History repeats itself -- and it oftentimes is not kind. I have been reminded of this in the closing weeks of the past several years. As Korea approached the 21st century, hearts filled with hope and eyes rejoiced at sights unseen before. The history of an undivided Korean Peninsula seemed likely to be repeated. But a Cold War freeze rose again. On Nov. 18, 1998, a cruise ship left Donghae Port on the east coast, carrying the first group of 826 South Korean tourists to Kumgangsan in North Kor

The top diplomats of South Korea and Hungary on Wednesday discussed ways to boost cooperation and exchanges between the two countries in a phone conversation, Seoul's foreign ministry said.    Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong held phone talks with his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjarto, as their in-person meeting in Seoul was cancelled because one of Szijjarto's staff was confirmed to have COVID-19 following their arrival early in the morning.    During their conversati

South Korea expanded its entry ban to two additional African countries Wednesday amid growing concerns over the fast-spreading omicron coronavirus variant.    From Friday to next Thursday, short-term foreign arrivals from Ghana and Zambia will be banned. South Korean nationals and long-term foreign arrivals from these countries will face a mandatory 10-day quarantine, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status.    Effective Nov. 28, South Korea had earlier banned fore

OSONG, North Chungcheong Province -- South Korea’s Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Ganglip says his 30 years of office in public health has prepared him to serve the country during an unprecedented public health crisis. As the third pandemic year dawns and omicron darkens prospects, the minister said fresh weapons against the pandemic are coming. The Korea Herald spoke with Kim on Monday afternoon at his office in Osong, North Chungcheong Province, about some of the mo

Top television director Kim Tae-ho said that the upcoming Netflix reality program “The Hungry and the Hairy” was never meant to be a Netflix show. “When I finished producing the project group Ssak 3 on MBC’s variety program ‘Hang Out With Yoo,’ I received many calls from Hong-chul saying how hilarious Rain is and how they are spending time together riding motorcycles. I became curious about this odd couple and wanted to follow this duo with my camera,”

Korean content creators including TV director Na Young-seok, Naver Webtoon CEO Kim Jun-koo, production company Bidangil Pictures CEO Kim Su-jin and animation characters Loopy and Pinkfong were winners at the Korea Contents Awards on Wednesday. The 13th edition of the annual awards, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency, recognizes contributions to developing and promoting Korean contents. A total of 50 individuals across seven categor

It has been more than 10 years since South Korea entered the OECD Development Assistance Committee, which shifted the country’s status to a key donor from a onetime recipient of foreign aid. The total volume of South Korea’s official development assistance now reaches some $2.25 billion, marking around a threefold increase over the past decade. As the amount of assistance grows, the need to improve the quality of assistance has also grown in the past years, said the Korea Labor an

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai last month met with South Korea Minister of Employment and Labor An Kyung-duk to share the Biden administration’s worker-centered trade policy and to discuss the importance of worker rights, which has become increasingly important amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the “fourth industrial revolution” that has been much-hailed during the crisis. The pandemic has not only accelerated the fourth industrial revolution, but also sparks n

Peter Chung Soon-taick was officially installed as Seoul’s new Roman Catholic archbishop after an inaugural Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral in central Seoul on Wednesday. The last inaugural Mass was held nine years ago, in 2012, when Bishop Andrew Yeom Soo-jung became the 13th archbishop of Seoul after the late Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk retired from the post. In February 2014, Yeom was appointed as a cardinal and became South Korea’s third. In October, Pope Francis appointed Ch