The Korea Herald

Tickets ready for Norway Day in Busan

Oct 16, 2011

The date for Norway Day, the annual social event for the Norwegian business community organized by the embassy, has been announced. It will be held on Oct. 28 at the Grand Ball Room at Paradise Hotel in Busan. This year, the event will be hosted during Kormarin when the Norwegian business presence and interests are at their strongest. The embassy hopes that by hosting the event, they will crea...
Surprise responses from Photo Marathon

Oct 16, 2011

The winners of the first Danish Embassy Photo Marathon were announced recently. “The Grundfos Photo Marathon 2011 turned out to be a big success,” said Danish Ambassador Peter Lysholt Hansen. Almost 20,000 people showed interest in the event online and close to 100 people took the challenge. For 24 hours the participants were busy being creative and finding interesting angles on the five given...
British lord campaigns against capital punishment

Oct 16, 2011

Capital punishment causes heated discussions no matter the side of the debate. In England and all but one European country, the death sentence has been abolished. “To take life in the name of the state seems to me wrong, it degrades the state, it doesn’t lead to respect for human rights, and indeed most of the countries that use the death penalty on a large scale are dictatorships,” said Lord A...
Ireland looks to Asia for growth

Oct 16, 2011

The message from Ireland is that its economy is back to growth. But for that to continue Ireland is looking toward Asia due to the potential for growing its exports and attracting investments. Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Eamon Gilmore was in Seoul last week to address the 5th annual Asia Pacific Ireland Business Forum while also meeting with Korean ...
‘Science is future of Korea-Belarus ties’

Oct 16, 2011

Newly arrived envoy interested in forging nuclear partnership with Korea Belarus surprised those fighting against nuclear power last week when it announced that two reactors would be built by the turn of the decade. The $9 billion deal came as somewhat of a shock after an earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima plant in Japan in March. Since then, Germany has placed a moratorium on plans t...
Former British envoy embarks on group tour to N. Korea

Oct 15, 2011

SEOUL, Oct 15 (Yonhap) -- A former British envoy to Pyongyang and a group of people interested in North Korea gathered in Beijing on Saturday to embark on a 12-day journey to one of the most reclusive countries in the world rarely seen by foreigners, a U.S. report said Saturday. Political Tours, a British tour agency, launched the trip that runs through Oct. 26 for 15 people. The group will be g...
Sung Kim confirmed as U.S. envoy to Korea

Oct 14, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed Sung Kim, a career diplomat, as the new U.S. ambassador to South Korea, more than four months after his nomination, officials here said. The unanimous approval came as South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak is on a state visit here. The U.S. Congress passed a bilateral free trade pact on Wednesday. “The Senate unanimously approved ...
FTA approval symbolizes new era in alliance

Oct 13, 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The Barack Obama administration and Congress have demonstrated their commitment to a stronger alliance with South Korea, not just militarily but also economically, by completing the long-overdue process of endorsing a free trade agreement in time for President Lee Myung-bak’s state visit here, officials and experts said Wednesday. “Today’s historic vote by the U.S. Hou...
Lee visits Pentagon, reaffirms alliance

Oct 13, 2011

USFK commander warns against underestimation of N.K. military WASHINGTON D.C. ― President Lee Myung-bak visited the U.S. Pentagon on Wednesday on an unprecedented invitation underscoring Washington’s commitment to the bilateral security alliance. As the first Korean president to visit the Pentagon, Lee was briefed by the U.S. military leadership on the security conditions surrounding the Korean...
S. Korea raises issue of Japan’s wartime sex crimes at U.N.

Oct 12, 2011

South Korea demanded that Japan take “legal responsibility” for the aging Korean women forced into sexual slavery to serve Japan’s World War II soldiers, formally raising the issue at a U.N. meeting for the first time in 14 years, a foreign ministry official said Wednesday. “These systematic rapes and sexual slavery constitute war crimes and also, under defined circumstances, crimes against huma...
Korean diplomat in Germany probed for drunk driving

Oct 11, 2011

A senior South Korean diplomat in Germany has been investigated by local police on allegations of drunk driving, a foreign ministry official in Seoul said Tuesday. The diplomat rammed his vehicle into a cement wall near a restaurant last Friday in downtown Berlin and crashed into four parked cars, after having dinner at the restaurant, the ministry official said, adding no one was hurt, includin...
New Canadian ambassador arrives

Oct 9, 2011

Canadian Ambassador-Designate David Chatterson arrived in Seoul last month, eager to resume where his predecessor left off. Chatterson brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from over 30 years of representing Canadians’ interests at home and abroad. He was posted to Tokyo as First Secretary in 1984 and then as Counsellor in 1994. Between the two postings he was manager of research for the...
Free Arabic lessons offered

Oct 9, 2011

The Egyptian Embassy is offering free Arabic language lessons for beginners. The classes, conducted in English, are offered every Tuesday at 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Egyptian Embassy in Hannam-dong, Seoul. Arabic is the official language of 26 states, making it the language used in the third most countries after English and French, according to The New York Times Almanac. These 26 countries rep...
Swedish Embassy closed for two days

Oct 9, 2011

Those applying for visas to Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway should take note that the consular section of the Swedish Embassy will be closed on Oct. 21 and Oct. 24 for IT maintenance. The Swedish Embassy will also be closed on Oct. 21 and will reopen on Oct. 24. More information is available at www.swedenabroad.se/seoul. In case of an emergency, contact the embassy’s emergency mobile numbe...
Secularizing Bangladesh brings promise for future

Oct 9, 2011

Corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that can take nations decades to bring under control. It is a phenomenon that cannot always be completely eradicated but controlled to a slight dim. Countries like South Korea, South Africa and Indonesia have taken tough action in the fight against corruption while others like Burundi, Chad and Myanmar keep humming at the same co...