With a new office in Seoul, Oxfam is ready to forge partnerships with other relief groups, businesses and civil society here to fight poverty, inequality, climate change and other global challenges, a senior official at the organization said.  Chris Ashworth, international market development manager at Oxfam Great BritainChris Ashworth, international market development manager at Oxfam Great Britain, played a key role in the office’s launch in October. While carrying out fund-raising campaigns,

A Finnish delegation led by the city of Espoo visited Korea in mid-January to enhance business collaboration with Korean companies and welcome their investment. The Tapiola Sinfonietta orchestra performed the same week in Seoul, representing the city’s vibrant cultural scene. “Our city is a seedbed of creating innovative new jobs as well as a cultural capital for the citizens, communities and companies,” said Tuula Antola, the municipal director of economic and business development. “The public

The top U.S. envoy to Korea has reaffirmed America’s security commitment to its key regional ally, stressing that his country “stands steadfast” alongside South Korea in countering North Korean military threats.“The level of trust between our governments remains very high, as demonstrated in the operational control agreement, the special measures agreement and the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement,” the U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert told The Korea Herald at the ambassador’s residence Habib

Korea should develop customer-oriented, high-quality tourism to attract Chinese tourists, industry insiders said at a reception in Seoul last week. The meeting, held at the Yido Dining restaurant and china gallery in Apgujeong-dong in Seoul, was part of year-round gatherings aimed at celebrating the 4 pleasures of seeing, eating, enjoying and talking through the 5 senses. “The direction of China’s government policy is moving from economy to culture,” Yido owner Yi Yoon-shin said. “To stand out a

The Romanian embassy hosted a reception last week to promote tourism and wine at the embassy building. A documentary ― “The Mountain” ― on Romania’s tourism attractions was shown at the event. It was produced by KBS2, the news and entertainment channel of Korean Broadcasting System, in collaboration with the embassy and aired on Dec. 7 last year. Some of the locations covered in the documentary included, The Bran Castle ― home of the titular character in Bram Stoker’s Dracula ― and the Bucegi Na

The United States is making denuclearization the top priority on its North Korea policy, a ranking U.S. diplomat said Thursday, amid the long-stalled six-party talks on ending the communist country’s nuclear program.Wendy Sherman, U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, also said that there is “no daylight” between Seoul and Washington in dealing with North Korea, stressing that Washington supports Seoul’s bid for inter-Korean dialogue. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se (right) poses wit

Following is contributed by the Australian Embassy in Seoul to mark Australia Day. ― EdCelebrated annually on Jan. 26, Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. It is a day to celebrate our rich culture, ethnic diversity and natural beauty, as well as reflect on what we have achieved and what we can be proud of in our great nation.Australia is one of the most ethnically diverse societies in the world, with almost one in four residents born overseas.This wide variety of backgrounds

The heads of ASEAN centers in Korea, China and Japan held a meeting in Naypyidaw, Myanmar, on Sunday to increase cooperation across the agencies to better accommodate the Southeast Asian nations.The meeting was attended by Secretary-General of ASEAN-Korea Center Chung Hae-moon, Secretary-General of ASEAN-Japan Center Yoshikuni Ohnishi and ASEAN-China Center director of education, culture and tourism division Purnajaya Tri. They discussed ways to boost staff exchanges, information sharing and pub