With a soaring number of migrants in society, Korea should push for affirmative action measures to help curb discrimination, promote coexistence with those from various backgrounds and bring about inclusive growth, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said. The city government has been working with the International Organization for Migration for the first International Migrants Day campaign in Seoul to kick off Thursday, aimed at promoting awareness about migrants by highlighting their contributions to Ko

2014 was the deadliest year for migrants. The International Organization for Migration reported that the number of migrants dying on migratory routes, whether at sea or on land, has more than doubled from last year to close to 5,000. In October 2013, 366 migrants died when their boat caught fire and sank off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. Less than a year later, 500 migrants were feared dead after their ship was rammed by another boat near Malta, only days after a different vessel carrying 200 p

Full of vigor and yearning for a completely different culture, Sohn Sung-won packed his bags and flew to Egypt to learn Arabic when he was in college. The 1 1/2 years he spent there gave him not only good Arabic skills but also life goals, dreams and visions: he decided to become a diplomat and help bridge Korea and other countries. On Wednesday, the 28-year-old began his career as a second secretary at the Foreign Ministry’s first Middle East division ― with a specialization in Arabic.“My trip

Emboldened by a landslide election victory, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is forecast to push ahead with a constitutional amendment for greater military freedom and revisionist foreign and security policies, darkening prospects for a thaw with Seoul. In a snap election Sunday, his Liberal Democratic Party secured a solid majority, with at least 290 seats in the Diet’s lower house. Another 35 went to the conservative party’s coalition partner, the New Komeito Party, giving them more than two

MATARA/COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Only five years ago, Pavani Punsara Weerasekera, an 18-year-old student at Sujatha College, was seen walking along an all-too-familiar path that would have never set her apart from many of her peers living on low incomes and life chances.But an encounter with a volunteer from the Korea International Cooperation Agency helped her discover her knack for languages and improved her job prospects. As she develops her fluency in Korean, her dream of studying in Seoul and b

DOMPE/HAMBANTOTA, Sri Lanka ― Throngs of residents and central and local government officials braved the rain to observe a truck unload the first batch of trash into a newly launched landfill site in Dompe, Sri Lanka. To the majority of the spectators, the event meant an about-face of one small yet unignorable part of their lives: for the first time ever, they will not have to discard garbage in open space and thus fall sick.“Before, for so many years, the people of this locality just dumped the

The cradle of mankind, Ethiopia, is at the dawn of a national awakening. The country is undertaking a sweep of modernization programs to develop its schools, institutes and industries, to regain its past glory as a powerful and independent African nation. A team of Ethiopian officials led by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen visited Korea to sustain and fast-track this process by learning from Korea’s rapid development experience. The Ethiopian delegation met officials from Korea’s Mi

The Canadian Arctic was once described as the “land that becomes large, alive like an animal; it humbles him. It is not that the land is simply beautiful but that it is powerful.” The literary eulogy continued in “Arctic Dreams,” an award-winning book by American author Barry Lopez, “Darkness and light are bound together within it, the feeling that this is the floor of creation.” Covering over 40 percent of its territory, the Arctic has long been regarded as an indispensable part of Canada’s nat

Polish Ambassador to South Korea Krzysztof Ignacy Majka (right) speaks at a reception at Millennium Seoul Hilton hotel on Dec. 8, celebrating the 25th anniversary of bilateral relations and the Polish Army Day. National Bank of Poland president and former Polish Prime Minster Marek Belka (center) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Lee Sang-kyu (left) gave congratulatory speeches. (Joel Lee/The Korea Herald)Poland and South Korea first made official contact during the 1988 Seoul Olympic G