The Embassy of Argentina in Seoul opened the Mafalda Cultural Space to showcase Latin culture in Korea on Thursday. Mafalda is a cultural icon for Argentinians that originates from title of a comic strip character started in 1964 created by Joaquin Salvador Lavado Tejon also known as Quino. The cartoon was eventually published in 27 languages. Mafalda is the name of curious, lively and dedicated 6-year-old main character girl intending social equality and highlighting rationalism that became

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday said it is seeking to establish a secondary presidential office in the central administrative city of Sejong following a pledge from its presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. The DP said its plan to set up a secondary presidential office in Sejong, some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, will be introduced as a party policy at its general meeting Wednesday. Lee promised in a Facebook post in September that he will establish a secondary presidential offic

The NC Dinos filled their foreign player quota for the 2022 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season Tuesday, signing a new outfielder while retaining two starting pitchers. The Dinos announced they have acquired former major league outfielder Nick Martini on a one-year deal worth up to $800,000. Martini, who will replace Aaron Altherr in the lineup, will make $440,000 in salary, $110,000 in signing bonus and up to $250,000 in incentives. Martini, 31, has 112 big league games to his credit, mo

The romance series "Snowdrop" has sparked criticism that it distorted the history of South Korea's pro-democracy movement of the late 1980s, prompting calls for the show's cancellation and withdrawals of corporate sponsorship. The weekend primetime drama on JTBC is about a romantic relationship between Young-ro, a female South Korean university student, and Su-ho, a North Korean spy, before the 1987 presidential election. Fierce criticism arose after the first two episodes this weeke

North Korea's military is conducting a wintertime exercise, as South Korea and the United States are closely monitoring related moves, Seoul's defense authorities said Tuesday. "We believe that wintertime drills by North Korea's military are under way," Col. Kim Jun-rak, the spokesperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), told reporters. The North usually kicks off a regular military training in December, which continues through early spring often involving artillery firing drills.

Ivan Nova, a former 16-game winner for the New York Yankees, is coming to South Korea. The SSG Landers of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) announced on Tuesday they signed Nova to a one-year deal at up to US$1 million, the maximum amount of money allowed for new foreign players. The 34-year-old right-hander will make $750,000 in guaranteed salary and $150,000 in signing bonus, and he can pick up an additional $100,000 in incentives. The Dominican Republic-native was signed by the Yankees

The Bangladesh Embassy in Seoul observed International Migrants Day 2021 with the theme “Harnessing the Potential of Human Mobility” on Sunday in Seoul. At the event, 17 Bangladeshi Employment Permit System workers received awards from the Korean government in recognition of their achievements of having worked with the same employer for the longest period, attained Korean language proficiency and engaged in voluntary services. Ten Korean employers were also honored for employing th

Israel is to donate 1 million doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine against COVID-19 to African countries through the international COVAX vaccine distribution program, the Embassy of Israel in Seoul said in a press statement Thursday. Israel made the pledge after discussing the donation with Israel’s prime minister’s office, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Health. According to the embassy, Israel has strengthened relations with African countries, which saw

South Korea on Tuesday suspended quarantine inspections of Canadian beef following the discovery of a mad cow case in the North American country. The agriculture ministry said the move effectively banning imports went into effect four days after Canada confirmed a cow in Alberta was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease. The ministry said the latest BSE case was the "atypical" type and less risky than "typical" cases as it doesn

South Korea's military on Tuesday reported 17 additional COVID-19 cases, with all of them being breakthrough infections, raising the total caseload among its personnel to 2,980. Of the new cases, 10 are from the Army, four from the Marine Corps, two from the Air Force, and one from a unit under the direct control of the defense ministry, the ministry said. Currently, 307 military personnel are under treatment. Of the total military caseload, 1,201 are breakthrough cases. (Yonhap)

A total of 2,109 students in Seoul have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past week, before the partial reintroduction of remote school classes against the fast spread of infections, officials said Monday. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, elementary school virus cases in the capital from Dec. 13 to Sunday stood at 1,248, followed by those in middle schools and kindergartens at 406 and 169, respectively. The rate of in-class infections was recorded at 24.6 percent, up

A major South Korean umbrella labor organization has notified the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the International Trade Union Confederation that it does not support former South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha's candidacy for the position of ILO chief, sources said Tuesday. The statement from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), which was sent Monday, is expected to deal a blow to Kang's bid to become ILO director-general about three months before the election se