Students going to study in Finland should note that the summer season is the Finnish Immigration Service’s peak period for receiving student applications for residence permits, said the Finnish Embassy.In 2010, some 3,500 applications, 70 percent of the total number of student applications during the year, were submitted during that period.Applicants are advised to submit their first residence per

The first Korean translation of a work by Portuguese writer Goncalo M. Tavares was released last week, announced the Portuguese Embassy.“Jerusalem,” was translated by Eom Ji-young and will be published by Open Books, a Korean publisher devoted to the promotion of Western authors. The publication also benefits from the support of the Portuguese ministries of foreign affairs and culture.Originally p

The Embassy of Sweden will be closed on June 24 for Midsummer’s Eve. In Sweden, the Midsummer holiday refers to the celebrations that accompany the summer solstice and the preceding evening. Midsummer’s Eve and Midsummer’s Day (Midsommarafton and Midsommardagen) is one of the most important holidays of the year in Sweden, and probably the most uniquely Swedish in the way it is celebrated. The main

Pyongyang has been upping threats in response to the South Korean government’s move to enact laws aimed at improving human rights conditions in the North. On its website, operated for propaganda purposes, the reclusive Pyongyang regime warned “sure and clear punishment” should Seoul enact the controversial set of laws. South Korea’s right-wing Lee Myung-bak administration and the ruling party have

Nearly 200 Korean college students studying abroad have applied for a Seoul internship program focusing on relations with North Korea, the Unification Ministry here said Wednesday, indicating the growing interest among youngsters in the issue. Among some 185 students who applied for the one-month summer internship program, a total of 60 students studying at colleges in the U.S., Canada, Britain, C

Chief nuclear envoys of South Korea and Japan are to meet in Tokyo Wednesday to discuss ways to resume the suspended dialogue with North Korea over its ongoing nuclear ambitions.Before heading to Japan Tuesday, Seoul’s chief envoy Wi Sung-lac said he plans to share views with his counterpart Shinsuke Sugiyama on whether changes must be made to the existing strategy to get Pyongyang to talk with Se

The government’s controversial plan to select diplomats through a state-managed postgraduate school instead of current written exams has been shaping up this week, as a related bill has been approved by a parliamentary subcommittee.Under the bill approved by the National Assembly foreign affairs committee, up to 60 people will be entering the so-called “diplomat academy” each year to be trained as

Algerian art is continuously evolving thanks to the contribution of successive Algerian civilizations.It is a blend of religion, the spoken language, literature and music.To view a small glimpse into a tradition that dates back thousands of years, the Algerian Embassy set up a small, all be it, rich art exhibition.Running until June 16, the exhibition showcases paintings on ceramics, traditional a

The following is the Independence Day message of Luis T. Cruz, Philippine ambassador to South Korea, on the 113th anniversary of Philippine independence. ― Ed.We celebrate this year the 113th anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence and the founding of a state that would one day redefine the notion of a revolution. We recall, with gratitude, the men and women upon whose conviction