The Korea Herald

Staying indoors may contribute to obesity

FashionJan 27, 2011

Lee Ji-hyun, a 28-year-old office worker, plans to visit Bangkok next week during the Lunar New Year’s holiday. “I just want to run away from the prolonged cold wave in Seoul. I’ve been scared to go out in recent weeks due to the very cold weather,” Lee said. Indeed the worst cold spell in years continues to grip the nation. The temperature at Christmas fell to minus 14 degrees Celsius in Seoul, i
Third-sex hostesses ready for takeoff

PodcastJan 27, 2011

Thai transsexuals were overjoyed as new airline P.C. Air yesterday took air hostess job applications from "third sex" candidates at Bangkok's Esplanade shopping mall.Among the successful applicants was Miss Tiffany 2007 winner Thanyarat "Film" Jiraphatpakorn.P.C. Air executive Peter Shan said the company had seen the potential of transsexuals to work as hostesses.After passing the preliminary roun
Dentist introduces saucy dress code for patients

PodcastJan 27, 2011

(Captured from Metro)A German dentist has come into the spotlight after introducing Alpine-style “dirndl” outfits for her staff in an attempt to distract nervous patients. According to the British Metro, Dr. Marie-Catherine Klarkowski and her assistants wear cleavage-revealing garments at the office.“The most important thing is to take away patients’ fear. The sight of cleavage gets patients distr
Yonsei draws fire over bar plans

Social affairsJan 27, 2011

Yonsei University is drawing fire from within over a plan to open a campus bar, which would be the school’s first place to sell alcohol in its 120-year history.Officials at the International Campus of Yonsei University in Incheon, expected to open in spring, were concerned with the lack of entertainment facilities nearby where students can socialize and relieve stress, and proposed that a bar be o
W552 billion allocated for 180 new public libraries

BooksJan 27, 2011

(Yonhap News)A total of 552 billion won ($493 million) has been earmarked for opening 66 public libraries and 114 small libraries, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Wednesday.The move is part of the government’s “Library Development Comprehensive Plan,” set for 2009-2013 to promote reading. The 552 billion won includes a 188 billion won budget from the central government, 349 billio
S. Korea posts 4th-largest current account surplus in 2010

Jan 27, 2011

South Korea's current account surplus widened in December from the previous month on robust exports, with the country posting its fourth-largest ever surplus last year, the central bank said Thursday. The current account surplus reached $2.11 billion in December, up from $1.93 billion the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). The current account is the broadest measure of cros
Over 580,000 Koreans expected to go abroad for Lunar New Year

Foreign affairsJan 27, 2011

Over 580,000 people in the county are expected to travel overseas by air during next week's five-day Lunar New Year holiday, airport officials said Thursday, with carriers reporting near full flight bookings.According to an estimate by the Incheon International Airport Corp., 588,902 passengers are expected to go abroad between Feb. 1 and Feb. 6. This is 13.9 percent more than last year, when the
Egypt's protests enter 2nd day, ominous for regime

InternationalJan 27, 2011

CAIRO (AP) _ Thousands of Egyptians vented their rage against President Hosni Mubarak's autocratic government in a second day of protests Wednesday that defied a ban on public gatherings. Baton-wielding police responded with tear gas and beatings in a crackdown that showed zero tolerance for dissent.Egypt's largest anti-government protests in years echoed the uprising in Tunisia, threatening to d
Distant galaxy seen by Hubble may be oldest identified

PodcastJan 27, 2011

The Hubble Space Telescope may have discovered the farthest-away object ever identified, a galaxy with light that began shining when the universe was only about 500 million years old.The galaxy was born at a time of rapid acceleration in the birth rate of stars, according to the study released today by the journal Nature. The observation needs to be confirmed with spectroscopy, an analysis of ligh
Distant galaxy seen by Hubble may be oldest identified

PodcastJan 27, 2011

The Hubble Space Telescope may have discovered the farthest-away object ever identified, a galaxy with light that began shining when the universe was only about 500 million years old.The galaxy was born at a time of rapid acceleration in the birth rate of stars, according to the study released today by the journal Nature. The observation needs to be confirmed with spectroscopy, an analysis of ligh
A remedy of soul: Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Varekai’

TheaterJan 26, 2011

TAIPEI ― The famous “Varekai,” a Cirque du Soleil touring production, last week kicked off its first Asia tour in Taipei, Taiwan. And Korea is next on the troupe’s itinerary.Premiering in Montreal in 2002, the show, a happy, acrobatic version of the Greek Myth of Icarus, has attracted over 6 million people worldwide. The troupe has visited more than 60 cities in 12 countries in the last nine years
Kim Byung-hyun joins Japan’s Rakuten

BaseballJan 26, 2011

South Korean pitcher Kim Byung-hyun has signed with the Rakuten Golden Eagles in the top-flight Japanese professional baseball league, ending winter-long speculation about his playing future.The Nippon Professional Baseball club announced late Wednesday that Kim, a former Major League Baseball All-Star, has inked a one-year deal worth $400,690. The right-hander with a submarine delivery will compe
Retailers target luxury sales, expand overseas for growth

IndustryJan 26, 2011

After a year of record revenues, Korean retailers are aggressively expanding at home and abroad, pinning hopes on booming luxury goods sales and the rise of deep-pocketed Asian consumers.Top department store chains, Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai, are sizing up their existing downtown branches and opening new stores in suburban centers, setting their sights on consumers of high-end products.Large di
U.S. envoy warns N.K. against nuclear program

PoliticsJan 26, 2011

The international community must send a strong, coordinated message that North Korea’s new uranium enrichment activity will not be tolerated, a senior U.S. diplomat said Tuesday, visiting Seoul amid Pyongyang’s recent efforts to resume peace talks with regional powers. It is “very important that the international community sends a strong message” that any uranium enrichment activities by North Kor
Seoul proposes military talks with N.K. on Feb. 11

PoliticsJan 26, 2011

South Korea on Wednesday proposed holding working-level military talks with North Korea next month, adding to the growing mood for inter-Korean dialogue, which has been rare due to the belligerent state’s two deadly attacks last year.Seoul’s Unification Ministry also renewed its call for bilateral talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions, stressing that its earnest intent to denuclearize should be v