The Korea Herald

Pentagon's key man on Asia quitting next month: source

PeopleDec 19, 2013

The Pentagon is searching for a new key policymaker on Asia, as Peter Lavoy, acting assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, will step down from the post next month, a source said Wednesday.Lavoy is leaving the Pentagon in the first or second week of January after more than two years of service at the department amid the Obama administration's stated policy of rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific region, according to the source.It remains uncertain when a new assista
Koreans take pride in cultural heritage, K-pop

CultureDec 18, 2013

Koreans take great pride in their culture, especially their pop culture, thanks to the K-pop boom, and think that the level of culture is way above the level of their economy, a government survey showed Wednesday. In the “mindset and values of Koreans 2013” survey by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, involving 2,537 people aged between 19 and 79, the respondents showed pride in cultural heritage (93.1 percent); the traditional costume hanbok and Korean food (92.7 percent); Confucian v
Craft Trend Fair offers gift ideas for holiday season

Arts&DesignDec 18, 2013

British, French artists to show traditions of their countries
[Photo News] Warding off bad spirits

CultureDec 18, 2013
German museum wants UNESCO heritage listing for Father Christmas

CultureDec 18, 2013

BERLIN (AFP) ― A German museum has applied for UNESCO heritage status for the country’s traditional Father Christmas, saying he is under threat from the cheery version of Santa Claus popularized globally by Coca-Cola.The German Christmas Museum’s director Felicitas Hoeptner argues today’s Santa Claus is based on a German gift-giver who meted out both treats and punishment, but that knowledge of the figure’s origins is fading away.“Children only know about Santa Claus, because he’s smiling, he br
Greenwich Village gets N.Y. landmark status

CultureDec 18, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― The city’s newest historic landmark is part of a neighborhood where generations of American cultural greats staged their art, music, literature and politics ― from Edgar Allan Poe and Bob Dylan to Miles Davis and Allen Ginsberg.About 250 buildings in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village that reach back to the 1800s gained historic district status Tuesday after a unanimous vote by the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. Row houses, small theaters, cafes and clubs that welcomed the
‘Millennium’ trilogy to get fourth installment

BooksDec 18, 2013

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― The worldwide hit crime trilogy “Millennium” by the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson will have a fourth installment, Sweden’s Norstedts Publishing Group said Tuesday.“We have now decided to let somebody take over and tell what happened next,” Norstedts publisher Eva Gedin said in a statement.Swedish author David Lagercrantz, co-author of Swedish football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s biography “I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic,” will be responsible for the new addition, which will hit the
Nirvana, Kiss join Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

TravelDec 18, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Nirvana swept into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of eligibility, the musical museum said, welcoming it and other groups like glam outfit Kiss.Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt join Nirvana and Kiss ― known for Gene Simmons’ famously wagging tongue ― among the new members announced Monday. They will be inducted next year.The Cleveland, Ohio institution said Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967, wi
Koreans pick France as dream travel spot

TravelDec 18, 2013

China and Japan preferred as realistic alternatives
2013 is year of the e-cig and ‘selfie’

FashionDec 18, 2013

PARIS (AFP) ― E-cigarettes replaced nicotine patches, grunge returned to the catwalk, Daft Punk swept dance floors and “selfie” made it into the dictionary.Here are some of the lifestyle trends of 2013:― The scene at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service served as confirmation ― if any were needed ― of the selfie’s newfound place in the English language. As the ceremony for the anti-apartheid hero who died earlier in December dragged on, U.S. President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cam
Ryu to join charity fan event Sunday

PeopleDec 18, 2013

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Ryu Hyun-jin will join a charity event for baseball fans Sunday.Nicknamed “a monster pitcher” by Korean fans, Ryu will take part in “Monster Show” at Korea University’s Tiger Dome in Seoul. The event consists of two parts ― a baseball clinic and a concert.The baseball clinic will be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for 30 underprivileged children, 60 child and adolescent baseball players and 30 others.Kim Hyun-soo, who plays for the Doosan Bears in the Korea Baseball Organ
Park donates porcelain to Saenuri bazaar

PeopleDec 18, 2013

President Park Geun-hye donated a porcelain bowl to a charity bazaar held by the ruling Saenuri Party.The party organized the event to help those in need and at the same time celebrate the first year of Kim’s term as president. She was elected president on Dec. 18, 2012.The bowl that Park donated was used to hold quince fruits, according to a Saenuri official. It is brown, round and large enough for six or seven fruits. The piece was auctioned off.The party held the bazaar on a yard in front of
Sweepers donate 18 million won from disposal of recyclables

PeopleDec 17, 2013

Nine cleaners for a Seoul district office have donated 18 million won ($17,100) they raised by selling recyclables over four years.Though their lives are financially difficult ― four of them work just 120 hours a month, making 800,000 won ― they gave all the money they raised by separating recyclables from garbage and selling them, the Jung-gu District office said. Kim Yong-hwa, 44, who leads a sanitation team working for the office, led the initiative for the charity drive. Ever since he was hi
Cartoons poke fun at the expat experience

Expat LivingDec 17, 2013

Blogging has long been a way for expats to relay their experiences to people back home or to each other. Sometimes negativity can worm its way into the sphere.But comics, long an alternative to conventional blogging, are emerging as an outlet almost impervious to ridicule.Nichola Gwon, the Australian behind “My Korean Husband,” who once worked as an artist, began cartoons last year when she wanted to start a blog.The format helped her talk about a wider range of topics, she noted.“People tend to
OpenIDEO Seoul invites you to apply design thinking

Expat LivingDec 17, 2013

More than 58,000 people worldwide have got involved in openIDEO since the innovation platform was launched in 2010 to help the public apply design to bring about social good.Now a Seoul chapter has been set up to allow people here to get involved.Group organizer Siannie Dita Putri, who goes by the Internet handle Cyan, has been involved in projects with the Seoul Global Center and Seoul International Students’ Forum, and was a member of online platform openIDEO.com. This is her first offline ope