The Korea Herald

Sumi Jo to visit Pyongyang in May

MusicSept 30, 2011

Coloratura soprano shares her belief in power of music to help those in needThe concert schedule of Grammy-winning South Korean soprano Sumi Jo is extremely tight. Successfully finishing the “Hyundai Capital Invitational Sumi Jo Park Concert” at an outdoor stage in Olympic Park in Seoul last Saturda
Suspended bank made illegal loans to room salons

Social affairsSept 30, 2011

A local savings bank, now suspended for liquidity shortage, turned out to have provided more than 150 billion won in illegal loans to hostess bars and other adult entertainment clubs in southern Seoul, a police investigation found Friday. According to sources, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency ha
Parks clash ahead of Monday showdown

PoliticsSept 30, 2011

Rep. Park Young-sun of the main opposition Democratic Party and civil activist Park Won-soon, who are to compete Monday for the liberal bloc’s unified candidacy for Seoul mayor, took part in heated debates on Friday.Both Parks attended the official televised open forum, following Professor Sohn Seok
GNP chief calls for flexible N.K. stance

North KoreaSept 30, 2011

Hong visits Gaeseong Industrial Complex amid lingering tensionsSouth Korea’s ruling party will push for the government to ease its North Korea policy stance, a top conservative politician here said Friday after his one-day trip to a joint factory park in the North. “After this trip, I will demand th
Hyundai Motor names Kim as new president

TransportSept 30, 2011

Kim Choong-hoHyundai Motor president and co-CEO Yang Seung-suk has resigned for personal reasons and Kim Choong-ho, chief of domestic sales, will take over as new head of the automaker, the company said on Friday.Kim, 60, will be in charge of domestic sales, marketing and business strategy, part of
[Editorial] No leniency on sex crimes

EditorialSept 30, 2011

A box-office hit based on the true story of sex crimes against disabled students by their brazen teachers has turned the nation into a seething cauldron of anger.The film, titled “Dogani,” which means a crucible or cauldron in English, depicts a real case that took place at Inhwa School, a special e
[Editorial] New outlets for medicines

EditorialSept 30, 2011

The government is set to submit a bill to the National Assembly to make cold medicines and fever reducers available at supermarkets and convenience stores. Currently these products are sold only at licensed drug stores.The bill is a follow-up to a government plan announced in June, which is intended
[Michael Boskin] Time running out for Europe to choose on recovery

ViewpointsSept 30, 2011

PALO ALTO ― Europe is suffering from simultaneous sovereign-debt, banking, and currency crises. Severe economic distress and political pressure are buffeting relationships among citizens, sovereign states, and supranational institutions such as the European Central Bank. Calls are rampant for surren
[David Ignatius] Caution fills Obama’s playbook

ViewpointsSept 30, 2011

WASHINGTON ― It was painful to watch President Obama recently at the United Nations, backing away from the goal of Palestinian statehood he had championed when he took office. The best that could be said was that it was a bit of foreign-policy realism, acknowledging the political and strategic fact
Time for Ozawa to tell his side of the story

ViewpointsSept 30, 2011

The guilty ruling handed down to three former aides to Democratic Party of Japan strongman Ichiro Ozawa over political funding irregularities clearly establishes their criminal responsibility by the judiciary. Given this, Ozawa has an extremely heavy responsibility to assume as a politician over the
Transparent gains

ViewpointsSept 30, 2011

Philippine President Benigno Aquino III’s first official trip to the United States achieved something more than the obligatory ceremonial visit of a new president to a key ally and a reaffirmation of the historical, geopolitical and economic ties. Although there was no one-on-one meeting between him
[Zhou Hong] World would benefit from a longer-lasting global order

ViewpointsSept 30, 2011

One of the amazing new phenomena of the rapidly changing past few decades is the change in power configuration of today’s world compared to 20-30 years ago. The fall of the Berlin Wall not only ended the Cold War, but also, or even more significantly, combined the “two world markets” into one.
Highlight

TheaterSept 30, 2011

Exhibitions“My Way”: Plateau, Samsung Museum of Art, presents a mid-career retrospective of the leading French artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. The artist’s unique artistic spectrum -- from the early works of the 1980s to the latest monumental installations contemplating the philosophy of existence -- i
Eye like

MusicSept 30, 2011

Pink Floyd digitally remasteredPink Floyd“Rediscovery Edition”(Warner Music) All of legendary progressive rock band Pink Floyd’s 14 studio albums have been digitally remastered under the title “Rediscovery Edition” released Sept. 26. It is the first time that all of their albums have been remas
Box Office

FilmSept 30, 2011

Always (Korea)Opening Oct. 20Drama. Directed by Song Il-gon. Former boxer Cheol-min (So Ji-sub) lives a mundane life after quitting the sport after an unfortunate event. While spending most of his time in a remote parking lot, he runs into Jeong-hwa, (Han Hyo-joo) a young and lively telephone operat