The Korea Herald

The Macallan looks to revive chemistry with art

IndustryMay 17, 2011

The Macallan premium single malt whisky from Speyside, Scotland, is returning to Korea with a new special edition, aiming to generate chemistry between whisky and the legendary photographer Albert Watson.For the biennial “Master of Photography” project, the Scottish distillery selects an artist to portray the craft of whisky-making through photography. Photographer Albert WatsonFollowing the firs
What’s your favorite app?

IndustryMay 17, 2011

Applications related to media, games, lifestyles most profitableChoi Hyun-young, a wedding planner by profession, says life has become so much easier since downloading Awesome Note on her smartphone. The application ― which is basically an online organizer and note-taker ― helps Choi keep her hectic schedule intact with customized folders for work and her personal life, under which she keeps and m
EU clears Portugal bailout

IndustryMay 17, 2011

Ministers sign off on $110b in rescue loans, continue to wrestle over GreeceBRUSSELS (AP) ― European governments insisted on handing out bailouts to fight the debt crisis on Monday, when they signed off on 78 billion euros ($110 billion) in loans to Portugal and debated giving Greece a second rescue package to avoid a disastrous default.Most of the terms for Portugal’s package had emerged over the
Assembly gears up for leaders’ forum

PoliticsMay 17, 2011

The National Assembly is all set to host the international forum of parliamentary leaders kicking off this week.The Group of 20 Seoul Speakers’ Consultation is to start its three-day schedule on Wednesday, during which parliament speakers from G20 states and some select non-G20 states will promote inter-parliamentary cooperation and exchange.An 18-member preparatory committee was established under
G20 speakers huddle in Seoul to explore co-prosperity

PoliticsMay 17, 2011

Host Speaker Park Hee-tae wants to make parliament leaders’ forum a regular eventFollowing Seoul’s hosting of the landmark Group of 20 summit talks last year, the National Assembly is to lead a meeting of G20 parliamentary speakers this week.The G20 Seoul Speakers’ Consultation will take place in the assembly’s main Rotunda Hall from Wednesday to Friday, attended by representatives of 21 countries
Trump won’t run for White House

PeopleMay 17, 2011

Real estate mogul to stick with hosting his reality TV showNEW YORK (AP) ― Donald Trump said Monday he won’t run for president, choosing to stick with hosting his reality TV show over a bid for the Republican nomination for next year’s election.The real estate mogul made his announcement at a Manhattan hotel as NBC, which airs his show, “The Celebrity Apprentice,’’ rolled out its autumn lineup.“I
[Editorial] Military reform row

EditorialMay 17, 2011

Forty-three former Navy and Air Force heads collectively turned down an invitation to a Defense Ministry briefing Tuesday on an extensive defense reform plan. They were particularly dissatisfied with the proposed system to place the chief of naval operations and the Air Force chief of staff under the operational control of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.Many retired Army generals are al
[Editorial] Red arrow signal

EditorialMay 17, 2011

It is fortunate that National Police Agency chief Cho Hyun-oh officially withdrew a controversial plan to change the traffic signal system by introducing red arrow for “no left turn.” “Global standards” were cited for the change, which the police asserted was conducive to reducing traffic accidents. It took two years for the NPA to prepare for the change after the National Competitiveness Commissi
Pakistanis play the blame game with the CIA

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

So it has come to this. Pakistani authorities miffed about the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden leak the name of the CIA station chief to the Islamabad press corps.Pakistan is all for the red, white and blue until the check comes through. If there were ever a signal about the time to part ways, this is it.Prime Minister Yousuf Raza “Tumbleweed” Gilani was upset anyone would imply his country’
A short Arab spring succeeded by long summer

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

The wave of democracy that swept across the Arab world beginning in January appears to have dissipated. Most countries in the Middle East and North Africa remain under the rule of governments that are anything but democratic. In Tunisia and Egypt, where revolutions succeeded in removing long-time despotic leaders, there are uncertainties about whether liberal constitutional democracy can actually
Early child care pays dividends

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

The United States is sitting on a vast, untapped economic development tool that has received too little notice: our children.Investing in children before they enter school pays dividends, and yet child care subsidies are at risk as Congress mulls questions about how to reduce the federal deficit. Before you tune this out as the same old “it’s for the kids” chorus, consider:― Children in high-quali
[Peter Singer] When prevention is better than relief

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

PRINCETON ― When the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan in March, Brian Tucker was in Padang, Indonesia. Tucker was working with a colleague to design a refuge that could save thousands of lives if ― or rather, when ― a tsunami like the one in 1797 that came out of the Indian Ocean, some 950 kilometers southeast of where the 2004 Asian tsunami originated, strikes again. Tucker is the founder and pre
[Kevin Steinberg] Lessons for living in a new world of risk

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

No matter how well we foresee and plan, some aspects of both man-made and natural risks will remain random and unpredictable. This uncertainty is inherent in the very nature of risk, and its chaotic and fickle nature has been reaffirmed by the recent tragedies in Japan. As the Japanese people and their government gradually shift from responding to the immediate safety and humanitarian aftermath of
[Hirokazu Yoshikawa] Citizen children and life under the radar

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

President Obama spoke last week about the economic reasons for providing a pathway to citizenship for the nation’s undocumented. This is clearly a polarizing issue, and there is much room for honest disagreement. But there’s one fact we can’t ignore: Undocumented immigrants in the U.S. include the parents of 4.5 million children who are legal citizens. What that means is that, on average, one or t
[Kim Seong-kon] Gangnam leftists vs. Gangbuk rightists

ViewpointsMay 17, 2011

These days, the newly-coined term, “Gangnam left wing,” is quite fashionable in Korea. The term, which refers to leftist activists who reside in the rich district of South Seoul, is similar to the pejorative American term, “limousine leftists.” The British sarcastically call such people “chardonnay socialists” or “Champagne socialists,” and the French call them “caviar leftists.” In the Netherland