of United Nations offices in Korea. ― Ed.Amid concerns over its dwindling commitment to climate initiatives, South Korea should muster the political will to follow through on its international pledges to curb emissions and the green growth initiative, the chief of the U.N. Office for Sustainable Development said.Seoul has taken credit for promoting “green growth” as a global agenda. In 2009, the country vowed a voluntari

Aug. 3, 2014

Around B.C. 300, a Chinese widow moved house three times in search of a better place to raise her son. Living beside a cemetery, the child mimicked funeral rites. Near a marketplace, he imitated merchants. Then the mother settled on a house close to a school, where the boy was influenced by literati, soon perfected the Six Arts and became a Confucian sage. Throughout history, the tale of the mother of Mencius has served as a model for devotion to education and strict parenting in neighboring Kor

Aug. 1, 2014

South Korea and China have made remarkable progress in their economic, cultural and social relations since the opening of their diplomatic ties 22 years ago, with their trade volume, bilateral tourism and people-to-people exchanges on a steady rise.But uncertainty lingers over how the relationship between the former Cold War foes will evolve amid shifts in the regional security landscape that were triggered mainly by China’s reemergence as a major power in the Asia-Pacific.Geostrategic and secur

Aug. 1, 2014

Stretching back two millennia, the two countries’ deeply interwoven cultural and social relations have evolved from a geohistorical, Confucianism-based bond into a mutually beneficial partnership. Though China remains a leading player in Asia’s cultural industry, region, Korea’s soft power has grown sharply in recent years thanks to the high popularity of its pop music and dramas. The influence of the world’s second-largest economy in Korea’s industry and society has prompted soaring numbers of

Aug. 1, 2014

Circumstantial evidence has surfaced that Japan had concealed lists of crucial Korean cultural assets that it smuggled out of the peninsula during the 1910-45 colonial period, when the two countries were engaged in negotiations over their return to Korea in the 1950s-60s. The bilateral talks over the stolen items proceeded as the two countries engaged in negotiations over the normalization of their relationship, which concluded in 1965.According to a recent ruling by an appeals court in Tokyo, t

July 29, 2014

Nineteen officials from six African countries pledged to spur rural reform and boost their local economies by taking a page from Korea’s development book at a seminar hosted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency on Tuesday. The state grant aid agency has been running the two-week session for officials from Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda who are in charge of the Millennium Villages Project, which aims to help rural African communities shake off poverty.  Kim Young-m

July 29, 2014

South Korea reached agreement with Thailand and four other Mekong region countries Tuesday to further their diplomatic and economic cooperation, Seoul‘s foreign ministry said.The foreign ministers of South Korea and the five countries met in Seoul to adopt a three-year action plan that calls for expanding cooperation in such areas as infrastructure, green growth, and information and communications technology, according to the ministry.It was the fourth meeting of the top diplomats from South Kor

July 29, 2014

North Korea should end its nuclear activities and provocative acts if it hopes to see the resumption of long-stalled talks aimed at convincing Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said Sunday.Ambassador Sung Kim said that Washington remains open to dialogue with the North, but it will not rush into any serious process with the communist country unless the North takes “concrete steps” in showing its commitment toward denuclearization.“Obviously it is unfo

July 27, 2014

Songpa-gu district chief Park Choon-hee presented a 30 million won ($29,000) check to Paraguayan Ambassador to South Korea Ceferino Valdez for flood relief in the South American country’s capital city of Asuncion at Park’s office in Seoul on Tuesday.Torrential rains caused the worst floods in the history of Paraguay at the end of June, displacing 300,000 people. Asuncion was the most affected area, particularly low-lying areas near the Paraguay River, with more than 75,000 people forced to flee

July 27, 2014

British Ambassador to South Korea Scott Wightman (front row, center) poses for a photo with recipients of Britain’s Chevening Scholarship during an orientation event at his residence in Seoul on July 16. (Philip Iglauer/The Korea Herald)British Ambassador Scott Wightman presented the Chevening Scholarship to some 20 Korean students at his residence on July 16 to help them study for up to one year in the U.K. “We are sending around 20 scholars to study in the U.K. this year and I know that this n

July 27, 2014

South Korea is working with the United Nations to foster a sense of global citizenship here and abroad through a teacher exchange program that brings foreign teachers here and gives Korean teachers a chance to visit classrooms in dozens of countries around the world.Some 57 teachers from Singapore, Russia, the United States, Australia and Britain completed a three-week program last Tuesday with a wrap-up session and closing ceremony at the offices of the U.N.-affiliated Asia Pacific Center of Ed

July 27, 2014

When most people were likely sound asleep at 3 a.m. on Thursday, Mohammed Chraibi, the Moroccan ambassador here, was starting his day. He woke up hours before sunrise, ate a light meal of prunes, cherries and dates and drank some water. In his living room a short time later, at about 3:30 a.m., he and his family performed morning salat, the first of five ritualistic prayers that devout Muslims perform daily. It was in this way that Chraibi began his daily fasts in observance of the Islamic holy

July 27, 2014