The Korea Herald

[Andrew Sheng] Economic impact of disaster in Japan

ViewpointsMar 20, 2011

I was at an IMF conference on capital flows in Bali when the Japanese earthquake and tsunami occurred. As the tragedy unfolded over the weekend, it became clear that the crisis was complicated by nuclear considerations. All of our sympathies and condolences go with our Japanese friends as they go through this terrible natural disaster, possibly larger than the Kobe earthquake. When the Year of the
[Craig D. Turner] New technology seduces us when death beckons

ViewpointsMar 20, 2011

The decision to opt for medical care that relies on the most costly technology is often based on blind faith that newer, elaborate and expensive must be better.The sentiment is understandable. We look to the miracles of medical technology to solve all sorts of problems, from weight loss to wrinkle removal. We place even greater faith in this technology when engaged in life’s inevitable losing batt
[Meghan Daum] NPR needs a backbone

ViewpointsMar 20, 2011

Oh, NPR, won’t you please state your game? Are you liberal? Are you neutral? Are your employees secret socialists? Do their screensavers feature slideshows of Noam Chomsky? Do your office Christmas parties serve only free-range eggnog? Do your parking lots offer preferred spaces for vehicles with “Free Tibet” bumper stickers?Yes? No? Tell us, NPR!Was former fundraising executive Ron Schiller repea
Embarrassing times for al-Qaida in Middle East

ViewpointsMar 20, 2011

Al-Qaida’s leaders languishing in their lairs are probably taking Valium right now ― if not something stronger. Watching the revolutions spreading across the Middle East, they look like utter fools.The most obvious point of ridicule is Egypt, where thousands of youths accomplished in a few weeks a feat that Al-Qaida had been pursuing for 20 years: throwing Hosni Mubarak out of office.Worse, howeve
Egypt votes for first time in 50 years

World NewsMar 20, 2011

CAIRO (AP) ― Millions of Egyptians voted freely on Saturday for the first time in more than half a century, joyfully waiting for hours to cast their ballots on a package of constitutional changes eliminating much-hated restrictions on political rights and civil liberties.Young people traded mobile-phone pictures of ink-stained fingers that showed they voted. Others called relatives to boast of cas
For some Christians, King James is the only Bible

BooksMar 20, 2011

400-year-old translation still commands a loyal followingCHICAGO ― On its 400th anniversary, the King James Version of the Bible is universally recognized as a literary masterpiece that profoundly shaped both modern Christianity and the English language.But at the Bible Baptist Church in Mount Prospect, Illinois, it’s accorded a much higher level of reverence.“Using anything but the King James Ver
France touts tax breaks in courting U.S. filmmakers

FilmMar 20, 2011

LOS ANGELES ― French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand is asking Hollywood for its budget-weary producers, pressured directors and harried filmmakers yearning for a tax break.France has had a long and rich history of filmmaking, from the pioneering motion picture camera inventions of the Lumiere brothers to the groundbreaking work of filmmakers such as Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. But
Cultural heritage to be digitized for new 3-D features

TheaterMar 20, 2011

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Friday signed a contract with MACCA (the Multifunctional Administrative City Construction Agency) to collaborate on a series of projects to digitize Korea’s cultural heritage.Under the contract, the two institutions will together build a museum that specifically offers digitized heritage exhibitions with 3-D features by the year 2016. Starting this year, the
Korea’s hidden gems on German tour

TheaterMar 20, 2011

German museums pull out 116 artifacts from their Korean art collections for traveling exhibitiA two-year touring exhibition of Korean art and cultural artifacts in Germany will kick off Friday at the country’s Museum of East Asian Art in Cologne. The exhibition “Korea Rediscovered ― Treasures from German Collections” is co-organized by the Linden Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, and the Korea Foundat
Hollywood tries to stay on China’s good side

FilmMar 20, 2011

LOS ANGELES ― China has become such an important market for U.S. entertainment companies that one studio has taken the extraordinary step of digitally altering a film to excise bad guys from the Communist nation lest the leadership in Beijing be offended.When MGM decided a few years ago to remake “Red Dawn,” a 1984 Cold War drama about a bunch of American farm kids repelling a Soviet invasion, the
Report paints stark reality for North Koreans

Foreign affairsMar 20, 2011

The belief that South and North Korea are “one nation” might be a fantastic idea in theory, but it does not reflect the reality of the situation.Last week, the British and Netherlands Embassies co-hosted a seminar with the Citizens’ Alliance for North Korean Human Rights to highlight and discuss the launch of reports about the integration of North Korean defectors in South Korea and the violence a
Southeast Asia guidebook for teens

Foreign affairsMar 20, 2011

The ASEAN-Korea Centre has published “ASEAN and Korea, We Are Friends,” a guidebook for teenagers.“It is a booklet designed for junior and high school students in Korea so that they can learn about our close neighbor ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” said secretary general Cho Young-jai.The book provides introductory information on the block’s relations with Korea and its ten member
Paraguay River development key to economic growth

Foreign affairsMar 20, 2011

No matter the riches and opportunities Paraguay offers, the growth of this Latin American country’s export industries is hindered by its location.A landlocked country, Paraguay’s plan to become a regional hub for Asian products relies heavily on its main waterway, the Paraguay River, the backbone that connects Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina to the vital shipping lanes of the Atlantic Oce
New envoy holds new vision for Ecuador

Foreign affairsMar 20, 2011

Adding value needed to break South American nation’s cycle of povertyThe new Ecuador ambassador has arrived with a plan: to ask Korean companies and officials to have vision and realize that Ecuador is not the same country that it was many years ago.“We are building an infrastructure for Ecuador that will help us get out of this circle of poverty,” Nicolas Trujillo told The Korea Herald during his
Butler shocks No. 1 seed Pitt

More sportsMar 20, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Matt Howard made one free throw with 0.8 seconds left to cap a wild final sequence, and Butler added another amazing victory to its list of NCAA tournament upsets, eliminating top-seeded Pittsburgh 71-70 Saturday.Each team had a chance to win it from the foul line in the last 2 seconds. After Butler’s Shelvin Mack inexplicably fouled Gilbert Brown near midcourt with 1.4 seconds l