The Embassy of Iran in Seoul opened a permanent exhibition commemorating the 60th anniversary of Iran-Korea diplomatic relations and the 43rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution at Korea Multicultural Museum in Seoul on Thursday. Iran became an Islamic republic after the Pahlavi dynasty was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The exhibition showcases Iranian music, currency and traditional clothes. During his welcoming remarks, Iran ambassador to Korea Saeed Badamchi Shabestari refe

France hosted the One Ocean summit through Feb. 9-11 in Brest, France, to encourage the international community to raise its ambitions on marine issues and translate shared responsibility to ocean into tangible commitments, the French Embassy said in a press release. According to the embassy, more than 30 events, including workshops, forums, roundtables and other initiatives held on sidelines of high-level segment to engage the international maritime community, addressing topics of global scope

  Korean small- and medium-size enterprises are exploring new opportunities in the Belarusian market, opening branches, bringing in new technologies and talents, and creating a strong research base, the Belarusian Embassy in Seoul said in a press statement Thursday. Marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belarus and Korea, the embassy said Korea was among the first states which recognized an independent Belarus. Since then, Minsk and Seoul have both contributed to the

A US diplomat on Tuesday did not rule out the possibility of the economic and security fallout from a conflict between Russia and Ukraine on Asian countries like South Korea. Speaking during a virtual forum, Mark Lambert, deputy assistant secretary of state for Korea and Japan, said the world is "so intertwined" when asked if there could be a role for Seoul to play in defusing the standoff over Ukraine. "It is also important that the countries of Asia make it clear to Europe that

South Korea plans to mobilize all policy means to minimize the economic fallout of the Ukraine crisis and reduce market volatility amid growing tensions between the United States and Russia over the region, a senior government official said Tuesday. The government plans to implement contingency measures if Russia invades Ukraine and the US and its allies' move to impose strong sanctions heightens economic uncertainty, according to First Vice Finance Minister Lee Eog-weon. "The government pl

A total of 5,764 students in Seoul have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, more than doubling the number from a week earlier due to the fast growth in new omicron variant cases, officials said Tuesday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, the number of virus cases among kindergarten to high school students in the capital from Jan. 7 to Sunday increased 3,009 from 2,755 in the previous week. In-class infections climbed by 157 to 589, but the rate of in-school trans

South Korea will ask for New Zealand's support for its push to join a mega free trade agreement in the Asia-Pacific region during an upcoming ministerial meeting, Seoul's trade ministry said Tuesday. Seoul's planned application for a membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will be one of the major agenda items for talks between South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo and New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor se

South Korea's automobile exports fell more than 6 percent in January from a year earlier due to a global shortage of automotive chips and a high base effect, data showed Tuesday. Outbound shipments of automobiles came to 179,709 units last month, down 6.4 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. In terms of value, however, exports rose 2.3 percent to $4.09 billion last month. "A high base effect, the temporary shutdown of some pr

A woman in her 40s has been killed while under police protection, officials said Tuesday, in the latest in a series of preventable deaths expected to spark calls for better protection measures for such victims. The victim, whose identity was withheld, was having a drink with an unidentified man at a bar in Seoul's western Guro district when a man in his 50s visited the bar and stabbed the two Monday night, officials said. She was taken to a hospital but died, while the other man was under treatm

South Korea reaffirmed its commitment to comprehensive vaccine support for Asia's developing countries during a virtual session hosted by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, according to Seoul's foreign ministry Tuesday. Second Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-moon delivered the message at the COVID-19 Global Action Meeting held the previous day. Choi said South Korea will offer a "support package," including vaccine supplies, cold chains, storage logistics, to help improve health car

　The proportion of apartments bought by people in their 30s or younger reached an all-time high last year amid “panic buying” over soaring housing prices, data showed. 　The buyers in this age group accounted for 31 percent of the country’s total apartment sales in 2021, up from 29.2 percent in 2020, according to the data compiled by the Korea Real Estate Board. 　The agency began compiling the related data in 2019, and the figure for that year came to 28.3 percent. 　In Seoul

South Korea's daily COVID-19 infections rose sharply to hit another high of over 57,000 cases Tuesday, putting health authorities on alert amid the fast spread of the highly transmissible omicron variant across the nation. The country reported 57,177 new COVID-19 infections, including 57,012 local cases, raising the total caseload to 1,462,421, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA). The latest figure marked the sixth day in a row that daily infections have surpassed

WASHINGTON -- The US government on Monday advised its people against travel to South Korea amid reports of widespread COVID-19 infections in the Northeast Asian nation. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added South Korea to the "very high" risk Level 4 category, along with five other countries and territories, including Azerbaijan, Belarus, Comoros, French Polynesia and Saint Pierre and Miquelon "If you must travel to South Korea, make sure you are vaccinated

South Korean stocks opened nearly flat Tuesday, as investors took to the sidelines amid heightening US-Russia tensions over Moscow's potential invasion of Ukraine. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (Kospi) edged up 0.79 point, or 0.03 percent, to 2,705.27 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed unchanged and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.49 percent. In Seoul, market bellwether Samsung Electronics added 0.27 percent,