Samdong International, a nonprofit organization working on sustainable projects in Southeast Asia, is organizing  multiple events to help support the Xiengkhoung Samdong Friendship School in Saylmon Village, Laos. The school, built in 2011, has supported the education of hundreds of Laotian students from low-income backgrounds. Currently, the school has a library but no books. Three different events will be held to help collect books and raise money for the school.A book drive will be held until

South Korea has reclaimed a stolen 18th century Buddhist painting from a U.S. art collector, the cultural agency said Tuesday.  The Cultural Heritage Administration said the work, presumed to be from about 1738, was donated by the American who had initially offered it at an auction in March. The agency reclaimed it last month after asking the collector to cancel its sale.  The work, which is 65 centimeters wide and 97 centimeters long, is a portrait of a great Seon monk that used to be kept insi

Police said Sunday they will hire detectives specifically tasked with protecting the country's cultural assets.  Police said they wanted to ensure more expertise in investigating thefts of cultural properties and that the candidates for the new position will receive relevant education at a national training center for traditional culture.  According to the Cultural Heritage Administration, 27,675 pieces of cultural properties have been stolen from the start of 1985 to the end of March this year.