The Korea Herald

Parties focus on flood countermeasures

PoliticsJul 28, 2011

GNP calls for emergency action; DP slams Seoul’s ‘neglect’ of safety dutiesAmid the record-breaking flood damage in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, political parties cancelled most of their parliamentary schedules and focused on aid measures and victims’ relief activities.The Grand National Party was especially tense as Seocho-gu and Gangseo-gu, the two districts hardest hit, are both represented by
Policeman dies in river rescue

Social affairsJul 28, 2011

A conscripted policeman was found dead in Dongducheon, north of Seoul, early Thursday after being swept away in flash floods while trying to rescue a drowning civilian. Jo Min-su, 21, was lost in the rapids at around 9:35 p.m. Wednesday while trying to save a man hanging onto a fence of a U.S. army base in the swelled waters of Shincheon Stream. Jo Min-suHis body was found about 5 hours later, so
Seoul braces for more rain

Social affairsJul 28, 2011

Seoulites must be prepared for more rain through Friday, with the weather agency forecasting some 150 millimeters of rainfall in the central region. Rain will continue in central parts of the peninsula through Friday afternoon with the rain front moving southward later that day, the Korea Meteorological Administration said. A section of the Olympic Expressway and parts of a riverside park near Ha
Neighbors devastated by landslides

Social affairsJul 28, 2011

In an area normally known for its classical music scene, Seocho district on Thursday is now in disarray, some 24 hours after the torrential downpour that caused a landslide at Mount Umyeon. Sections of Nambu-Sunhwan-ro, a ring road, a few meters from the Seoul Arts Center, are still submerged in waist deep mud, water, tree branches, trash and even a hypodermic needle. Firefighters and soldiers cle
Weak ground on Mt. Umyeon prompts deadly landslides

Social affairsJul 28, 2011

The landslides on Mount Umyeon in southern Seoul on Wednesday after two days of torrential rain could be attributed to weak ground, experts said Thursday.They also noted that the Seoul municipality did not take sufficient measures to stave off landslides even though concerns have persistently been raised over the possibility of earth falls near it. Downpours on the mountain took the lives of 17 pe
Asian youths quizzed on activism

Jul 28, 2011

A network promoting human rights across Asia is asking young people to fill out an online survey. The Asia Pacific Youth Network wants people in Korea and other countries in the region to answer questions on youth activism by Aug. 12. Every 100th respondent will also be given a small prize. In just three years, the group has grown from 20 youth activists to a network which has taken almost 30,000
Social enterprise training and lecture

Jul 28, 2011

A U.K. expert is to coach Korean students on social enterprise next week. Social entrepreneur Clifford Southcombe is to visit Seoul from Aug. 1-4 to train students taking part in Social Venture Competition Asia.A founder of his country’s social enterprise movement, Southcombe will also give a lecture at Sookmyung Women’s University on Monday. Southcombe managed one of the U.K.’s first successful c
Day to help homeless people in Busan

Jul 28, 2011

Helpers prepare food for homeless people at a previous Busan event. (Kwon Ki-Jai)An event to help homeless people in Busan is being held on Saturday. Expats with Busan ATEK Volunteer group are set to help out Korean volunteers at the event to run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Busanjin Station yard. Those taking part will spend four hours giving out free meals to homeless people at the station. For
Internet freedom forum to be held in Seoul

Jul 28, 2011

A forum on Korea’s Internet freedom is to be held in Seoul on Saturday, Aug. 6. The Asia Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association has organized the forum, which is in part sponsored by TNM Media, blog Nanoomi.net and Platoon Kunsthalle. The event to be held from 12―3 p.m. at Platoon Kunsthalle in Gangnam will examine Northeast Asia’s changing media landscape.A panel discussion will ex
Summer camp to help kids go native

Jul 28, 2011

Volunteers and donors are being sought to give kids a taste of native English teaching in South Jeolla Province. The 2nd Annual HOPE Summer English Camp is to take 10 skilled ESL teachers to a rural elementary school in Suncheon. Organizers said the camp would give students at Haeryong Elementary School a rare chance to interact with foreigners. “Although Gyeonggi Provincal Office of Education ha
Teacher makes marathon effort to help fight cancer

Jul 28, 2011

A native English teacher in Korea is set to run a marathon to raise money to fight cancer. Nick Scherf, who teaches at the Hanyang Oregon Language Institute in Seoul, is to run in honor of his parents who both suffered from the disease.Scherf, 25, has been planning the 42-kilometer run since his father died of esophageal cancer in March 2008. His mother, Sandra, was diagnosed with breast cancer ju
Dying wish for U.S. bill to aid refugees

Jul 28, 2011

Han lobbying for laws to allow American families to adopt N.K. orphansHis hard-won adoption by an American professor transformed Han Sang-man’s destiny from that of a North Korean street boy to a successful U.S. businessman with the means to help other refugees.His adoptive father, Arthur Schneider, took the orphaned Han under his wing while serving here in the aftermath of the Korean War. Schneid
Lee not to grant special pardon for Liberation Day

PoliticsJul 28, 2011

President Lee Myung-bak will not grant special pardons for local prisoners and convicted people on the National Liberation Day, which falls on Aug. 15, one of Lee's close aides said Thursday. South Korea's president usually grants a special pardon in commemoration of major national holidays. The Liberation Day marks the end of the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula. "This yea
Personal info of 35 million Cyworld, Nate users hacked

Social affairsJul 28, 2011

SK Communications Co. said on Thursday that personal information of its 35 million online users has been hacked, marking South Korea’s worst online security breach and sparking fears that the leak could lead to massive online and voice scams in coming weeks. “The company has confirmed that a leak of customers’ information has taken place due to hacking on July 26,” SK said in a statement. “The spe
Land mines buried in landslide-hit Seoul neighborhood: military

Social affairsJul 28, 2011

About 10 landmines remain buried in a Seoul mountain pounded by recent rainstorms and the military is bracing for possible contingencies, the defense ministry said Thursday.At a press briefing, ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said the military has removed most of the mines buried near an air defense artillery unit on Mount Umyeon, but "about 10 mines" have not been recovered.Dozens of homes in sou