The Danish ambassador to Seoul has celebrated the 40th anniversary of the reign of his country’s queen, and urged Koreans to learn more about the Danish royal family through the Crown Prince Couple’s visit in May. “The Danish Royal Family is deeply embedded in the identity of all Danish people, and H.M. Queen Margrethe II has been a very popular monarch throughout her 40-year reign,” Peter Lysholt Hansen said of the queen who took the throne on the death of her father, King Frederik IX, on Jan.

The American ambassador here has held a school reunion for his old Korean elementary school classmates. Sung Kim, who attended Eunseok Elementary School in Seoul until he left Korea in third grade, reunited with his former school buddies at a dinner at his ambassadorial residence in Seoul. “I attended Eunseok Elementary School over 40 years ago,” the ambassador wrote in a blog posting about the event. “Even though a lot of time has passed since then, my memories of my teachers, my classrooms, an

The first book about Hungary has been published in Korea. The reference book “Hungary at a Glance” contains information in Korean on the European country’s history, politics, foreign policy, economy, society, education and culture. Hungarian deputy state secretary for global affairs Hovari Janos welcomed the publication at a publishing party at Sogang University in Seoul on Friday, saying: “By studying and learning about each other we can expect better cooperation opportunities and friendship in

MELBOURNE (AP) ― After taking three of the four majors and gaining the No. 1 ranking last season, Novak Djokovic is going for prizes beyond Grand Slams in 2012.An Olympic gold medal, he thinks, would go nicely in his collection.“It’s one of the biggest priorities this year, Olympic Games,” Djokovic told a news conference Saturday, only days before he starts the defense of his Australian Open title with a first-round match against Paolo Lorenzi.“I had that privilege and honor to represent my coun

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ― Kevin Durant scored 28 points, James Harden added 24 off the bench and the Oklahoma City Thunder raced past the New York Knicks 104-92 on Saturday night for their sixth straight win.Russell Westbrook was on his way to his sixth career triple-double with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists before coach Scott Brooks pulled his All-Stars with Oklahoma City leading by 30 points and nearly 3 minutes left in the third quarter.New York played without Carmelo Anthony because

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of “The Catch.”Joe Montana to Dwight Clark then.Alex Smith to Vernon Davis now.Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.“This is big for us,” Davis said. “It’s history. It’s legendary.”Smith ran for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 le

INNSBRUCK, Austria (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s Jang Mi brought home the first gold medal at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, Saturday, winning the 500-meter women’s speedskating race.The 16-year-old sprinter timed at 40.88 seconds in the first race and 40.80 seconds in the second to win the event with an aggregate 81.68 seconds.China’s Shi Xiaoxuan earned silver with a combined 84.32 seconds, and Martine Lilloy Brunn of Norway won the bronze with 87.51.“I started late

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― Paul Scholes scored his first goal since ending his short-lived retirement to help Manchester United to a 3-0 Premier League win over Bolton on Saturday.In the second match of his comeback, Scholes turned in Wayne Rooney’s cross in the 45th minute for his first goal since August 2010. Scholes’ 151st league goal helped United pull two points ahead of third-place Tottenham, which drew 1-1 with relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers.United trails City on goal diffe

NEW DELHI ― The launch of trilateral strategic consultations among the United States, India, and Japan, and their decision to hold joint naval exercises this year, signals efforts to form an entente among the Asia-Pacific region’s three leading democracies. These efforts ― in the world’s most economically dynamic region, where the specter of a power imbalance looms large ― also have been underscored by the Obama administration’s new strategic guidance for the Pentagon. The new strategy calls for

WASHINGTON ― For some real-life intrigue at the start of this new year, take a look at the secret diplomacy that’s under way between the U.S. and the Taliban. Most observers are skeptical the process will produce any breakthroughs, but it’s interesting that the talks are taking place at all. The path toward negotiations was charted publicly last Feb. 18, when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laid out a framework for a political settlement of the Afghanistan War. Though it wasn’t widely noticed

Theater“Park Wan-suh: Read by Actors”: Four of the celebrated late author Park Wan-suh’s literary works are currently being staged as theatrical plays in Daehangno, Seoul. The four featured novellas ― “For Solitude,” “Mother and Daughter Tea Time,” “You and the Eight Hats” and “The Pasqueflower of the Combative Days” ― are recited in their entirety by one actor throughout the show, while the other actors and actresses act out what’s happening in the narrative at the same time. The short stories