The Korea Herald

Envoy celebrates Indian culture with ‘India Day’ in Busan

Oct 5, 2014

Indian Ambassador to South Korea Vishnu Prakash (center) poses in a group photo with students and faculty of Tongmyong University during an India Day celebration in Busan on Sep. 26. (Indian Embassy)The Indian Embassy here celebrated the country’s rich cultural heritage with performances, costumes, film screenings and seminars in a special “India Day” program at Tongmyong University in Busan on Sept. 26.The celebration took place alongside the university’s annual celebrations. The daylong progra
German Unity Day celebrates ‘Peaceful Revolution’

Oct 5, 2014

German Ambassador Rolf Mafael (right) and his wife pose for a photo during a reception celebrating the Day of German Unity at a hotel in Seoul on Thursday. (Philip Iglauer/The Korea Herald)The German Embassy celebrated the country’s Day of German Unity this year by underscoring close commercial ties and cooperation on science and technology with South Korea during a reception in Seoul on Thursday.The theme this year was “25 years of Peaceful Revolution in the GDR,” referencing the official name
(Photo News) Diplomatic happy hour

Oct 5, 2014

Ernesto Torres Pereyra (second from left), counselor-minister at the Dominican Embassy here, poses with colleagues before the start of a social gathering of the diplomatic community that saw government officials and foreign envoys of some 30 countries mingle in an unofficial event in Seoul on Wednesday. From left: Leah Rutz of the Angolan Embassy; Francesco Cannito of the Italian Embassy; Elena Suh of the Argentine Embassy; Pereyra; and Anthony Gallichio of the Australian Embassy. (Philip Iglaue
Ivory Coast president to meet Park

Oct 5, 2014

Meeting could help encourage Park Geun-hye’s first Africa trip next year
Korea, Japan resume strategic talks

Oct 1, 2014

South Korea and Japan held a strategic dialogue in Tokyo on Wednesday for the first time in nearly two years to discuss an array of bilateral issues and North Korea's nuclear program, Seoul's foreign ministry said.Seoul's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yong met with his Japanese counterpart, Akitaka Saiki, for talks on pending bilateral, regional and global issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula, officials said. The meeting comes as bilateral relations have been at their lo
[Herald Interview] WWF calls for ‘greener’ Korean economy

Oct 1, 2014

With its persistent overconsumption and energy-intensive industry, Korea should step up efforts to curb its ecological footprint by “greening” its economy and adopting environmentally sustainable practices, the head of the Korean chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature said. The Gland, Switzerland-based nonprofit organization launched the Korean edition of its flagship Living Planet Index on Wednesday. In the biennial report, it said the populations of more than 10,000 species of mammals, bird
U.S. says cannot confirm rumors of N.K. coup

Sept 30, 2014

The United States said Monday it cannot confirm rumors of a military coup in North Korea that have spread widely amid growing questions about leader Kim Jong-un’s prolonged absence from public view.Kim has not been seen in public for nearly a month, leading to rumors that a military coup has broken out in North Korea and Kim has been arrested. Other rumors have it that Kim suffered a sort of stroke just as his late father, Kim Jong-il, did in 2008.“I can just say that I have no confirmation of t
Risk of conflict growing in East Asia

Sept 30, 2014

Despite more than 30 years of peace in East Asia, it would be a grave mistake for political leaders and policymakers to assume that conflict, or even war, could not break out again in the region, according to the latest issue of Global Asia, a Seoul-based quarterly. The journal, published by the East Asia Foundation, argues in a series of articles that the rise of geopolitics in East Asia, fueled in part by U.S.-China rivalry, could trigger miscalculations that could inadvertently escalate into
S. Korea notifies WTO of plan to liberalize rice market via tarrification

Sept 30, 2014

South Korea on Tuesday formally notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday it will open its rice market starting next year with a 513 percent tariff rate."The government has submitted to the WTO secretariat its plan to revise the country's tariff rate on rice imports ahead of market opening through tarrification that will go into effect Jan. 1, 2015," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a press release.The move comes as a special agreement with the WTO that allowed the
N. Korea, Japan set for fresh talks on abductions

Sept 29, 2014

Senior diplomats from North Korea and Japan were set to resume a fresh round of talks on Monday as Pyongyang snubs Tokyo's demand to quickly produce a preliminary report on the North's probe into the fate of more than a dozen Japanese nationals it has admitted to kidnapping decades ago. North Korea agreed in May to re-investigate the issue of Japanese nationals kidnapped by the North's agents in the 1970s and 1980s. In return, Japan lifted some of its unilateral sanctions imposed on the North ov
Sights, sounds of Arctic Circle brought to Korean Art Fair

Sept 28, 2014

This year’s Korean International Art Fair at Coex saw a one of a kind artistic partnership between Ireland and South Korea promoted by the Irish Embassy.Sound and video recordings produced by artists Han Sung-pil of South Korea and Karen Power of Ireland, who participated in a unique artist residency last year in the Arctic Circle, make art fair goers feel as though they are being followed as they move about the gallery hall, enveloping them in the sights and sounds of ice.The “Beyond Reality” e
Kenyan envoy bids farewell

Sept 28, 2014

Kenya’s first ambassador to Korea winds down active five-year posting
U.K. Embassy attracts local foodies with ‘This Tastes Great’

Sept 28, 2014

The British Embassy here is introducing the South Korean public to some of the best food and drink the United Kingdom has to offer in a special promotional drive.Over the course of the next three weeks, four restaurants in Seoul ― My Ssong in Apgujeong, The Bulldog in Itaewon and Gangnam, and Behind the Yellow in Nonhyeon-dong ― will be treating foodies here to modern twists on signature British pies, curries and cocktails.Dubbed the “This Tastes Great,” the U.K. Embassy’s promotional campaign s
Germany’s unification experience plumbed in search of lessons for Korea

Sept 28, 2014

South Korean and German officials and academics convened in Seoul on Thursday to discuss what lessons might be gleaned from the unification of East and West Germany on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.German Ambassador Rolf Mafael, professor Ra Jong-yil, a former South Korean ambassador and vice minister at the National Intelligence Service, and other senior officials discussed the significance of German unification and the many differences between the German case a
Uruguayan food, Tango spotlighted at fete

Sept 28, 2014

Uruguayan Ambassador Alba Rosa Florio Legnani showcased her country’s passion for music and food in Seoul on Tuesday as a way of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uruguay and South Korea this year.The South American country’s love of grilled steaks was evident Tuesday as Uruguayan ambassador, 2nd Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and a broad swath of the diplomatic community here celebrated a half century of ties between the two coun