Musical couple rings unchained melodies from yesterday

Before the advent of K-pop, the Kim Sisters rocked America’s postwar music scene with their colorful tunes, zestful tones and exotic eyes. The trio starred on the Ed Sullivan Show more than 22 times with the likes of Elvis Presley, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Poster children of Korea’s postwar pop, they were the first Asian girl group to debut in Las Vegas and introduce the unknown country’s charming voices to American audiences throughout the 1960s and ‘70s.The group comprised of Kim So

Jan. 30, 2017

US entry of NK refugees put on hold by Trump's executive order: report

US President Donald Trump's executive order barring refugees from entering the country also extends to North Koreans fleeing from one of the most repressive regimes in the world, a US media agency said Sunday.The Voice of America said North Korean refugees are not allowed to enter the United States at least for four months as the executive order places a 120-day moratorium on the US Refugee Admissions Program.Under the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act, North Korean escapees can attain refugee

Jan. 29, 2017

Literature translation bridges ancient Georgia, modern Korea

The Georgian Embassy in Seoul honored a scholar last week for translating a literary masterpiece and smoothing cultural exchanges between Georgia and Korea. Georgian Ambassador to Korea Nikoloz Apkhazava bestowed Thursday the Presidential Order of Honor to Cho Ju-kwan, a professor of Russian language and literature at Yonsei University. Cho adapted into Korean “The Knight in the Tiger’s Skin,” a national treasure written in the 12th century by Georgian poet Shota Rustaveli.Rustaveli was a pre-em

Jan. 23, 2017

‘Indonesia is transforming business climate with reforms’

One of the first things Indonesian Ambassador John Aristianto Prasetio did upon starting his post in Korea was streamlining the visa application process at the embassy. Prasetio also talked to his government to make it easy for Korean banks to open branches in Indonesia. “As a businessman, I like competition,” he told The Korea Herald. “These are some of the small steps I have taken as a new ambassador, but which would have big impacts down the road.” Indonesian Ambassador John Aristianto Praset

Jan. 23, 2017

ASEAN, Korea hash over tourism, smart city development

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations this year, the ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul sent a mission to Singapore and Indonesia last week to strengthen cooperation in tourism and smart city development. Under the theme of “Shaping our tourism journey together,” the event in Singapore from Jan. 16 to Friday brought together tourism professionals, ministers and bureaucrats, as well as dialogue partners from Korea, Japan, China and Russia. Since it was launched in 20

Jan. 23, 2017

Korea to remain firm against China's non-tariff barriers

South Korea said Tuesday that it will take a firm stance against China's recent hostile movements against its businesses in apparent retaliation for welcoming a US-owned missile system."We will continue to object to the Chinese measures," Vice Trade Minister Woo Tae-hee said at a task force meeting to discuss pending trade issues between South Korea and China.His comments came as Beijing is heightening non-tariff barriers against South Korea as the Seoul government decided to deploy the US-led m

Jan. 17, 2017

Ambassadors opine on the art of public diplomacy

As the realm of diplomacy increasingly engages the public at large, culture is being writ large in the vocabulary and method of foreign affairs experts around the globe.One of the major tasks of diplomats is mastering the art of public diplomacy -- employing the allures of visual art, music, literature and performing arts -- in a world increasingly interconnected culturally, according to Latvian Ambassador to Korea Peteris Vaivars. Diplomats, actors and other recipients of the 2017 Korea Image A

Jan. 16, 2017

[HERALD INTERVIEW] ‘US-China clash could reset inter-Korean ties’

With US President-elect Donald Trump amplifying his pugnacious rhetoric on China, foreign policy pundits have sounded their jitters about the fallout on the Korean Peninsula and North Korean nuclear impasse.While cooperation between the US and China has generally expanded diplomatic room for South Korea and vice versa, the coming clash of the two titans is “not necessarily a bad thing,” according to John Delury, associate professor at Yonsei University’s Graduate School of International Studies.

Jan. 16, 2017

S. Korean dies after setting himself ablaze over Japan deal

A South Korean Buddhist monk has died days after he set himself on fire to protest the country's deal with Japan on former Korean sex slaves, a Seoul hospital said Tuesday.  The monk, 64, set himself ablaze Saturday during rallies against impeached President Park Geun-hye. In his notebook found at the scene, he criticized Park's 2015 agreement to settle an impasse over Korean women forced to be sex slaves for Japanese troops during World War II in return for an apology from Japan's prime ministe

Jan. 10, 2017

[HERALD INTERVIEW] ‘Korea will be caught in crossfire of global trade’

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership will have far-reaching geostrategic implications, rather than substantially lowering trade barriers and rewriting economic rules, an influential economist has said. The RCEP is a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the six states -- Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand -- with which ASEAN has existing free trade agreements.Professor Ahn Duk-geun of Seoul

Jan. 9, 2017

ASEAN, Korea discuss cooperation in food, tourism sectors

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Korea Center in Seoul will organize workshops this week in Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines to strengthen cooperation in the food and tourism sectors. The center, established in 2009 to foster collaboration between ASEAN and Korea, will host a product development workshop for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in Vientiane, Laos, from Monday to Wednesday. The workshop is organized with the Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and aimed at en

Jan. 9, 2017

Morocco welcomes migrants through humanitarian policy

The government of Morocco has begun the second phase of a campaign aimed at welcoming illegal migrants into the country and improving their lives, according to the Moroccan Embassy in Seoul. The initiative, led by King Mohammed VI, targets receiving and integrating some 25,000 people from sub-Saharan countries under the auspices of the Moroccan National Commission.The second phase, which started on Dec. 12 last year, will unfold under the same conditions -- guaranteeing their equality -- as the

Jan. 9, 2017

Korea expresses regret over Japan's action against 'comfort women' statue

South Korea expressed "strong regret" over steps taken by Japan on Friday, including recalling its ambassador, in protest against a statue recently set up in front of its consulate office to shed light on its wartime atrocities of forcing women into sexual slavery. "We express our strong regret over the action taken by Japan with regard to the statue," the foreign ministry said in a comment issued in the name of its spokesman. "The government wants to make it clear again that both countries shou

Jan. 6, 2017