The office of education of South Chungcheong Province said that it would make educational contributions in Kenya from July 19-31. Fourteen teachers from the province will visit Danjose Education Centre and Gatongora High School in the African country as teacher volunteers there. They will hold classes on the Korean language, English, music, arts and physical education for 352 Kenyan students of the two schools. The office also plans to implement a KeyPal Project in which elementary, middle and h

The Seoul Global Center is running weekend classes for those preparing for the Test of Proficiency in Korean in October.The courses run from Aug. 10 to Oct. 12, and are available for all TOPIK levels. The courses are aimed at preparing for the TOPIK on Oct. 20, with elementary on Saturdays from 12:30-2 p.m., advanced on Saturday from 2-4 p.m. and intermediate on Sundays at 10-11:30 a.m.The SGC will also run its autumn term of Korean classes from Sept. 2 to Nov. 29.Classes are free and applicatio

The Yeoksam Global Village Center will continue its regular volunteering at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Seocho-gu on Saturday. Volunteers will help prepare medical kits, clean hospital facilities and spend time with young patients.The center is particularly keen on volunteers with a talent for music, magic, art or other recreational activities to share with the children.The group will meet at 9:40 a.m. at Cafe Angelo on the first floor of the hospital, which is a five-minute walk from Express B

Aiming to keep out of the sun, the Seoul International Hikers Club will take to the shade of the woods of Korea’s capital Saturday. Starting at Hyehwa Station, the walk will pass through the grounds of Seoul National University Hospital and move on to a stroll around Changgyeonggung Palace and Jongmyo Royal Shrine. The walk will finish in Jongno.The club will meet for the hike at 10:30 a.m. by Exit 3 of Hyehwa Station.Those on the walk must pay the 2,000 won admission fee for the palace and shri

A Gwangju-based American professor is one of three authors of a book that recently won a Russian award.The Russian Fund of National Education Development gave laureates’ prizes to Chonnam National University’s Doug Stuber, Ivan Kuznetsov of Novisibirsk State University and Elena Katyshevtseva of Izhevsk State Technical University for “Modern Russian History,” printed by Chonnam University Press last year. The fund issues prizes each year in four areas: humanities, technical sciences, economics a

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― Four U.S. congressmen who participated in the Korean War will be honored in a ceremony next week to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the three-year war, a volunteer group here said Monday.The Descendants of Korean War Foundation (DKWF) said it would hold a recognition and awards reception and dinner for Korean War veterans and their families on Friday, the eve of the Korean War armistice anniversary.Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas), a Korean War veteran, plans to deli

PARIS (AFP) ― A new stamp emblazoned with the face of Marianne, France’s revolutionary symbol, has caused a stir after its creator said it was inspired by a Ukrainian feminist known for topless protests.The stamp, unveiled by President Francois Hollande on Sunday’s national day, shows the face of a youthful, dewy-eyed Marianne from the shoulders up, her long hair flowing down and her hand raised.“For all those who ask who the model was for Marianne, it’s a mix of several women, but particularly

LONDON (AP) ― A handful of writers from Britain, the United States, Australia and India will choose the first winner of the 40,000-pound ($60,000) Folio Prize for fiction, which hopes to rival the Booker as the English-speaking world’s most prestigious literary award.Organizers of the Folio Prize on Tuesday announced a high-profile judging panel made up of British poet Lavinia Greenlaw, U.S. novelist Michael Chabon, British writer Sarah Hall, Australian short story writer Nam Le and Indian novel

GENEVA (AFP) ― Swiss authorities said Friday they had returned a pre-Columbian ceramic jug to Peru after police caught someone trying to sell it over the Internet.The Geneva public prosecutor’s office said it had returned the small, two-handled jug dating from the pre-Columbian Chancay period between the 12th and 15th centuries to the Peruvian embassy in Bern.“It is priceless,” Sophie Bernard, a spokeswoman for the office, told AFP.Federal Swiss police had discovered last year that a man born in

NEW YORK (AP) ― A rare 19th-century 55-carat diamond has gone on temporary view at New York’s American Museum of Natural History.The Kimberley Diamond gets its name from the mine in South Africa where it was found sometime before 1868.It was cut from a 490-carat crystal. It was turned into a 70-carat gem in 1921 and recut to its present form in 1958 to improve its brilliance and proportions.The champagne-colored, emerald-cut diamond will be on display through the end of June 2014.Curator George