The Korea Herald

1,119 badly-rated teachers to undergo retraining

Social affairsFeb 19, 2012

More than a thousand teachers who scored poorly in evaluations last year will undergo teacher training and development programs starting next month, the Education Ministry said Sunday. Out of 343,725 teachers in primary and secondary schools, as well as special education schools nationwide, 1,119 teachers have been selected for the training session. Until August, 64 teachers evaluated as “unsat...
U.S. dismisses N.K.’s call for troop pullout

DefenseFeb 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The United States made clear Friday that North Korea’s demand for the pullout of American troops on the Korean Peninsula is not negotiable. “I think you know that we have said, for quite some time, that we are not prepared to accept preconditions for the resumption of talks,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing. “And that precondition...
Police to blacklist unruly students

Social affairsFeb 19, 2012

The police tackling school gangs across the country are blacklisting students engaged in school violence or likely to commit violent acts, causing concerns about what areas in which the police should be active. According to the Korean National Police Agency, they expanded the category of perpetrators subject to their investigation from school gangs to unruly students involved in or likely to be ...
U.S. prosecutor shares jury system know-how

Social affairsFeb 19, 2012

Steven Kim picked by Korean government to teach his experience of jury system The Korean justice system has come under fire after a slew of reports and several box office hits have highlighted corruption among judges and prosecutors. So it comes as no surprise that government officials here would be interested in hearing about other judicial systems. The government has invited a leading Korean...
Fire victims remembered by Honduras

Foreign affairsFeb 19, 2012

A book of condolences will be opened at the Honduran Embassy for people to pay respects to the hundreds of people killed in a prison fire in the country. The blaze at the overcrowded Comayagua Prison Farm on Feb. 14 resulted in the loss of 377 lives. The Embassy of the Republic of Honduras said with “profound sorrow” that the book of condolences will be opened at the chancellery of the embassy ...
‘Odissi’ of Indian dance in Korea

Foreign affairsFeb 19, 2012

Indian classical dance performances have wowed Korean audiences in Seoul and Busan. Award-winning performer Kavita Dwibedi executed the classical Indian Odissi dance recitals at Seoul’s Baekam Art Hall and Busan’s Cinema Center Sky Hall last week. Dwibedi, who is head of the Odissi Academy in New Delhi was brought up in a family of traditional arts practitioners and has performed all over the w...
Sponsors sought for St. Paddy’s Day

Foreign affairsFeb 19, 2012

The Irish Association in Korea is seeking sponsors for its annual St. Patrick’s Day event. The association hopes to celebrate Ireland’s national day with an event in Seoul on March 17. But the group is seeking further funding to hire the equipment and staff necessary for the celebration that last year attracted about 10,000 visitors. The event costs between 10-20 million won to put on once cost...
PEN Korea forum to focus on North Korean writers

Foreign affairsFeb 19, 2012

International authors will discuss setting up a group for North Korean writers in exile at a meeting in Gyeongju this year. Vice president of the Czech PEN Club Marketa Hejkalova said that issues of human rights and freedom of expression in North Korea would be discussed at the PEN International world congress this September. The acclaimed novelist came to Korea as part of a delegation of write...
U.S. envoy talks about FTA, security ahead of 100th day

Foreign affairsFeb 19, 2012

The U.S. ambassador to Korea has stated that the trade pact between the two countries is “vitally important” to both economies amid calls from the Korean opposition party to repeal it. The Democratic Unity Party is calling for the free trade agreement to be revised, saying the deal contains elements that could damage the Korean economy. But ambassador Sung Kim called the KORUS FTA a milestone i...
Targeting diplomats to help make a multicultural Korea

Foreign affairsFeb 19, 2012

The president of an organization for foreigners’ welfare has called on diplomats and other foreigners here to speak up on their bugbears about Korea. Shin Kwang-yul organizes diplomatic conferences on migrants’ welfare, publishes a newspaper promoting multicultural society and runs a migrant workers’ welfare center. But he said foreigners must be honest about the elements of Korean life they di...
S. Korea to hold live-fire drills despite N. Korea's harsh

DefenseFeb 19, 2012

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military said Sunday it will hold "routine" live-fire drills this week near the Yellow Sea border islands with North Korea, despite the North's warning of "merciless" retaliation if provoked. The South's military notified North Korea of the planned drills near the five border islands, set for Monday, through its representatives at the truce village of Pan...
NKorea threatens to attack SKorea over drills

North KoreaFeb 19, 2012

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) _ North Korea has threatened to attack South Korea accusing it of planning live-fire drills near their disputed sea border. The North's military said in a statement Sunday that South Korea planned artillery drills from five front-line islands off the western coast on Monday. It says the drills are ``reckless military provocation'' and the North will launch ``merciless'' ...
Study: Goats can develop 'accents'

ScienceFeb 19, 2012

Goats, like people, can develop accents based on their surroundings, a British university study indicates. Until now, experts assumed most species' "voices" were dictated exclusively by genetics and not their surroundings. Exceptions were thought to be limited to humans, elephants, dolphins whales and bats. A team from Queen Mary, University of London, recorded the bleats of four groups of pygm...
Ruling party considers nominating heroic ship captain for April elections

PoliticsFeb 19, 2012

The ruling Saenuri Party is considering nominating the heroic captain of a South Korean freighter hijacked by Somali pirates and rescued in a 2011 operation as one of its proportional representative candidates in April's general elections, party officials said on Sunday. Seok Hae-kyun, who led the crew aboard the 11,500-ton Samho Jewelry, was shot several times by Somali pirates during the rescu...
Prosecutors question Assembly speaker over money-for-vote scandal

PoliticsFeb 19, 2012

Prosecutors on Sunday visited the official residence of National Assembly Speaker Park Hee-tae for questioning over his suspected bribery of fellow lawmakers before winning the ruling party's top position in 2008. The rare questioning comes almost seven weeks after prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Park bribed fellow lawmakers and other party members in a bid to muster ...