The Korea Herald

Five missing S. Koreans rescued in Japan

Mar 17, 2011

Five South Korean residents and travelers who went missing after a massive earthquake hit Japan's northeast region were rescued on Wednesday, the foreign ministry said. Members of a British search and rescue team begin their search for trapped people as snow falls in Kamaishi, Japan, Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K. with combined numbers
Former ‘comfort women’ pray for Japan

Mar 16, 2011

By Lee Ji-yoonFrail-looking grandmothers gathered again Wednesday in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul. They were former “comfort women,” who were forced to provide sex to the Japanese army during World War II. However, there were no chants denouncing the Japanese government, which has yet to issue an official apology to them.This time a silent tribute for 10 minutes was followed after a brie
Korean victims of WWII atomic bombs sympathize with Japan

Mar 16, 2011

By Bae Ji-sookKorean survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have had old fears of nuclear disaster dredged up by the explosions at a Japanese nuclear power plant. But they stood up and paid their condolences to the victims of the worst disaster to hit Japan since World War II, starting fund-raising campaigns as another nuclear disaster looms. The Korea Atomic Bomb Victim A
Concerns growing over Korean nuclear power plants

Mar 15, 2011

Concerns are growing here about the safety of nuclear power plants in the aftermath of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami that was followed by a series of explosions at atomic facilities.Another reactor was rocked by an explosion Tuesday at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, 240 kilometers north of Tokyo. Japanese officials cautioned the residents to stay indoors to avoid radiation sickness.
Tougher penalties for hiring illegal foreign workers

Mar 15, 2011

Businesses caught hiring illegal migrant workers will be banned from recruiting any more foreigners for three years, in a government bid to deal with illegal immigration.Korean employers found to have foreign nationals working for them illegally will get a warning the first time they are caught, but will receive the three-year ban the second time, the Ministry of Employment and Labor said Tuesday.
Korean infant education funding among OECD lowest

Mar 15, 2011

The Korean government’s spending on infant education is among the lowest of OECD member nations, a state-run institute revealed Tuesday. And the rate of women’s participation in earning activities also tables at the below most other OECD countries. The figures suggest that women could take on more money-making roles if the administration helped families with pre-school education, according to the
A third of Seoul’s overpasses not quake resistant

Mar 15, 2011

Roughly a third of bridges and highways here have not been retrofitted to withstand earthquakes, causing safety concerns in light of the devastating quake in Japan, said Seoul officials Tuesday.According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 111 bridges, highways and overpasses are in need of retrofitting, out of a total 348 located throughout the capital. City officials said, however, that all of
Pizzerias to cooperate on safe delivery

Mar 15, 2011

The government and pizza delivery franchises Monday agreed rules to protect delivery staff who often drive dangerously due to fierce competition within the industry. Triggered by the deaths of delivery drivers and protests by their colleagues, they also decided to hold safety campaigns.The Ministry of Employment and Labor signed with Pizza Hut, Mr. Pizza and Domino’s Pizza as well as the Korean Fr
Cho, Kim condemned for quake comments

Mar 15, 2011

Senior pastor Cho Yong-gi of Yoido Full Gospel Church, the largest Christian church in the world, has faced vicious public condemnation as he called the catastrophic Japanese quakes and tsunamis "God’s warnings.""I fear that this disaster may be warnings from God against the Japanese people’s atheism and materialism," an online Christian press quoted the elderly religious leader as saying Saturday
Koreans admire Japan’s calm

Mar 15, 2011

Many Koreans spent the weekend in front of televisions watching news of the magnitude-9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic and nuclear power plant explosions shaking the eastern part of the Japanese archipelago. They were first shocked by the natural disaster and then impressed by the calm of the Japanese people, even in the face of such a catastrophe. Koreans paid their condolences and praised t
U.S. professor urges fight on modern-day slavery

Mar 14, 2011

The term “slavery” may seem rooted in the past, not associated with modern day. A U.S. professor, however, has set about to reaffirm its meaning, create awareness, and combat the slave trade.David Batstone, a professor at the University of San Francisco, with his non-profit corporation, Not for Sale, is spearheading the fight against modern-day slavery including its most common form, sex trafficki
Korea's 102-member rescue team to arrive in Japan

Mar 14, 2011

A 102-member Korean rescue team departed for Japan aboard Air Force planes Monday to help the neighboring country cope with the massive devastation left by a record earthquake and tsunami.Three Air Force C-130 planes carrying the rescue workers took off from a military airport in Seongnam, south of Seoul, around 8:10 a.m. and were scheduled to land at Japan's Narita airport around 10:50 a.m., the
S. Korea on lookout for possible impact from radiation leak in Japan

Mar 13, 2011

South Korea is on the lookout for a possible impact from a radiation leak at a Japanese nuclear power plant, holding an inter-agency meeting Sunday to assess the possibility of radiation reaching the country and discuss countermeasures. Radiation has leaked from the damaged plant in Fukushima, 240 kilometers north of Tokyo, after Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami devastated northeastern Ja
South Korea reviews tsunami response systems

Mar 13, 2011

In light of the strongest earthquake ever to hit Japan, Korea is reviewing its tsunami warning and seismic response systems.According to the Korea Meteorological Administration and other seismologists, Korea would have at most 100 crucial minutes to evacuate citizens on the eastern coast before a tsunami hits land here, should an at least magnitude-7 quake strike western Japan.Officials, however,
‘Korea not ready for earthquake’

Mar 13, 2011

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake in Japan has thrown neighboring Koreans a question: How safe are we?Experts here say Korea is unlikely to suffer such a massive earthquake but caution that the country should be fully alert for all possibilities.The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said the chances of a massive earthquake and tsunami affecting Korea are quite slim since the Japanese archip