The Korea Herald

Korea ruled ancient Japanese state: scholar

BooksOct 12, 2011

Professor presents new interpretation of ancient Chinese historical textsDuring ancient times in what is now Kyushu in southern Japan, people had tattoos, made a living by farming silkworms, and buried their dead in earthen jars and portal tombs.And they were described as being afraid of “Daesol.” T
Foreigners in Seoul charmed by diverse, delicious foods

Social affairsOct 12, 2011

Foreigners in Seoul regard diverse and delicious foods as the capital’s greatest charm, while locals are most attracted to the Han River, a survey by the Seoul city government showed Wednesday. The city government polled 2,907 local residents and 920 foreigners about its charms in August. In the sur
GNP urges ratification of U.S. FTA

PoliticsOct 12, 2011

As the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement awaits the parliamentary panel discussion on Wednesday, the ruling party leader once again urged parties to ratify it by the end of the month.“The U.S. Congress is expected to pass their bill this week, and in order to move in step, we should also wrap up the i
Korea to allow foreign hospitals in free zones

Oct 12, 2011

The government will revise health and welfare regulations to enable foreign hospitals to set up operations in free economic zones, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Wednesday.The ministry said that concerned ministries including the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Strategy an
OECD: Korean economy in ‘slowdown’ phase

Oct 12, 2011

Major European economies see leading indicators slump on debt woesKorea’s economic conditions declined for three months in a row based on the composite leading indicator of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, data showed on Wednesday. Korea’s CLI for August stood a
Smart Korea shows off the nation’s IT progress, prowess

IndustryOct 12, 2011

Visitors look around the booths of participating companies at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Wednesday. (Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Smart Korea 2011 on Wednesday kicked off its four-day run to show off the nation’s IT progress over the past year. The nation’s largest IT exhibition, mark
Kakao Talk to evolve into real-time service platform

IndustryOct 12, 2011

Company’s CEO determined to take lead in platform creationKakao Talk said Wednesday that it will evolve into a real-time mobile messaging platform, moving a step further from being merely a free mobile messaging service. Kakao Talk CEO Lee Jae-beom speaks at a press conference on Wednesday. Yo
N. Korean defectors under threat of assassination

North KoreaOct 12, 2011

Well-developed covert weapons seized from operatives caught plotting to kill those who fled North KoreaPark Sang-hak, an outspoken anti-Pyongyang activist, left his reclusive country, North Korea, in 2000 to seek freedom in the capitalist South, but he is anything but free when he leaves his house f
Kakao Talk unveils features to get instant messages from K-pop

CompaniesOct 12, 2011

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Kakao Talk, South Korea's fastest-growing mobile messenger service, introduced new features on Wednesday that allow handset users to receive real-time messages from K-pop stars, companies and local merchants.Its operator Kakao Corp. also added features that enable users to play mob
BlackBerry woes caused by 'core switch failure'

TechnologyOct 12, 2011

LONDON (AP) — Email and messaging glitches that have plagued BlackBerry users around the world for a second day were caused by a core switch failure, the smartphone's maker said Tuesday.Research in Motion Ltd. said the disruptions — which affected users from Europe to Latin America &mdas
Gasoline cars sales up despite high fuel prices

IndustryOct 12, 2011

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- Sales of gasoline-powered cars in South Korea rose this year from the previous year despite high local fuel prices, an industry report showed Wednesday.The Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association (KAMA) report showed that in the first eight months of the year 67.5 perce
Sarkozys unusually mum about First Baby

PodcastOct 12, 2011

PARIS (AP) — Their early courtship was hardly discreet: President Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni visited Disneyland Paris together, then jetted off to Jordan with cameras in tow. Weeks later, they were married.Now, Bruni-Sarkozy is about to have a baby, and the pending birth has taken on the
Vitamin E pills linked with prostate cancer risk

HealthOct 12, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) — There is more evidence that taking vitamin E pills can be risky. A study that followed up on men who took high doses of the vitamin for about five years found they had a slightly increased risk of prostate cancer — even after they quit taking the pills.Doctors say it's ano
French, Swiss men top smelly socks ranking: survey

PodcastOct 12, 2011

When it comes to socks, one is more likely to find a French or Swiss man wearing a smelly pair than a German or a Brit.A study by Swiss firm Blacksocks found that only 66 percent of Frenchmen changed their socks daily, while just seven in ten Swiss men put on a clean pair every day.On the other end
EU to propose bank recapitalization Wednesday

PodcastOct 12, 2011

BRUSSELS (AP) — The president of the EU's executive arm says he will unveil proposals on how to make European banks fit enough to sustain the worsening debt crisis on Wednesday.Jose Manuel Barroso said Tuesday that the European Commission would unveil several initiatives that should contribute