The Korea Herald

Polish honor, traditional dress presented at HUFS

Apr 29, 2012

Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Majka has presented traditional clothes from his country to Korean students to mark the 25th anniversary of the Department of Polish Studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. Majka gave the Polish folk garments to HUFS students on April 24, when he also presented an honor to HUFS professor Choi Sung-eun. Choi was awarded Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit by Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski for her outstanding service in developing Polish-Korean academic
UNDP Seoul chief to harness Korea’s development story

Apr 29, 2012

Seoul’s new United Nations Development Programme director aims to harness the wisdom of Korea’s development story for a new kind of Korean Wave. Instead of spreading K-pop around the world, Anne-Isabelle Degryse-Blateau hopes to pick the brains of those who helped transform Korea from a third world country to an aid-giving nation in just one generation to inform global development cooperation. “Korea’s development experience is unique, so it can provide unique knowledge to countries facing simil
British veterans return to remember Korean War

Apr 29, 2012

U.K. veterans returned on Thursday to a famous Korean War battle site for a memorial service. The British veterans, many of whom are now in their 80s, attended a ceremony on Thursday to commemorate the sacrifice of the 29th brigade at the Battle of the Imjin River. The veterans gathered at the Gloster Monument, at Solma-ri, near Munsan, to remember their fellow soldiers who fell during the battle that ran from April 22-25, 1951.They were among the 1,109 British servicemen who lost their lives du
OECD Korea Policy Center opens new office

Apr 27, 2012

The OECD Korea Policy Center began operations at its new building in central Seoul on Friday.The center, headed by Korea Development Institute School dean Nam Sang-woo, had until now been located within the KDI School. At the opening ceremony, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria congratulated the center for its contribution to the OECD outreach program that aims to introduce advanced governance systems in OECD member nations. He added that the OECD Korea Policy Center is serving an important rol
S. Korea's campaign to adopt East Sea name ends in failure

Apr 26, 2012

The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), an intergovernmental organization representing maritime bureaucrats around the world, decided Thursday not to revise a global chart to include the "East Sea" name for the waters separating the Korean Peninsula and Japan, officials said Thursday.The decision represented a failure of diplomacy by South Korea for the concurrent use of East Sea and th
IHO delays decision on Korea’s request for East Sea name to 2017

Apr 26, 2012

The International Hydrographic Organization on Thursday delayed its decision on Seoul’s request that the name “East Sea” be used together with “Sea of Japan” for the body of water between the two countries. The issue will be dealt with in the next meeting of the intergovernmental organization representing maritime bureaucrats around the world in 2017, Seoul officials said.Earlier in the day, the IHO rejected a proposal by Japan to stick to the use of the Sea of Japan alone.South Korean and Japan
Foreign minister to visit Myanmar

Apr 26, 2012

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will make a trip to Myanmar next week, the first South Korean foreign minister to visit the country in 27 years as Seoul seeks to improve ties with the Southeast Asian country, officials said Thursday.During the two-day visit that begins next Tuesday, Kim will hold talks with Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and pay a courtesy call to President Thein Sein, ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae said.“At the talks, the two nations plan to discuss ways to promot
U.S. envoy urges N. Korea to improve relations with South

Apr 26, 2012

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Sung Kim said if North Korea wants to improve relations with the U.S., it should first work with South Korea.Kim was speaking on U.S. policy on Northeast Asia and the Korea-U.S. alliance at a forum on Wednesday.“We have continued to make it clear to Pyongyang both publicly and privately that they cannot bypass Seoul,” Kim said.“If they want to deal with important issues, concerns, if they want to improve relations with the U.S., if they want come back to negotiatio
Ministry launches diplomatic academy

Apr 24, 2012

The Foreign Ministry launched a new institute to nurture competent diplomats in Seoul on Tuesday.The Korea National Diplomatic Academy will be led by former presidential secretary for foreign affairs and security Kim Byung-kook. Kim is currently the chief of the Korea Foundation. The new school was established to improve the selection process for and the quality of diplomats.The candidates will be given experience and participation oriented training for one year in order to develop them into ind
Envoy to speak on Obama’s Asia policy

Apr 23, 2012

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Sung Kim will speak on U.S. policy on the Northeast Asia and the Korea-U.S. alliance at a forum Wednesday.The conference, the Foreign and Trade Policy Symposium, is organized by the Asia-Pacific Policy Research Institute, a private think tank. Kim’s dinner speech will be followed by discussions by panelists including Kim Kyu-hyun, ambassador for performance evaluation at the Foreign Ministry, and Sohn Jie-ae, CEO of Arirang TV. It will be held at Yonsei University at 5 p
KOICA reaches out to corners of the globe

Apr 22, 2012

World Friends Korea an example of change from donation recipient to donorFor 29-year-old Noh Hayejin, experience teaching in Tanzania has changed the course of her career as well as the quality of science education for the students she taught.“I used to teach children from affluent neighbors at an expensive cram school. Then I thought I could use my talent and skill for the underprivileged deprived of adequate education,” Noh told The Korea Herald. Noh was one of the 4,397 Korean volunteers sent
South Africa reaches Seoul through film

Apr 22, 2012

The South African Embassy is holding special film screenings to mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic ties with South Korea. The South African Film Festival will run from April 25-26 at the Korean Film Archive in Seoul to show the country’s movie culture to the Korean public. A public screening of award-winning 2009 film Skin will be held at 11 a.m. on April 25, followed by 2011 movie Retribution on the same day. Skin tells the story of a girl of mixed-race struggling to find her place in apar
Wine day brings taste of Argentina to Korea

Apr 22, 2012

The Argentinean Embassy has held the first celebration in Seoul of Malbec World Day. The day brings together wine-lovers around the world every April 17 and celebrates the anniversary of the development of Argentina’s wine industry by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento almost 160 years ago.Seoul was one of 30 cities across the world to mark the day with a special event at the Banyan Tree Club. “Malbec World Day is a recognition deserving of a grape of this generous flavor and color,” said Argentinean Am
Swiss, Korean innovators showcase works

Apr 22, 2012

A cap that allows the wearer to control a robot thousands of miles away with brain-power, a fingertip stress detector, and a alpine horn that appears to blow out light were some of the many innovations on display at the 2012 Swiss-Korean Innovation Night in Seoul. The event held at Dongdaemun History & Culture Park brought together Swiss inventors with Korean collaborators to showcase state-of-art technologies. The Lift Conference on April 18 brought together artists, researchers and young profe
Pakistani envoy tells Suwon of his country

Apr 22, 2012

Pakistani Ambassador Shaukat Ali Mukadam shared news of his country’s diplomatic relations with Korea during a visit to Suwon on Thursday.The ambassador gave a presentation in the city just south of Seoul to scholars of the Research Institute of East Asian Culture. The institute was established in 2005 to help increase cultural understanding throughout the region. The audience at the event included Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, RIEAC president Kim Yong-kuk, Suwon City’s director general of culture