South Korea aims to bolster its forest partnership with Central Asia by sharing its forest expertise and boosting cooperation in restoring the region’s damaged forest ecosystem, the national forestry chief said. “Central Asia is becoming an important region to South Korea as a growing number of Korean companies have been making inroads into the countries, which have abundant natural resources an...

Amid persistent concerns over its fourth underground blast, North Korea should put a moratorium on nuclear testing and join a global treaty to outlaw it, the head of the agency monitoring the ban said Wednesday. Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the preparatory commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, called for greater international pressure to stop Pyongyang f...

The future has always been uncertain. And with the rapid advancements in technology, it is even harder to predict. This is why Lee Kwang-hyung, head of KAIST’s Graduate School of Future Strategy, called for the development of new scientific and technological skills to enable the next generation to think creatively by converging their knowledge in various fields. Through such “convergent thinkin...

James Dator is dubbed as one of the inventors of futures studies, but what he has tried to do for the past 40 years is to persuade people that the future cannot be predicted. Instead he found that all images of the future can be clustered into four categories, which he calls continued growth, collapse, disciplined society, and transformation. In an interview with The Korea Herald, the futurolog...

The entry of highly competitive tech firms in the local financial sector may be an opportunity, rather than a threat, for conventional financial institutions, according to a state-run think tank chief. “The entry of these IT firms will eventually push banks to establish their own digital businesses, which will consequentially create new sources of income,” Yun Chang-hyun, president of the Korea ...

South Korea’s alternative education institutes are protesting the government’s push to introduce a mandatary registration system, claiming the move would extend the state’s grip on students who are fleeing regular schools and their rigid curriculum. The Ministry of Education has announced it would conduct a special inspection of unauthorized alternative education facilities, a step that critics ...

Lotte Confectionery, the country’s No. 1 snack maker, said it aims to become Asia’s largest snack producer by 2018 through aggressive mergers and acquisitions, in addition to building more local production plants. By adding Africa, the Middle East and European markets to its expansion plans over the next four years, the company expects to generate more than 7.5 billion won ($7.4 billion) in annu...

Qatar Airways, one of the fastest growing airlines in the world, is making inroads into the South Korean market, where the carrier plans to introduce a new, bigger Boeing 777 jumbo jet to lure more business and luxury travelers. The flag carrier of Qatar will be introducing the B777-300 aircraft into the Incheon-Doha route starting from September, increasing seating capacity to 293 passengers fo...

Soprano Cathleen Kim refrains from talking before performing. Sparing the vocal cords helps not only vocally, given that she has to pull off stratospheric coloratura arias on stage. It also helps her stay focused on the character she has to become. Then as she walks on stage, she feels that something inside her flips the switch that turns her stage persona on. “From the very first step onto th...

This is the last installment in an 11-part series of interviews with chiefs of United Nations offices in Korea. ― Ed. Amid concerns over its dwindling commitment to climate initiatives, South Korea should muster the political will to follow through on its international pledges to curb emissions and the green growth initiative, the chief of the U.N. Office for Sustainable Development said. Seoul...

The key for women seeking to break through the glass ceiling is to stop thinking too much about it and focus more on getting their work done, according to Hwang Mi-young, chief customer officer of Kyobo Life Insurance. “A keen awl is visible even when you try to hide it inside your pocket. What I am trying to say is that if you have the ability to prove your worth, everyone will acknowledge it a...

Lab Series, an Estee Lauder skin care line for men, believes less is more when it comes to men’s cosmetics. “For beginners, starting with one or two ― perhaps all-in-one products ― is enough. When they are ready, they could mix some more,” said Paul Jarrod Frank, a skin care expert at Lab Series, in a recent interview with The Korea Herald. “I would rather have customers buy a single classic pr...

When people think of Kim Nam-gil ― a 33-year-old actor with a lean, masculine physique ― they often describe him as coldhearted and intense with sad, mysterious eyes, thanks to the revenge-seeking characters he played in 2010 TV drama “Bad Guys” and recent show “Shark.” But little has been shown of what lies beneath his dark and weighty roles: a hilarious, talkative, laid-back man who at times “...

Calvin Kang. (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald) Uber, a fast-growing car-sharing app based out of Silicon Valley, said it can boost a wider range of transportation choices for consumers, and encourage the local cab industry to improve its services and abolish malpractices such as ride refusals and overcharging. Calvin Kang, general manager of Uber Korea, said that it hopes to convince the Seoul g...

Hana Financial Group executives should first gain the trust of Korea Exchange Bank employees before taking steps to merge KEB with Hana Bank, KEB union spokesman Kim Bo-heon said. “The 2012 agreement with Hana, which guaranteed KEB’s managerial independence for the following five years, basically embodies our hopes to secure KEB’s identity and competency. Breaking that promise means breaking the...