Han Sung Motor, the largest official dealer of Mercedes-Benz in South Korea, held a lantern-lighting ceremony Thursday as part of its collaborative public art project with the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture.A public art projected titled “Sowon Bandi” was designed to invite citizens to write their personal wishes and dreams on each of 5,000 solar-power lanterns, donating 10,000 won ($8.50) for each one.The ceremony was attended by the heads of the two sponsors -- Han Sung Motor

Geography aside, Japan and the European Union have never been so close. With Europe’s long-standing transatlantic ties under strain, and China presenting a challenge as well as an opportunity, the EU has sought like-minded allies in the Pacific. And there is none better than Japan.The EU-Japan bond transcends mere interests: It is a relationship based on shared values of freedom, democracy and open markets. Today, these values are under threat. The United States has decided to transact wit

When a nonagenarian political veteran runs a campaign promising change, it’s only a matter of time before that message comes full circle. For Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, that means succession planning can’t be delayed any longer.In May 2018, Mahathir pulled off a stunning election victory to lead Malaysia for a second time. In defeating Najib Razak, who denies allegations of siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars from a state investment fund, the new prim

As Sri Lanka makes another crucial political transition, it faces a major risk of macroeconomic instability. Minimizing that risk will depend, above all, on whether the country’s newly elected President Gotabaya Rajapaksa can defy his reputation and embrace inclusive politics.This idyllic island in the Indian Ocean was once a star performer. In the years following independence in 1948, progress on leading social indicators such as poverty, infant mortality, and primary education put Sri La

Ediya Coffee said it has opened its 3,000th store in Daejeon on Wednesday, setting a new record as a local coffee franchise in the country. Ediya opened its first store in Seoul 18 years ago.According to the coffee franchiser, it has opened at least 300 stores each year within recent six years. Besides Ediya, only bakery franchise Paris Baguette from SPC Group runs over 3,000 stores in the country. To strengthen its competitiveness amid business expansion, Ediya said it has appointed two in

The 2019 ASEAN-Korea Commemorative Summit and the First Mekong-Korea Summit are just around the corner. Association of Southeast Asian Nations ambassadors in Paris have expressed to me their expectations of the summit on various diplomatic occasions, which reminds me of the importance of Southeast Asia and Korea’s New Southern Policy. The rapidly-rising ASEAN bloc accounts for a population of 650 million people, with a total gross domestic product of about $3 trillion. According to the Org

진행자: 손지형, Paul Kerry 1. Koreans sit for national college entrance exam기사요약: 응시자가 역대 최저였던 수능 스트레이트 기사.아이튠즈(아이폰): https://itunes.apple.com/kr/podcast/koliaheleoldeu-paskaeseuteu/id686406253?mt=2팟빵 (안드로이드): http://www.podbbang.com/ch/6638[1] Nearly half a million people sat for the annual state-administered college entrance exam Thursday, with the number of test-takers marking an all-time low.  *nearly: 거의*sit for an exam: 시험을 치르다*administer: 주관하다*test-takers: 시험 응시자*an all-time low/high: 사상 최

You know times are hard in provincial South Korea when the guy selling walkers and hearing aids can only make ends meet by day trading. Lee Ho-cheol, 52, keeps his eyes on flashing stock quotes while his shop, crammed with wheelchairs, canes and other equipment for seniors, sits empty. Lee has run the store for roughly two decades, and his plight shows just how dire things have become. Few of his neighbors make enough money sticking to their day jobs, he says, and many have turned to selling bea

A long-held belief of analysts in India is that the economy is supply-constrained. Demand isn’t even worth a footnote, while a temporary squeeze in the onion market deserves obsession because it could be inflationary. It’s increasingly obvious that this view is outdated. In October, inflation quickened more than expected to 4.62 percent because of, yes, an onion shortage. Yet core inflation, which strips out volatile commodity prices, slumped to 3.4 percent, the lowest since the

The most dismaying thing about the impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump is that they are falling so short of the constitutional gravamen of the issue. True, some Democrats in the House of Representatives, particularly Adam Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, do appear to understand the seriousness of the question before them. But most Republicans -- egged on by Trump, who often complains that they are not doing enough for him -- are o