The Korea Herald

Help kids via KKOOM

May 18, 2011

People wishing to help kids in Korea are asked to contact orphanages through the Korean Kids and Orphanage Outreach Mission. KKOOM’s website in both English and Korean offers contact information for orphanages who may be seeking helpers across Korea. The organization advises prospective volunteers to contact orphanages in their local areas with offers to teach English or play with children, and KK
Freedom song competition

May 18, 2011

Entries to the 2011 Voice for Freedom Songwriting Competition should be submitted by Friday. The contest aims to select a song on the theme of freedom to feature on the “Free Burma: Dedicated to Freedom” album to be produced in Taiwan. The competition is open to all Asia residents aged between 18 and 35 years old, who can submit completed songs of six minutes or less. Songs can be in any language
International volunteer day Saturday

May 18, 2011

This Saturday is international volunteer day for an orphanage near Seoul. Angel House is looking for happy volunteers to donate some time to help the 50 kids living at the home northwest of Seoul. No previous training or experience is required for the helpers asked to chip in to clean the house, wash clothes, make food and have fun with the children. Foreign volunteers should bring their ARC card
Korean stars to grace charity soccer match

May 18, 2011

K-pop stars JYJ and actress Han Hye-jin are to perform at Park Ji-sung’s charity soccer match in Vietnam. The game to be played at a stadium in Ho Chi Minh city on June 15 will be the first ever Asian Dream Cup organized by the Korean soccer star’s charity foundation. JYJ are to perform at half time at the match against Navibank Saigon, and are also to participate in a Vietnamese boy’s soccer sess
Charity to protest fur at fashion show

May 18, 2011

An animal rights group has said it will stage an anti-fur protest at Fendi’s Seoul fashion show if the Italian designer thwarts the city government’s ban on fur on the catwalk. Government officials told the Italian fashion house Monday to remove all fur items from a show of its fall/winter collection due to complaints from animal rights groups. But Fendi said it would negotiate with city officials
Angels to ride for Daejeon kids’ center

May 18, 2011

Bikers will hold a rally as part of a festival to raise funds for a Korean children’s center. The third annual Angels Ride is to hit the road in Daejeon on May 28. Up to 40 bikers from Daejeon Riders motorcycle club are expected to take part in the sponsored ride before lining their bikes up in downtown Daejeon. Expats from bike clubs from Gumi and Daegu are also set to join the event along with m
Somewhere to stay at a dangerous age

May 18, 2011

Mother of many keeps open house at girls’ home in SeoulLike any good mother Chyung Eun-deuk worries for her kids as they grow up and prepare to leave the nest. “Just after 18 is an important and very dangerous age for girls,” she told The Korea Herald. “A girl has a lot of things to think about after school-graduating age.”For example, will she be able to complete college, find a job and money to
[Editorial] Symbiotic ties

EditorialMay 18, 2011

On Monday, the National Tax Service summoned senior officials and regional office heads to a conference at short notice. That was unusual. The usual practice is to hold such a conference annually, at the outset of each year.Even odder was that there was no urgent issue to deal with. Instead, what the participants were told was to refrain from arranging jobs for their retiring colleagues because it
[Editorial] SMEs as partners

EditorialMay 18, 2011

In recent consultations with small and medium-sized businesses, President Lee Myung-bak said the chaebol owner-centered style of management needs to be changed. He stopped short of specifying details of how to do so, but said they should alter their management style to favor co-prosperity with SMEs.But it takes no genius to guess what message Lee wanted to get across to the business tycoons contro
The dogs of war serving in the U.S. military

ViewpointsMay 18, 2011

The Navy SEALs who raided Osama bin Laden’s compound aren’t the only members of the mission to be cloaked in mystery. The military dog the commandos took along is too. The government won’t even release his ― or her ― breed, although most military dogs are German shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Labradors or Lab mixes. We do know the canine was included in the very private meeting President Obama held
Sharia: The latest case of U.S. paranoia

ViewpointsMay 18, 2011

A federal appeals court will soon consider a challenge to an Oklahoma measure prohibiting the use of Sharia, or Islamic law, in the state’s courts. The constitutional amendment is part of a national trend in which politicians ― including Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich ― argue that it is vital to prevent Sharia from insinuating itself into the administration of justice in U.S. cour
To restore jobs, U.S. has to ramp up exports

ViewpointsMay 18, 2011

One school of thought about the so-called jobless recovery of the American economy blames high unemployment on the federal deficit. But that’s blaming the wrong deficit.To achieve an authentic recovery that includes new jobs, the deficit we need to cut is in trade.For 20 years, America’s exports have been surpassed by its imports, with a big bite of that trade deficit composed of oil imports. Addr
[Lee Jae-min] Making more laws available in English

ViewpointsMay 18, 2011

One of the positive changes during the past couple of years is that Korean laws and regulations have become more available in English. This is an important development for foreign businessmen and investors who are currently in Korea or are considering coming to Korea. Just a while back, laws and regulations were only sporadically available in some specific areas. The Ministry of Government Legisla
[Albert R. Hunt] Geithner emerges as Obama’s indispensable man

ViewpointsMay 18, 2011

If, two years ago, reports of Timothy Geithner possibly leaving reached the White House, some advisers would have seized on them as an opportunity; President Barack Obama’s Treasury secretary got off to a very rocky start, and was considered a short-termer.Today, if rumblings that he’s thinking about stepping down made their way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, there would be near panic. Geithner is a
[Simon Johnson] IMF to get chief from emerging markets?

ViewpointsMay 18, 2011

Even before the shocking events of the past few days, the international policy community had been contemplating a successor to Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the International Monetary Fund.Strauss-Kahn, the IMF managing director, was expected to begin campaigning soon for the presidency of France. Now, whatever happens in the New York legal system as he defends himself against attempted rape allegatio