The Korea Herald

Compact, diverse: 2011 F/W Seoul Fashion Week

FashionMar 28, 2011

Shorter, more focused event includes new program that concentrates on inking deals abroad It is finally spring, but for the fashion-savvy it is already fall. 2011 F/W Seoul Fashion Week kicked off its six-day run Monday at SETEC in Daechi-dong, southern Seoul. Started a decade ago, Seoul Fashion Week is now one of Asia’s biggest fashion fairs, having showcased about 900 designers and promoted ...
Firms boost PyeongChang bid

More sportsMar 28, 2011

PyeongChang’s attempt to bring the Winter Olympics to Korea for the first time was backed by a group of local businesses on Monday. With 100 days to go until the International Olympic Committee decides the host of the 2018 Winter Games, the PyeongChang bid committee signed an agreement with 23 companies for its “Best of Korea” initiative. The scheme brings the country’s best entertainment and c...
LG Display accepts apology from Samsung executive

TechnologyMar 28, 2011

LG Display Co., the world's second-largest maker of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, said Monday that it has decided to accept an apology from a Samsung executive who insulted LG engineers in a public event. The company said it has received a letter of apology from Kim Hyun-sik, vice president of Samsung's visual display business, regretting his use of a swear word to insult engineers at the...
Docs warn about Facebook use and teen depression

TechnologyMar 28, 2011

CHICAGO (AP) -- Add ``Facebook depression'' to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors' group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site. Researchers disagree on whether it's simply an extension of depression some kids feel in other circumstances, or a distinct condition linked with using the online site. But there ...
S. Korea likely to be most aged nation in 2050: report

CultureMar 28, 2011

South Korea is expected to become the most aged country in the world in 2050, a report showed Monday, raising worries it could erode the economy's growth potential. The percentage of South Koreans older than 65 is forecast to reach 38.2 percent in 2050, the highest in the world, according to the report by the Korea Institute of Finance. The average life expectancy of South Koreans is projected ...
Big quakes don't set off others far away: study

ScienceMar 28, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) -- Here's some good news in the wake of Japan's isaster: A new study says big earthquakes don't set off other dangerous ones around the globe. Big quakes do trigger local aftershocks, but researchers found no sign of setting off moderate-sized events beyond about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) away. That won't surprise most experts, said lead study author Tom Parsons. But it's diffe...
S. Korea to discuss countermeasures for Japan's textbook claims to Dokdo

PoliticsMar 28, 2011

South Korea plans to hold an inter-agency meeting Monday to discuss responses in case Japan renews its territorial claims to the South's easternmost islets of Dokdo in a series of new middle school textbooks, official said. The meeting of officials from the foreign ministry, the Prime Minister's Office and the education ministry will discuss bolstering Seoul's territorial control of the rocky is...
Modern men attracted to powerful, independent women

CultureMar 28, 2011

Economic downturn is changing the ideal types of men and women. Men and women both prefer powerful partners whom they can depend on, the Daily Mail reported, citing a survey by Electronics Arts, a game company. Megan Fox (AP) About 66 percent of modern men are attracted to high-flying females and the number goes up to 71 percent among men between 30 and 34 years old. About 35 percent of men sa...
Lee Chang-dong's 'Poetry' wins highest honor at Swiss film festival

FilmMar 28, 2011

Renowned South Korean director Lee Chang-dong's film "Poetry" was named best picture at the 25th Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland, the event's organizers said Monday. The film, Lee's fifth feature, tells the story of a conflicted elderly woman who finds happiness in writing poetry for the first time, while a harsh reality simultaneously forces her to suffer guilt and fear. Wr...
Japanese funds return to S. Korean markets

Mar 28, 2011

Japanese investors have been putting their money into the South Korean financial market even after Japan's devastating quake, data showed Monday, easing speculation that they may repatriate overseas assets to finance Japan's post-quake rehabilitation. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit the northeastern part of Japan on March 11, leaving more than 20,000 people dead or injured. ...
S. Korean teens' social skills among worst in world: report

Social affairsMar 28, 2011

South Korea's teenagers are among the worst in the world when it comes to getting along with others, a report showed Sunday, reflecting the country's educational emphasis on knowledge, not interaction. South Korean teens scored an average of 0.31 out of 1.0 for social interaction skills, ranking the country 35th out of 36 nations that took part in the survey, according to the report by the Korea...
Construction sector shrinkage steepest in over a decade

IndustryMar 28, 2011

South Korea's construction sector contracted at the sharpest rate in more than a decade in the fourth quarter of last year due mainly to a protracted property market slump, data showed Monday. The construction sector shrank 5.3 percent in the fourth quarter from three months earlier, according to the data by the Bank of Korea and Statistics Korea. The on-quarter decline is the steepest since the...
Seoul shares open a tad higher

Mar 28, 2011

South Korean stocks began marginally higher on Monday but traded in a narrow range as investors opted to take a breather following last week's climb, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) inched up 0.51 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,054.55 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Last week, the KOSPI finished up 3.68 percent from a week earlier. Techs were bullish wi...
Japan: Huge radiation spike at nuke was a mistake

World NewsMar 27, 2011

TOKYO – Emergency workers struggling to pump contaminated water from Japan's stricken nuclear complex fled from one of the troubled reactors Sunday after reporting a huge increase in radioactivity — a spike that officials later apologetically said was inaccurate. The apology came after employees fled the complex's Unit 2 reactor when a reading showed radiation levels had reached 10 million times...
Syrian government: 12 killed in seaside city

World NewsMar 27, 2011

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) - The Syrian government says 12 people were killed in violence rocking a seaside Mediterranean city. Syria's state-run news agency said unknown armed elements on Saturday attacked neighborhoods in Latakia, shooting from rooftops and terrorizing people. Ten people, including security forces, residents as well as two members of the shadowy ``armed elements'' died in the viole...