The Korea Herald

Honda’s robot museum guide not yet a people person

ScienceJul 4, 2013

TOKYO (AP) ― Honda Motor Co.’s walking, talking interactive robot is running into glitches in its new job as a museum guide in Tokyo. The bubble-headed Asimo machine had problems telling the difference between people raising their hands to ask questions and those aiming their smartphones to take photos at the Miraikan science museum. It froze mid-action and repeated a programmed remark, “Who wa...
Higgs boson evidence mounts 1 year after particle’s discovery

ScienceJul 4, 2013

PARIS (AFP) ― A year since the discovery of a subatomic particle set the science world aflutter, evidence is mounting it may be the elusive Higgs boson even as researchers warn the suspense is far from over. “We have established without a doubt that we have a new particle, and that it is a boson. What remains to be done is confirm that it is a Higgs,” said physicist Pauline Gagnon, a member of t...
Lawmaker to invest in film on Yeonpyeongdo skirmish

PoliticsJul 4, 2013

Rep. Chung Mong-joon of the Saenuri Party said that he will personally invest 100 million won ($87,400) in a film production about a tragic inter-Korean naval skirmish that killed six seamen 11 years ago. “I always felt indebted to the naval soldiers killed a day before the final match of (Korea-Japan) World Cup while safeguarding (Korean) territorial waters during the second Yeonpyeong Battle,”...
Seoul offers low-level talks on normalization of industrial park

NationalJul 4, 2013

South Korea on Thursday proposed working-level talks with North Korea on the normalization of the suspended inter-Korean industrial complex in the communist country. The Gaeseong Industrial Complex has been shut down since early April, when the North pulled all its workers from South Korean companies there amid heightened tensions on the peninsula. "The government wants talks to be held at the ...
US concern for American held in North Korea

North KoreaJul 4, 2013

The United States on Wednesday said it was gravely concerned about the health of a Korean-American sentenced to hard labor in North Korea who pleaded for help in a rare television interview. And the State Department renewed appeals to Pyongyang to grant Kenneth Bae amnesty and free him immediately. In an exclusive interview, Bae appealed to the United States to secure his early release, saying ...
N. Korea says it will permit S. Korean entrepreneurs to visit Gaeseong complex

North KoreaJul 3, 2013

North Korea said Wednesday it will allow South Korean businessmen to visit their plants in a suspended joint industrial complex in its territory, a move that may help open dialogue between the two divided Korean states. The joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong remains closed since early April when North Korea withdrew all of its 53,000 workers hired by 123 South Korean ...
New state English test shows glitch, faces criticism

NationalJul 3, 2013

Critics say NEAT may drive more students to private education
Summit transcript disclosure set to ignite more controversy

PoliticsJul 3, 2013

After weeks of bickering, rival parties have agreed to view and disclose the original version of the 2007 inter-Korean summit transcript. But the deal marks only the start of more partisan fighting, surrounding the legality of the unprecedented process and differing interpretations of the legacy of former liberal leader Roh Moo-hyun. Procedural steps began Wednesday as the National Assembly del...
[Newsmaker] Hangeul advocates oppose Hanja classes

Social affairsJul 3, 2013

The government’s plan to enhance Hanja, or Chinese character, classes sparked backlash from civic groups and advocates for Hangeul, or the Korean writing system, who claim it would hamper efforts to defend the purity of the Korean language and further burden students. They launched a sit-in protest in front of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education in Jongno demanding the authority cancel the pl...
Korea to get tougher on admission scams at foreign schools

Social affairsJul 3, 2013

The government will toughen punishment on admission fraud by foreigner-only schools in the country in an effort to uproot the nagging problem, the education ministry said Wednesday. Under the plan, foreigner-only schools caught for admission fraud more than three times can be forcibly shut down, with more information about their irregularities to be available online. The move comes after a seri...
N.K. escapees to get more assistance

North KoreaJul 3, 2013

South Korea will extend job protection and other assistance programs for North Korean escapees who are trying to carve out a new life for themselves in the country, the government said Wednesday. The Ministry of Unification said revisions to related laws passed by parliament can better protect and help North Korean escapees living in the South. Most of the 25,000 former North Korean citizens ar...
Defense chiefs of Korea, Australia discuss security cooperation

DefenseJul 3, 2013

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Australia discussed bilateral cooperation in securing peace on the peninsula and tackling other regional and global security challenges during their talks in Seoul on Wednesday. Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Australian counterpart Stephen Smith exchanged their views on North Korea’s nuclear threat and ways to bolster defense collaboration in various ...
N. Korea unveils life of detained Korean-American man

North KoreaJul 3, 2013

A Korean-American man, detained in North Korea on sedition charges, hopes that he would be set free and allowed to go home after amnesty is granted, a pro-North Korean newspaper in Tokyo said Wednesday. Kenneth Bae, whose Korean name is Bae Joon-ho, was arrested in November after entering North Korea with a group of tourists. Some identified him as a tour operator, while others said he worked as...
Hunters and explorers: How an MBA can transform your career

NationalJul 3, 2013

There is a perception among many that an MBA is a degree for finance workers and business consultants looking to move up the corporate ladder. It’s an outdated view ― but one that still pervades. True, look at any top MBA program globally and you will find your fair share of bankers and consultants ― and with good reason; the MBA, as ever, is a sound choice for professionals who want to develop ...
14% of students addicted to smartphones: poll

EducationJul 3, 2013

Fourteen percent of South Korean primary and secondary school students are addicted to smartphones, more than twice their Internet addiction rate, a poll showed Wednesday. According to the survey conducted by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, 240,000 or 14 percent of the 1.7 million fourth-grade elementary school students and first-grade students of both middle and high schools polled ...