The Kenyan Embassy has held two tourism forums in Korea ahead of the first chartered flight from Incheon to Nairobi in June. The tourism forums in Seoul and Busan were attended by officials from Kenya Airways, the Kenya Tourist Board and Korean Air. Tourism CEOs and managers also attended to discuss current trends in Korean visitors to Kenya, preferred destinations, security for travelers and tour packages. The number of Korean tourists visiting Kenya has risen in recent years to more than 7,300

A Korean business leader has been awarded an honor from the Peruvian government for his work to strengthen relations between the two countries. Koo Cha-Hoon, who is president of the Korean Council for Latin America and the Caribbean (KCLAC) as well as chairman of LIG Insurance Co., received the award from Peruvian Ambassador Marcela Lopez Bravo. “He has played a very good role to support and the countries of Latin America. Also he has organized many events to strengthen the relations between Per

Tunisia and Korea’s economic relations are below his expectations, but Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem said on a visit here that Korea had much to offer the newly democratic country. The cradle of the Arab Spring is seeking more foreign investment following the popular uprisings that toppled long-ruling President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, and the country’s first democratic elections in October. “We have a long rooted diplomatic relationship, but the economic relationshi

BEIJING (Yonhap News) ― Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is in line to become Beijing’s next leader, hosted Park Joon-young, governor of South Korea’s South Jeolla Province, in a rare meeting, Park said. During the Thursday meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi expressed his willingness to fully support the upcoming World Expo to be hosted by South Korea next month, according to Park.  The Yeosu World Expo is scheduled to kick off in May for a 93-day run. The event is expected to dra

Two Korean students are set to fly to Norway after coming first in a photography competition. Sookmung University business student Jung Yu-jin, 23, and Lee Jong-jin, 25, a journalism major at Kyonggi University, won the top prizes in the Norwegian Embassy’s photography contest. Hundreds of images were entered into the contest for Seoul commuters to snap themselves in creative poses in front of promotional images of the Scandinavian country at Seoul’s Samgakji Subway Station. The idea for the com

The Guatemalan Embassy and students from the country are to host their second friendship gathering in Korea on April 28. The event is being held at the Seoul National Museum of History in the Gwanghwamun, Seoul area from 12-5 p.m. It will celebrate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Guatemala and Korea, and give people here an introduction to the country. Traditional Guatemalan food and coffee will be on offer, and cultural performances will be held at the free event hosted by the e

New Zealand Ambassador Patrick Rata has swung easily into his new Korean post by organizing a successful visit by his country’s Prime Minister John Key, pursuing the Korea-New Zealand FTA, and has even had time to join a local baseball team. After overseeing Key’s trip for the Seoul Nuclear Security Summit and presenting his credentials to President Lee Myung-bak in March, Rata joined Seoul baseball team the Wolfhounds for his first game, and plans to make the games a regular feature. “As well,

A New Zealand theater company is set to perform in Seoul and Busan as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Korea-New Zealand ties. Red Leap Theatre’s production “The Arrival” will be staged from May 3-6 at Seoul’s LG Arts Center and then from May 11-13 as part of the Busan International Performing Arts Festival. The award-winning production is a non-verbal performance so it is suitable for non-English speaking audiences. Based on a graphic novel by Shaun Tan, it tells a universal m

When Kazakhstan’s returning ambassador first came to study the Korean language at Yonsei University in 1995, few people here had even heard of his country. Nowadays, Dulat Bakishev says Koreans are surprisingly familiar with the Central Asian nation. Perhaps they should be ― the resource-rich republic provides more than 30 percent of Korea’s uranium, and is being eyed by Korean firms for its oil deposits in the Caspian Sea. “In the ‘90s, Koreans did not know much about Kazakhstan,” said Bakishev