The Korea Herald

Korea to send 10 medical workers to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone in Dec.

Nov 26, 2014

South Korea plans to send its first batch of 10 medical personnel to Ebola-hit Sierra Leone in December as part of global efforts to contain the deadly virus, the government said Wednesday.Seoul plans to dispatch a total of 30 medical workers in three tranches to the Ebola clinic center being built by Britain in Goderich, neighborhood of Sierra Leone‘s capital of Freetown, according to a joint statement by the foreign, health and defense ministries.The first batch of four doctors and six nurses
[Herald Interview] OECD calls for regional nuclear safety approach

Nov 25, 2014

Despite persistent territorial and historical tension, Northeast Asia needs to formulate a joint scheme to promote nuclear safety which will help preclude future disasters and boost practical cooperation, chief of the OECD’s atomic energy agency said Tuesday. William Magwood, director-general of the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD, stressed the growing need to jointly address safety issues in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima debacle in Japan, such as by cultivating a safety culture. William Mag
Senators propose family reunion resolution

Nov 24, 2014

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) ― A group of U.S. senators has introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea, according to a diplomatic source and Congressional data Sunday.Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) and Mark Warner (D-Virginia) submitted the “resolution encouraging reunions of Korean-Americans who were divided by the Korean War from their relatives in North Korea” to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, the source
China calls for easing of tension as N. Korea's attacks U.N. rights resolution

Nov 24, 2014

China on Monday called for an easing of tension on the Korean Peninsula, a day after North Korea's top military body warned of "catastrophic consequences" in the latest angry reaction to the international community's stepped-up censure of its human rights record. In protest against a United Nations resolution condemning its grave human rights violations, North Korea threatened last week to conduct a new nuclear test. On Sunday, the North's omnipotent National Defense Commission issued a fresh
China expert pessimistic on N. Korea's 'diplomatic offensive'

Nov 24, 2014

North Korea's "diplomatic offensive" this year, including a visit by a special envoy of the North's leader Kim Jong-un to Russia, is unlikely to help Pyongyang escape isolation unless it changes course on nuclear weapons, a Chinese expert said Monday. Zhang Liangui, a professor of Korean studies at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, told the state-run Beijing News that Russia is also unlikely to compete with China in providing economic support to North
U.S. senators call for inclusion of Korean-Americans in family reunions

Nov 24, 2014

A group of U.S. senators has introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea, according to a diplomatic source and Congressional data Sunday. Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Mark Warner (D-VA) submitted the "resolution encouraging reunions of Korean-Americans who were divided by the Korean War from their relatives in North Korea" to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, the source said. The website of Congress
Senators introduce resolution calling for including Korean-Americans in family reunions

Nov 24, 2014

A group of U.S. senators have introduced a resolution calling for family reunions between Korean-Americans and their long-lost relatives in North Korea, according to a diplomatic source and Congressional data Sunday. The website of Congress also showed the resolution (S.RES.587) was introduced, but no text is currently available. The resolution follows a similar one (H.CON.RES.91) introduced in the House of Representatives on March 6 by Reps. Charles Rangle (D-NY), John Conyers (D-MI), Sam Jo
[Herald Interview] Actor committed to helping refugees

Nov 23, 2014

Albeit powerless and hapless far away from his homeland Bhutan, the young boy could not give up his dream of becoming an actor like Jung Woo-sung since watching his 2004 film “A Moment to Remember.”As the boy re-enacted a perilous cross-border journey on a makeshift stage alongside his peers at the Beldangi refugee camp in Nepal, the 41-year-old South Korean actor Jung was shaken by the young refugees’ purity and unity even while lacking basic needs. The encounter took place during Jung’s first
[Herald Interview] Finnish P.M. uncovers Finland-Korea connection

Nov 23, 2014

Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb visited Korea last week to invigorate bilateral ties in a broad range of areas, from winter sports to green technology. The Finnish delegation attended a summit, forum and exhibition from Nov. 19-22, facilitating trade and investment in arctic development, energy infrastructure, shipbuilding, security and education.A welcome reception for select diplomats, businessmen and journalists was held at the Finnish Embassy in Seoul, last Wednesday.The 46-year-old w
Korea’s IT guru-politician speaks on ‘creative economy’

Nov 23, 2014

Creativity, communication, cooperation, concentration and culture. These are qualities sought by headhunters worldwide, and an innovation-minded group in Seoul has decided to go to town to learn about them. The CQ Forum, a membership-based club where professionals can network and socialize, hosted a lecture on Korea’s “creative economy” at the Kuwaiti Embassy in Seoul last Tuesday. The keynote speaker was Rep. Jhun Ha-jin of the ruling Saenuri Party, a former entrepreneur who has been at the van
ASEAN Film Festival comes to Seoul

Nov 23, 2014

Korean moviegoers and cultural explorers will have an opportunity to experience a diverse range of cinematic genres from Southeast Asia at the ASEAN Film Festival, which will showcase 10 selected films from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The festival will be held from Nov. 27-Dec. 4 at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Busan International Film Festival. Admission is f
Connoisseurs discuss recipe for globalizing Korean cuisine

Nov 23, 2014

A group of international connoisseurs gathered to discuss the globalization of Korean food and promote an international competition involving French cuisine. The 5.4 Club, which aims to promote the four pleasures of seeing, eating, enjoying and talking through the five senses, hosted a year-end party at the JW Marriot Hotel in Seoul last Thursday. French Ambassador to Korea Jerome Pasquier, JW Marriot general manager Matthew Cooper, event organizer Prof. Choi Jung-hwa, Yulchon LLC partner Lee Ja
Korea, China, Japan sign agreement on fighting Ebola

Nov 23, 2014

　South Korea, China and Japan have signed a joint statement outlining their efforts to strengthen three-way cooperation for preventing the Ebola virus from spreading in the three countries, Seoul’s health minister said Sunday.　Minister Moon Hyung-pyo and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts Li Bin and Yasuhisa Shiozaki agreed to enhance exchanges of information to keep the deadly virus from entering their borders and take precautionary measures.　Health officials from the three nations will hold
S. Korea, China, Japan to step up cooperation on Ebola fight

Nov 23, 2014

The health ministers of South Korea, China and Japan on Sunday signed a joint statement to strengthen their three-way cooperation to help prevent the deadly Ebola virus from spreading to their nations. The joint statement was announced after a meeting of the three ministers -- South Korean Health Minister Moon Hyong-pyo and his Chinese and Japanese counterparts, Li Bin and Yasuhisa Shiozaki -- in Beijing earlier in the day. The statement calls for the three nations to enhance exchanges of inform
S. Korea to hold fresh round of talks for 3-way FTA with Japan, China

Nov 23, 2014

South Korea, China and Japan will hold a new round of negotiations this week for a three-way free trade agreement (FTA), the South Korean government said Sunday.The talks, the sixth of their kind, will be held in Tokyo from Monday through Friday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The last meeting in Beijing in early September ended with little progress.The ministry said the countries were again expected to seek a breakthrough."In the past five rounds of negotiations, the t