The Korea Herald

S. Korea should be aggressive over Dokdo issue: scholar

Foreign affairsApr 8, 2011

The South Korean government needs to be more active and logical in defending its sovereignty over Dokdo against Japan's continued claims to the rocky islets in the East Sea, a Japanese-born scholar said Friday. Yuji Hosaka, professor of Japanese Studies at Sejong University in Seoul, questioned the effectiveness of Seoul's so-called quiet diplomacy on the Dokdo issue aimed at blocking it from
Saoirse Ronan shoots for something different in ‘Hanna’

FilmApr 8, 2011

Shortly after she received an Oscar nomination at the tender age of 13, “Atonement” star Saoirse Ronan needed a new movie. Despite a drama background, she was intrigued by the title character in “Hanna,” an ethereally beautiful teen who also happens to be a ruthless assassin. But the project was stuck in development at Focus Features; filmmakers like Danny Boyle had come and gone.Ronan had a simpl
Packing a stylish picnic

Food&BeverageApr 8, 2011

Chic boxed fare for the parkIn a perfect world, picnic-goers would wake up early in the morning to pack hampers full of freshly baked homemade goods. Come weekend, the overworked and exhausted may groan when faced with such a daunting feat yet still want a tasty spread for the great outdoors. Enter the grab-and-go feast as dreamed up by catering veterans who have mastered the art of the packed mea
[Herald interview] Universal Music sees big potential in Korean classical music

MusicApr 8, 2011

Universal Music Group International, which has prestigious label Deutsche Grammophon, expects that the Korean demand for classical music to grow faster in the coming years on the back of the country’s growing wealth and interest in the genre.“The first thing you need to invest in classical music is a market that is confident of growth. The second thing is an extremely accelerating level of wealth
PyeongChang makes Olympic presentation in London

More sportsApr 8, 2011

PyeongChang, a South Korean alpine town bidding for the 2018 Winter Olympics, made a presentation Thursday in front of members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and world sports leaders at an international sports meeting in London.PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers east of Seoul, held its presentation after its rivals ― Germany’s Munich and France’s Annecy ― at the ongoing SportAccord Con
Strong aftershock kills 4, cuts power in northern Japan

World NewsApr 8, 2011

(Yonhap News)SENDAI, Japan (AFP) ― A powerful aftershock rocked Japan’s tsunami disaster zone, killing at least four and triggering new concerns over nuclear power plants in a region still grappling with an atomic emergency.Electricity was cut across a huge area of northern Japan, forcing cooling systems at three nuclear plants to switch to emergency power and plunging more than 3.3 million househ
Strong aftershock kills 4, cuts power in northern Japan

World NewsApr 8, 2011

SENDAI, Japan (AFP) ― A powerful aftershock rocked Japan’s tsunami disaster zone, killing at least four and triggering new concerns over nuclear power plants in a region still grappling with an atomic emergency.Electricity was cut across a huge area of northern Japan, forcing cooling systems at three nuclear plants to switch to emergency power and plunging more than 3.3 million households into dar
Photos of N. Korea nuke facility raise concerns in Seoul

North KoreaApr 8, 2011

North Korea appeared to be speeding up its construction of a light-water reactor at its Yongbyon nuclear complex, raising eyebrows in Seoul as fears rise over radioactive materials from Japan’s tsunami-stricken nuclear power plant.Satellite photos taken last month and broadcast by KBS-TV showed a new round structure being built in Yongbyon and foundation work underway next to it. A high-ranking So
Opposition to field single nominee in Gimhae

PoliticsApr 8, 2011

Opposition parties have finally reached an agreement to run a single candidate for the upcoming by-election in the hometown of the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, forewarning a showdown with the ruling party there.“We have resolved to select a single candidate to represent the opposition parties by Tuesday, when the official candidate registration begins,” an official of a civic group advocat
Home prices, rents grow faster than income

IndustryApr 8, 2011

In Korea, it takes more than a decade for the average salaried worker to buy his or her own house, as numerous surveys have shown over the years. But now it looks like renting homes has become equally trying, according to data released by a local property-information portal on Friday. Real Estate Bank said “jeonse” costs are surging as more people opt to rent homes instead of buying them, not to m
[News focus] Seoul faced with calls to slash oil taxes

Apr 8, 2011

Government twists refiners’ arms but under fire for failing to share responsibilityThe heat is increasingly being turned on the government for failing to curb the soaring gas prices, especially as critics are pounding Seoul for failing to address a more direct cause of the price increase ― the high taxes slapped onto gas. Instead, the government has turned to twisting the arms of local refiners to
N-Screen service becomes popular in one-person-multi-device era

IndustryApr 8, 2011

Getting connected to the Web on a smartphone, while simultaneously watching a show on a smart TV is becoming a common scene for many people nowadays as the country enters a “one-person-multi-device era.”The number of people who own multiple smart gadgets ― such as smartphones, tablet PCs and smart TVs ― is rapidly increasing, pushing telecoms to introduce N-Screen (numerous screen) services which
[Editorial] Party in crisis?

EditorialApr 8, 2011

Bundang B in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has been a conservative electoral district. One of Seoul’s wealthy suburbs, it has been carried by the ruling Grand National Party in the past. Is the conservative ruling party assured of another win in the April 27 parliamentary by-election?The answer is hardly, as evidenced by the latest opinion poll. The liberal Democratic Party’s chairman, Sohn Hak-kyu
Overcoming the nuclear crisis in Japan

ViewpointsApr 8, 2011

The crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant does not warrant optimism. Nuclear fuel in the cores of the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 reactors is believed to have been severely damaged. In the No. 4 reactor’s storage, where spent nuclear fuel is kept, water evaporated at one point, and a hydrogen explosion released radioactive substances into the environment.The governmen
[Tim Rutten] Wedge issue that’s losing its point

ViewpointsApr 8, 2011

Wedge issues are the rhetorical enablers of the bitterly partisan politics that have disfigured our national conversation in recent years.They’re the controversial questions on which significant numbers of voters hold views that admit no compromise or nuanced disagreement. Candidates raise them to divide their constituents and to morally discredit their opponents. Abortion is a classic wedge issue