Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday praised Korea’s journey to democracy during her visit to a national cemetery for victims of the 1980 massacre in Gwangju.Suu Kyi, herself a beacon of democracy and major driving force behind the Southeast Asian country’s political reform, placed a wreath at the May 18th National Cemetery. The southwestern city is home to a student-led armed uprising on May 18, 1980, against the junta led by Army coup leader Chun Doo-hwan, who later became

Foreign Affairs Jan. 31, 2013

Korean leaders pledged support for Myanmar’s political reform and economic development during their meetings with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Tuesday. Suu Kyi arrived in Seoul late Monday for a five-day visit to attend the opening ceremony for the biennial Special Olympics World Winter Games in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province.She met with President Lee Myung-bak, President-elect Park Geun-hye and Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon to discuss the two countries’ cooperation on bilateral and Asia

Foreign Affairs Jan. 29, 2013

With a global consensus slowly emerging, calls are growing for an independent inquiry mechanism to carry out an in-depth investigation into egregious human rights violations committed by North Korea. In his confirmation hearing last week, U.S. Sen. John Kerry emphasized the need for “speaking out for the prisoners of gulags in North Korea.” North Korea imprisons an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 people in its sprawling political prison camps. As shown in the testimonies of survivors and defectors,

North Korea Jan. 29, 2013

CCORAO/PACHACUTEC, Peru ― Fresh out of high school and dismayed by his lack of resources to go to college, Orland Choque took a trip to a ceramic studio in the city of Urubamba in southeastern Peru in 2005. Upon first contact with ceramics, he was mesmerized by its sculptural possibilities. That was his “eureka moment,” he said, which led him to sign up for a pottery school run by KOICA in his hometown Ccorao. Choque, now 26, teaches and helps with the academy’s operations and administrative aff

Foreign Affairs Jan. 27, 2013

SANTIAGO ― With Korean pop culture fast spreading among young Chileans, the Korean Embassy in the Latin American country is setting its sights on student exchange programs as the focal point for its public diplomacy.Korea has been exploring ways to sustain the Korean Wave around the globe and to make the most of the knock-on effects on its national prestige and cooperation with partner countries. The exchange programs allow participants to better understand Korea and experience firsthand its cul

Foreign Affairs Jan. 27, 2013

SANTIAGO/LIMA ― On a slow Wednesday afternoon, dozens of teenage girls straggled into a public park in Santiago, their T-shirts featuring TVXQ, JYJ, Super Junior and other Korean pop stars. Soon, music was turned up, and the group began to walk through the choreography. The practice goes on for about three hours, three days a week. The venue has also become a hot spot for youngsters to exchange the latest K-pop-related information and products. “We also carry out online campaigns to boost sales

Foreign Affairs Jan. 27, 2013

South Korea should be in the driver’s seat in future multinational efforts to resolve tensions over North Korea’s nuclear programs, and incoming President Park Geun-hye’s new approach to build trust and resume exchanges with Pyongyang could play a key role in moving ahead in the process, said Victor Cha, a U.S. Northeast Asia security expert.The U.N. Security Council approved a resolution Tuesday to condemn the North and toughen sanctions in response to its Dec. 12 rocket launch. The North respo

North Korea Jan. 23, 2013

With Seoul’s incoming government looking to thaw cross-border ties, it should capitalize on the North’s ample mineral reserves to help revive its crumpling economy and beef up energy supplies at home, said Choi Kyung-soo, president of the North Korea Resources Institute. Despite daunting risks associated with political instability, he cast joint mining projects as a key tool to quell criticism over the South’s unilateral concessions to the wayward regime. President-elect Park Geun-hye has also p

North Korea Jan. 22, 2013

Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung urged rival parties to put aside differences in their grand approaches to North Korea and reach a compromise to unshackle its people from oppression, based on a shared recognition of human rights as a universal value.Led by the conservative party, a bill supporting North Korean human rights has been languished for more than seven years due to partisan and ideological divides. Ha, one of the most fervent campaigners for freedom in the communist regime, said the

Politics Jan. 20, 2013

President-elect Park Geun-hye pledged Wednesday to upgrade the Korea-U.S. alliance to tackle North Korean threats and security uncertainties during a meeting with senior U.S. officials. The president-in-waiting met with Kurt Campbell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, and four other officials in her Seoul office. During the meeting, Campbell told her that he brought with him a “road map for Korea-U.S. relations” and wanted to have a productive discussion with

Foreign Affairs Jan. 16, 2013

The Unification Ministry on Wednesday provided the presidential transition committee with a policy assessment on the cross-border situation and a broad outline of options to help realize President-elect Park Geun-hye’s “trust-building process” with North Korea.The initiative highlights the need for trust between the two Koreas in achieving reconciliation and denuclearizing the communist country. On the campaign trail, Park vowed to reengage North Korea, resume humanitarian support and eventually

Politics Jan. 16, 2013