Poland, Korea hash over cultural promotion

Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture and National Heritage Piotr Glinski visited Korea last week to boost collaboration between the two countries, which aim to globalize their cultures as engines of growth. As part of his five-day visit, he participated in the 7th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers’ Meeting in Gwangju, representing the Polish delegation that joined with the highest number of officials. He also met his counterpart, Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jon

June 26, 2016

New Zealand minister touts Maori enterprise

New Zealand Minister for Maori Development Te Ururoa Flavell came to Korea last week to raise the profile of Maori businesses and promote their time-honored traditions. On his first visit, Flavell led a trade delegation of nine Maori firms covering food and beverage, seafood, horticulture, agriculture, forestry and tourism. At the breakfast forum hosted by the New Zealand Chamber of Commerce, known as “The Kiwi Chamber” on Tuesday, he addressed more than 50 local business community leaders on th

June 26, 2016

Park renews resolve to make Pyongyang opt for denuclearization

President Park Geun-hye on Thursday renewed her resolve to make North Korea opt for denuclearization through sanctions and pressure and ordering her military to maintain a robust deterrence against a provocative North Korea.During her luncheon with military leaders, Park also pointed to Pyongyang's continued provocations, including the launching of two intermediate-range ballistic missiles this week, as evidence that it would be unlikely that there will be a turnaround in the ongoing standoff an

June 23, 2016

EU 'fully' supports S. Korea's efforts to prevent escalation of tensions on peninsula

A high-ranking European Union official said Thursday that the EU "fully" supports Seoul's efforts to make sure there is no escalation of tensions, and stressed North Korea's recent test-fire of missiles is drawing strong condemnation from the international community. Gunner Wiegand, managing director of Asia and Pacific at the European External Action Service, also said that the EU-South Korea bilateral relations are in an "excellent stage" but underlined the importance of further improving the

June 23, 2016

Chinese naval squadron arrives in S. Korean port from Gulf of Aden

A Chinese naval squadron docked at a port in Korea's southeastern coastal city of Busan on Thursday for exchanges with the Korean Navy as it was returning home following its anti-pirate mission in the waters of the Gulf of Aden off Somalia.The flotilla of Chinese warships is comprised of the 4,050-ton frigate Daqing, the 4,200-ton destroyer Qingdao and the 2,300-ton supply ship Taihu.The three Chinese warships left Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong Province, in December 2015 for the gulf to c

June 23, 2016

[HERALD INTERVIEW] Generous state investment buoys Norwegian literature

When Norwegian author Jostein Gaarder set out to work on what would become the international classic “Sophie’s World” in the early 1990s, he had no other option but to write it quickly. As a well-versed but cash-strapped teacher, time was not on his side. In a matter of weeks, Gaarder authored the philosophical tome, making thrifty use of a government scholarship for writers. “Sophie’s World” -- a surreal fantasy about a teenage girl in Norway who is tutored on philosophical thinking and the his

June 20, 2016

Sri Lanka beckons with tourism jewels

Sri Lanka -- an island nation in South Asia -- has emerged from decades of national conflict to reveal its mystic beauties.Known as the “Pearl of the Indian Ocean,” the lush tropical isle is famous for its golden beaches with palm trees, Buddhist temples of glittering relics as well as exotic wildlife and sundry vegetation. Its fledgling tourism industry has registered a 230 percent growth over the last five years, and more than 1.8 million travelers visited last year, including 14,000 Koreans.

June 20, 2016

Azerbaijan, Korea to cooperate on infrastructure, energy

Azerbaijan and Korea on June 14 held the first round of a joint commission on economic cooperation aimed at bolstering partnerships in infrastructure, industrial plants and trade and investment. The meeting in Seoul was led by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Azeri Ministry of Communications and High Technologies, and produced a protocol agreement on economic cooperation covering technology transfer, renewable energy, information communications technology and other areas. S

June 19, 2016

Uzbekistan glitters with Silk Road wonders

For those that long for the ancient Silk Road splendors from Central Asia, Uzbekistan serves snippets of those former glories, arranged with modern conveniences. The doubly landlocked country in the heart of Eurasia offers a peculiar mishmash of cultural relics: luminous minarets, voluptuous domes and tortuous mosaics, often next to classical Russian architectures and ideological socialist sculptures. Coming out of seven decades of soviet rule through independence in 1991, Uzbekistan has steadil

June 19, 2016

Korea to open embassy in Madagascar

South Korea will open an embassy in Madagascar early next month, government sources said Sunday, amid its stepped-up efforts to strengthen diplomacy with the resource-rich continent.The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1962, but Seoul has not opened any mission in Antananarivo, the capital of the southeastern African state. After a government with close ties to North Korea took power in the African state in the 1970s, the bilateral relations remained chilled for nearly two decades. P

June 19, 2016

Neutral waters between Koreas clear of Chinese fishing boats: defense ministry

All Chinese boats illegally fishing in the neutral waters near the Han River's estuary between the two Koreas have left the area after the South Korean military kicked off a crackdown operation late last week, the defense ministry said Thursday."Currently, there are no Chinese boats in the neutral waters in the estuary area," Moon Sang-gyun, the Ministry of National Defense's spokesman, said in a regular briefing. "But our military is ready to resume its crackdown because the illegal fishing cou

June 16, 2016

ASEAN promotes ecotourism at seminar

The ASEAN-Korea Center last week held a seminar to explore opportunities and challenges in ecotourism in Southeast Asia, a region that aims to foster sustainable and inclusive travel.Part of the second ASEAN-Korea Tourism Development Workshop, the venue gathered over 100 representatives from the government, private sector and academia to discuss recent trends and possibilities in the industry. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is promoting a form of tourism environmentally nondestructiv

June 12, 2016

'Gateway to Korea' opens for EU firms

The European Union delegation held a symposium last week to launch the “EU Gateway to Korea” program, aimed at harnessing innovative partnerships between European and Korean enterprises. Funded by the 28-member supranational body, business missions comprised of small and-medium-sized enterprises will visit Korea from 2016 to 2020. They cover technologies in the five industries of green energy, health care and medical, water and environment, food and beverage and construction and building. Seekin

June 12, 2016

Austria welcomes with sounds of music, art

The “Enzis” -- landmark furniture located in Vienna’s Museums Quartiers, representing Austria’s functional and modern design -- are now available at Seoul’s Dongdaemun Design Plaza. Donated by the Austrian National Tourist Office and the Vienna Tourist Board, 12 of the turquoise, sui generis monuments were unveiled at the DDP on Thursday. The unveiling took place during the opening ceremony for “Hello Austria! Hello Vienna,” a three-day event that featured live jazz and dance performance, as wel

June 12, 2016