Russian and South Korean artists shared a stage in Seoul on Friday, keeping cultural exchanges alive at a time when relations between the two countries face political and security challenges. The Russia-Korea Festival of Culture and Arts, held Friday at the National Gugak Center, presented performances and exhibitions by artists from both countries. The event took place amid a diplomatic landscape that has changed considerably since the war in Ukraine began in February 2022. South Korea joined i

German beer, oompah bands and traditional food shared the table with chimaek as Korea's first Munich-authorized Oktoberfest drew visitors to western Seoul. Oktoberfest Seoul 2026 ran through Sunday at Oil Tank Culture Park in Mapo-gu, with a ticketed Big Tent and a free outdoor beer garden hosting food, beer and live performances. Visitors sampled German beer with schweinshaxe, sausages, schnitzel and pretzels, while chimaek — fried chicken and beer — provided familiar Korean flavors. “It was gr

The deep notes of the gargy tuyduk and the plucked strings of the dutar sounded through a Seoul concert hall at the Days of Turkmen Culture event hosted by the Embassy of Turkmenistan at Prugio Art Hall in central Seoul on Thursday, a day after the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit. “Culture gives relations between countries a human dimension,” Turkmen Ambassador to Korea Begench Durdyyev said, describing cultural exchange as a way to deepen mutual understanding between the two countries. He s

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province — Cultural outreach with Southeast Asia in South Korea expanded outside its traditional centers in Seoul and Jeju Island on Thursday with the opening of a permanent venue in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The ASEAN-Korea Center opened the Jeonju ASEAN Hall at the Korea Traditional Culture Center, the first such venue in the southwestern region and its third nationwide. The opening ceremony was attended by more than 20 Southeast Asian diplomats who joined local resid

South Korea's customs agency said Thursday it has agreed with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan to expand cooperation on customs affairs and the protection of intellectual property rights. The Korea Customs Service said it signed separate memorandums of understanding with the three countries earlier this week as part of efforts to eradicate trade in counterfeit Korean products. "The MOUs are intended to proactively block the distribution of counterfeit products seeking to take advantage of

The US Embassy in South Korea began running an advertisement promoting the South Korea-US alliance on the country's high-speed rail network Thursday as part of a campaign marking the 250th anniversary of US independence, officials said. The 30-second video will run for one month on KTX trains, featuring the tagline "Two Souls, One Story" and highlighting the 250th anniversary of US independence, according to the officials. The video uses a series of parallel images to highlight the shared histor

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point in its first hike since July 2023, while signaling the possibility of another increase later this year amid persistent inflation and high oil prices. During the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Fed decided to increase the rate to the 3.75–4.00 percent range in a 12-0 vote, despite US President Donald Trump's repeated calls for the central bank to lower borrowing costs to boost t

Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov's first state visit to South Korea expanded diplomatic and economic ties from cooperation in energy and plant construction to include shipbuilding, transportation, logistics and water infrastructure. The Turkmen president attended the Korea-Turkmenistan Business Forum at Lotte Hotel Seoul on Tuesday alongside South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and about 180 government and business representatives from the two countries. The two sides signed 14 memo

Uzbekistan has opened a bonded warehouse in Incheon, giving its exporters a logistics base for storing and distributing goods in South Korea, the Uzbek embassy in Seoul said Monday. The facility began operations Saturday, with Uzbekistan's Deputy Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Shokhrukh Gulyamov attending the opening, according to a statement shared with The Korea Herald. Uzbek manufacturers and exporters will be able to store goods at the warehouse before supplying them to Korean bu

South Korea and Malaysia should seek to elevate ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership as the two countries expand defense cooperation and move toward signing a free trade agreement, Malaysian Ambassador to Korea Mohd Zamruni Khalid said Monday. “Perhaps the time is right for us to consider taking our bilateral relationship a step further and elevating it to a comprehensive strategic partnership,” Khalid said at National Day celebrations in Seoul. The two countries established a strategic

President Lee Jae Myung was set to hold a series of bilateral summits with the leaders of Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan on Tuesday, with cooperation in energy and critical minerals high on the agenda, his office said. The back-to-back meetings will be held on the occasion of the inaugural South Korea-Central Asia Summit that will also bring together the heads of state of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday. Lee held a bilateral summit with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on Monda

When a diplomatic dialogue is elevated from the level of foreign ministers to that of heads of state, it is rarely a matter of protocol alone. Such decisions are typically made when existing mechanisms of cooperation no longer match the scale of emerging challenges. That is precisely why the upcoming inaugural South Korea-Central Asia Summit marks an important milestone in relations between the two sides. The state visit of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to Seoul will

YEONGWOL, Gangwon Province — At the foot of a mountain range in Gangwon Province, beside a stream running past the Yeongwol Africa Art Museum near Gossi Cave, Ghanaian rhythms mixed with the strains of “Arirang” on Saturday. Koreans and Ghanaians dressed in colorful fugu, Ghana's traditional garment also known as batakari, and performed traditional Ghanaian music together. Local families watched alongside African residents, diplomats and visitors from Seoul as they wove Korean words and melodies

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has called for a “joint leap in development” with South Korea through deeper cooperation in advanced technology, investment and human capital ahead of this week's inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul. Uzbekistan hopes the first Korea-Central Asia Summit on Wednesday will deliver “breakthrough agreements” on investment, Mirziyoyev said in a written interview with The Korea Herald. At the six way summit, Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmeni

South Korea and Uzbekistan are expanding ties beyond their capitals, bringing regional governments and businesses into cooperation traditionally driven by national governments and major companies. More than 50 officials and regional leaders from the two countries gathered in Seoul on Friday for the first Uzbekistan-Korea Interregional Cooperation Forum, where Seoul pledged policy-financing support and both sides outlined areas for regional investment and cooperation. Officials said the initiativ