The ASEAN-Korea Center held a reception last week to celebrate its seventh anniversary and eighth annual council meeting, on the back of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Community launched at the end of last year. The reception at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Thursday drew ASEAN Council members who flew to Korea for the event as well as diplomats and scholars from both sides. Korea’s Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hong-kyun said in a speech that the community’s inauguration was “

Pakistan and Korea are striving to launch a free trade agreement following an ongoing feasibility study, hoping to capitalize on each other’s geostrategic leverage, Pakistan’s top envoy to Korea said. In an interview with The Korea Herald in early February, Pakistani Ambassador Zahid Nasrullah Khan highlighted the policy of prioritizing trade and investment with Korea since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took office in June 2013. The feasibility study, being conducted jointly by the Pakistan Instit

The Sri Lankan Embassy held a National Day reception in early February to celebrate the 68th anniversary of independence from Britain and the development of ties with Korea. While Sri Lanka has made significant progress as a democracy, the country also had to face “formidable challenges, including a conflict that ravaged the nation for three decades,” said Sri Lankan Ambassador to Korea Manisha Gunasekera in a speech.Located in the Indian Ocean, the lush, tropical island nation overcame a civil

The Korea Herald Young Diplomats Academy and the Young Opinion Leaders’ Knowledge Forum -- youth camps tailored to live interaction with foreign diplomats, business leaders, renowned scholars and legal experts -- inspired future generations of leaders last month. The venue at Yonsei International Campus in Songdo, Incheon, from Jan. 22-24 attracted over 200 students from the country’s elementary, middle and high schools, providing a platform for differentiated learning, discussion and communicat

CHEVENING ALUMNI RECEPTION -- British Ambassador Charles Hay (second from left) speaks at a Chevening alumni reception at the Plaza Hotel in Seoul on Friday. The Chevening scholarship is offered by the British government to high-achieving individuals from around the world. Students study at U.K. universities for a year. The alumni annually host knowledge-sharing events, charities, field trips and networking venues with fellow alumni in Asia. (Joel Lee/The Korea Herald)

The Chinese Embassy organized a series of events last week to promote the Lunar New Year, known as “Chunjie” in Chinese. As the largest annual holiday across Confucian communities worldwide, including in Korea, where it is called “Seollal,” the festivities lasts over a week in China, bringing together relatives from far and wide. In an effort to strengthen cultural ties with Korea, the embassy has hosted the celebrations here since 2010, which have grown in leaps and bounds. Traditional Chinese

Ahead of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Korea, Sri Lanka is enhancing its partnership with Korea and promoting itself as an attractive investment destination in the Indian Ocean. The island country has registered annual growth of 6 percent over the last 10 years, and presents itself as a logistics hub linking East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia. As the nation aims to shore up foreign investment, boost international trade and switch to a

The ASEAN-Korea Center and the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation held a training camp for the youths of Southeast Asia and Korea in late January. The event at Taekwondowon in Muju, North Jeolla Province, from Jan. 25-30 gathered 55 students from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, who partnered with Korean young people. Sponsored by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund, the venue aimed at fostering friendship and education. Participants learned the martial art’s basic postures, stretching techn

Korea’s prospective membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership would go beyond eliminating tariffs, closely linking its economy with Japan and shoring up its competitiveness within an interconnected global value chain, an influential economist has said. As a “platinum standard” agreement instantly abolishing 87.4 percent of tariffs on items and 81.3 percent on export volume, the accord was reached on Oct. 5 last year between 12 Pacific Rim countries ― the U.S., Japan, Canada, Australia, Mexico,

A photographic exhibition featuring the cultural idiosyncrasies and vibrant lifestyles of Budapest and Seoul is running at the Korea Foundation Gallery in Seoul until Feb. 20. The venue ― “A Tale of Two Cities: Budapest and Seoul” ― is a collaboration between Hungarian photographer Gergely Szatmari and Korean photographer Kim Jin-seok. They traveled to each other’s capital in spring last year for over a month, from which they produced and selected 100 photographs for the exhibition. In trying to

On the back of the European Union-Korea free trade agreement that entered into full force last year, the two sides are deepening engagement as important parties in regional and global issues, the EU Ambassador to Korea said last week. The bilateral accord has gradually come into effect since July 1, 2011, and fully entered into force on Dec. 13. It eliminates 99 percent of duties on both sides within five years and covers non-tariff barriers. More than 35 bilateral consultation channels run thro

AUSTRALIAN CHERRIES -- Fresh Australian cherries imported from Tasmania are available in Korea until early February. The cherries are grown organically free from pesticides, and have a rich flavor from its long harvest. Imports of Australian cherries have surged sharply from 9 tons in 2013 to 232 tons last year, after the Korea-Australia free trade agreement entered into force in December 2014. In the picture (from left to right) are Australian Senior Trade Commissioner Brett Cooper, Australian

Twenty-two ambassadors and diplomats of the European Union based in Seoul spoke with the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee last week to discuss the ongoing North Korean nuclear threats, inter-Korean relations and foreign policy. In a luncheon meeting Thursday organized by Rep. Na Kyung-won, chairwoman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, the envoys stressed the EU’s united stance in condemning Pyongyang for its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, and its commitment to pressu