Most Popular
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Torrential rainfall forces 1,500 to evacuate, causes widespread damage to homes, roads
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[KH Explains] Can smart chargers ease tensions over EV fires?
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1 in 5 households to have breadwinner over 80 in 30 years
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[Online Predators] Online reviews of sex tourism in Southeast Asia proliferate
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Assembly to review disputed appointment of national soccer team coach
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New Fifty Fifty off to strong start
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Arrival of fall calls for more outdoor festivals
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Evicted guest burns down inn; 3 killed
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[Herald Interview] US election may unleash growth for Korea: Laffer
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Yoon's Prague visit sets stage for W24tr nuclear power plant deal
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N.K. nuclear envoy heads to Russia
Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea’s point man on nuclear issues, departed for Russia on Tuesday, the country’s state news agency said, in what appears to be its efforts to resume dialogue with neighboring countries over the nuclear standoff.Kim, the first foreign affairs vice-minister, and his party left to visit Russia, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a brief dispatch in English.“They were seen off at the airport by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kung Sok-ung, the Russian Ambass
July 2, 2013
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Park discusses closer ties with India
President Park Geun-hye met with India’s national security adviser Tuesday and discussed ways to expand economic and security ties between the two countries, her office said. The national security adviser, Shivshankar Menon, was in Seoul as a special envoy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, marking the 40th anniversary this year of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.Menon delivered a letter from Singh to Park during the meeting at the presidential office Cheong Wa
July 2, 2013
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Korea asks U.S. to check on spying claims
South Korea has asked the United States to check on recent allegations that its intelligence agency bugged the South Korean mission there, Seoul’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.The South Korean Embassy in the U.S., along with European Union missions and 37 other diplomatic missions, was allegedly targeted by the U.S. National Security Agency, which tapped their phone calls and e-mails, according to media reports based upon documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.“(The South Kore
July 2, 2013
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S. Korea to host special summit with ASEAN next year
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei ― President Park Geun-hye will host a “special” summit with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations next year in celebration of 25 years of their diplomatic ties, Seoul officials said Monday. The decision was made at a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers on Sunday. The 10-nation bloc normally hosts a summit with Korea every year. “The event will provide a chance to expand and deepen the Korea-ASEAN relations and strengthen political and security cooperati
July 1, 2013
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Korea, Japan ministers meet to mend ties
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei ― The foreign ministers of Seoul and Tokyo held their first talks on Monday in an apparent effort to mend bilateral relations strained by historical and territorial feuds.The 25-minute conversation between Yun Byung-se and Kishida Fumio took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Brunei. It is the region’s largest security conference with 27 countries participating, including North Korea, the U.S., China and Russia. Yun scrapped a trip to Tokyo in April
July 1, 2013
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Egyptian Embassy brings social satire ‘Yacoubian Building’
The Egyptian Embassy in South Korea brought critically acclaimed 2006 film “The Yacoubian Building,” seen for the first time by the general public, to a local theater in Seoul on Friday. Based on the 2002 novel by Alaa Al Aswany, “The Yacoubian Building” sketches comic yet heart-wrenching portrayals of the vagaries of the human heart. “The Yacoubian Building” is a searing indictment of Egyptian society under now-deposed strongman Hosni Mubarak and his decades of oppressive and corrupt misrule.Th
June 30, 2013
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Irish Embassy joins social media with new Twitter account
The Irish Embassy in Korea announced on Wednesday that following the embassy’s Twitter account @Irishembkorea is a good way to keep up to date with events at Ireland’s diplomatic mission here, as well as the expatriate Irish community in Korea.Twitter followers of the Irish Embassy in Korea “will get updates and links from a range of things we think might interest you, with a particular focus on tweets from the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy network around the world and great s
June 30, 2013
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Azerbaijan celebrates its armed forces in reception
The Azerbaijani Embassy in South Korea hosted a reception to mark the 95th anniversary of the establishment of the country’s armed forces at a hotel in Seoul on Tuesday.The event was attended by members of South Korea’s Defense Ministry, members of the Azerbaijani military and of the foreign diplomatic community here in Seoul.The Azerbaijani Embassy has said that the main objective of its country’s foreign policy currently is the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict “
June 30, 2013
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Belarus highlights people-to-people contacts on its National Day
Belarus emphasized the importance of people-to-people ties with Korea when it celebrated its National Day at a hotel in Seoul on Tuesday.“Expanding people-to-people contacts, as well as deepening mutual understanding and supporting each other in the international arena, have virtually shortened the geographical distance between Belarus and Korea,” Belarusian Ambassador to Korea Natallia Zhylevic said in welcome remarks during the reception. Belarus supported Korea’s bid for a seat on the United
June 30, 2013
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N.K. experiments on disabled children: rights group
A human rights group based in Seoul claimed at the British Embassy in South Korea on Friday that North Korea is conducting chemical and biological weapons experiments on disabled children.The bombshell allegation was delivered by Joanna Hosaniak, deputy director general of the Citizens Alliance for North Korean Human Rights, during a press briefing at the British Embassy announcing a report titled “The status of women’s rights in the context of socio-economic changes in the DPRK.” Hosaniak autho
June 30, 2013
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Face of America is Korean
Never mind the 100,000 Americans and 28,000-plus U.S. soldiers stationed here, or its defense alliance with South Korea ― the two countries are celebrating the 60th anniversary of their alliance this year.On the Fourth of July this Thursday, America turns 237 years old, and its presence here is as big as ever.In terms of politics, culture, economics and even the palpable Korean hunger for learning the English language, America’s influence in Korea can be a tad overwhelming for the uninitiated.Bu
June 30, 2013
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Park urges greater economic ties with China
BEIJING ― President Park Geun-hye on Friday called for expanding economic cooperation between Korea and China during a meeting with business leaders of the two countries.“Building on the dazzling achievements in the past 20 years, South Korea and China should design a new vision for economic cooperation and make a leap toward qualitative growth beyond quantitative growth,” Park said in an address to a business forum hosted by business associations.Park arrived in Beijing on Thursday for a four-d
June 28, 2013
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S. Korea, U.S., Japan to discuss N.K., three-way cooperation
The foreign ministers of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan plan to hold talks next week to discuss North Korea’s nuclear programs and cooperation on regional issues, Seoul officials said Friday.South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida will meet on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum on Monday in Brunei.The three-way consultation is the first since each took office this year. Their predecessors met together twic
June 28, 2013
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Park heads to China for first summit with Xi
South Korean President Park Geun-hye left for Beijing on Thursday for her first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping that will be watched closely as to how far China would go in committing itself to helping end North Korea's nuclear program.It is Park's second overseas trip since taking office in late February. In May, she visited the United States and held summit talks with President Barack Obama. The four-day trip to China also includes a stop in the ancient western city of Xian later this
June 27, 2013
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[Newsmaker] World’s eyes on Mandela
Nelson Mandela, Africa’s most famous son, is coming to the end of his time on earth. And the world’s media are desperate ― some would say to the point of being disrespectful ― to cover every moment he has left.On Tuesday, the media quoted comments by a member of the Mandela family that were interpreted to mean preparations were underway for the death of the 94-year-old former anti-apartheid revolutionary. Mandela has been in a “critical” state in hospital since Sunday.Given the saint-like status
June 26, 2013
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Park to meet with two other top Chinese leaders after summit with Xi
South Korean President Park Geun-hye will meet one-on-one with two other top Chinese leaders after summit talks with President Xi Jinping during a trip to Beijing this week, a senior presidential official said Tuesday.Park's four-day state visit to China will begin Thursday when she is scheduled to meet with Xi to discuss how to handle North Korea's nuclear program and enhance economic and other cooperation, the official said.On Friday, Park plans to meet with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and then
June 25, 2013
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Kenya, Korea set to sign deals on taxation and investment
Kenyan and Korean negotiators are in Seoul putting the finishing touches on new tax and investment deals that will spur investment in the East African nation and strengthen trade ties.Kenyan Ambassador to Korea Ngovi Kitau confirmed that a Kenyan team of negotiators have been in Seoul since Tuesday, meeting with their Korean counterparts to complete the tax and investment deals.Trade with Kenya, albeit still tiny in comparison to Korea’s other trade partners, has seen a steady increase over the
June 23, 2013
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Pakistan caps cultural series with exhibition and mango fest
The final two events to cap off the Pakistani Embassy’s series of cultural festivities celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and the South Asian nation will take place on Tuesday and on July 2. The embassy’s penultimate cultural event, a photo exhibition depicting the ancient South Asian civilization of Ghandhara, takes place this Tuesday at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center Gallery in Seoul.As its finale, the embassy is planning a festival of fresh mangoes an
June 23, 2013
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Korea, Southeast Asia team up to boost tourism, jobs
Korea and Southeast Asian countries have teamed up in promoting Vietnam and Laos as vacation spots for Korean travelers in a new training program for leisure and hospitality professionals in those two increasingly popular tourist destinations.The program will also boost people-to-people exchanges and understanding, organizers said.The ASEAN-Korea Center is hosting two sets of two-day training programs for travel agents and tourism specialists on topics such as Korean tourism, language and cultur
June 23, 2013
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Envoy: Academic is ‘unsung hero’ of Korean studies in Europe
One of Korea’s earliest heroes of Hallyu was not a K-pop crooner nor was he a director of violent art-house favorites. One of the Korean Wave’s earliest acolytes was a mild-mannered 20th-century historian of Neolithic culture and, according to Czech Ambassador to Korea Jaroslav Olsa, Jr., an “unsung hero” of Korean studies in central Europe. Scholar Han Hung-su was critical in establishing Korean studies in central Europe and made close Czech-Korean ties possible in the process, said Olsa, the C
June 23, 2013