Each year Literature Translation Institute of Korea recognizes translators who have worked on promoting Korean literature to international readers through quality translations. This year, Masuo Omura’s Japanese translation of Lee Gi-yeong’s “Hometown” was recognized as the best translation among 167 works in 29 languages published last year and submitted for consideration. Recipients of LTI Korea Translation Awards speak during a press conference held Monday at Koreana Hotel in central Seoul. (L

Choue Chung-won, president of World Taekwondo, expresses confidence in ‘One world, one taekwondo’A punch to the face. This seems to be all that separates taekwondo practice in South and North Korea. The South, following the rules of World Taekwondo -- on which most international competitions, including the Olympics, are based -- bans punches to the face, while the North allows them with gloves.As the two Koreas seek to mend fences and expand exchanges in the cultural sector, World Taekwondo Pres

A Seoul National University professor emeritus has been honored by the Spanish government for improving Spain’s international status through his newspaper column.Kim Seong-kon, a professor of English language and literature, received the Order of Civil Merit -- an award that recognizes service performed by Spanish and foreign citizens for the benefit of Spain -- from Spain’s King Felipe VI in October. The specific honor awarded to him is the Officer’s Cross.  Professor Kim Seong-kon with the Off

Representatives of Korean small and midsized companies pose at the Social Cooperative of Korean Small and Medium Business Federation building in Seoul on Friday following a business meeting with Ethiopian Embassy officials. (Social Cooperative of Korean Small and Medium Business Federation)The Social Cooperative of Korean Small and Medium Business Federation held a business forum on Ethiopia at its headquarters in Seoul on Friday, inviting Ethiopian diplomats to offer their advice on trade and i

Members of the Korea-Laos Friendship Association - mostly politicians, government officials and academics from the two countries - pose for photographs ahead of their annual general meeting at a Seoul hotel on Wednesday. The meeting will last until Saturday and the Laotian members will have a chance to visit Yongin City while they are here. The foundation was established in 2004 to strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Photos by Chung Hee-jo

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 68, was chosen for the Seoul Peace Prize this year for his contributions to the growth of the Indian and global economies, crediting “Modinomics” for reducing social and economic disparity between rich and poor.The Seoul Peace Prize Cultural Foundation, headed by Chairman Kwon E-hyock, made the announcement Thursday, following its final selection meeting in Jung-gu, Seoul.Selection Committee President Choe Chung-ho stated the 12-member committee conducted a r

Some 60 Mongolian infants have received heart surgery operations free of charge over the past six years through a charity program funded by Rotary Korea, the organizers said. Korean medical professionals pose for a photo in Mongolia, where they have performed some 60 free heart surgery operations for local children over the past six years. Rotary KoreaThe Seoul bureau of Rotary International, a global service organization dedicated to bringing professional leaders and businesses together to prov

‘Social ventures an ideal that does not exist in reality’

A panel of experts including leading sea ice scientist Peter Wadhams gathered in Seoul on Tuesday to discuss the growing threat of climate change on the opening day of Peace BAR Festival 2018 at Kyung Hee University.The 37th Peace BAR Festival began in the run-up to the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on Friday, with peace and climate change set to take center stage during the event. Kicking off the three-day academic event, professor Wadhams, who is visiting Korea for the first time,

Amy Chu is a breath of fresh air in the comic book industry, especially in the US, where the industry is dominated by white men who have been reading comic books since they were young. Chu is an Asian-American woman who, before becoming a writer, had worked in very different fields. There was not a hint in her youth that might have signaled her life would be in comics.  Amy Chu poses with her “Wonder Woman” comic book before an interview with The Korea Herald on Wednesday in central Seoul. (CICI

YouTube star talks about eating, staying grounded and being better

CHEONAN, South Chungcheong Province -- When Kil Tae-san was held at the immigration detention center in Korea in 2015, his desire to realize his dream of becoming a world champion boxer was one of the things that kept him going. “Boxing has always been my passion. Ever since I started in 2003 at the age of 16, my dream was to become a world champion,” said Kil, born Jean Durandal Etobil Etobilin in Cameroon and now living in Korea as a refugee. “I thought if I get out of here, when I become free

LONDON (AP) -- V.S. Naipaul, the Trinidad-born Nobel laureate whose celebrated writing and brittle, provocative personality drew admiration and revulsion in equal measures, died Saturday at his London home, his family said. He was 85.His wife, Nadira Naipaul, said he was “a giant in all that he achieved and he died surrounded by those he loved having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavor.”Naipaul was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 “for having united per

Prominent novelist Choi In-hun, whose fiction delved into the ideological conflicts, existential angst and decadent politics in modern Korea, died of cancer on Monday. He was 82. He passed away at a hospital in Goyang, just outside of Seoul, in the morning. He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer four months ago.  Born in 1936 in Hoeryong, in what is now North Korea, Choi crossed into the South after the Korean War broke out in 1950. (Yonhap)Choi is best known for his 1960 novel "The Square," on

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