Former National Assembly Speaker Lee Man-seop and Philip Kim, a professor of physics at Columbia University, will win the Proud Korean Award from the Korean American Leadership Foundation in Los AngelesLee and Kim each will receive $10,000 in prize money with a plaque. The award ceremony will take place at the Marriott Hotel, Los Angeles on Aug. 7.  Lee Man-seop (left) and Philip KimThe L.A.-based

Two elementary schools in Seoul will likely be merged due to their declining enrollment, affected by Korea’s low birth rate.It will be the first time for Seoul-based elementary schools to be mergedThe merger between the two neighboring schools in southeastern Seoul, Daecheong and Younghee elementary school, has been discussed since 2009 as the number of Daecheong students has shrunk to half the av

Two alternative high schools for students from multicultural families will open in March to help them adjust to Korean society and find a job after high school, the Education Ministry said Tuesday. One in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province and the other in Seoul will offer three-year programs on Korean language, society, culture and technical skills. Three government agencies, the Education Minis

Park Tae-hakPark Tae-hak, senior researcher at the Agency for Defense Development, will lead a project to develop technologies needed to launch an entirely Korean-made space launch vehicleThe Ministry of Education and Science and Technology said Tuesday that it has appointed Park the project leader at the Korea Aerospace Research Institute and would soon initiate the first phase of the project. Du

(MCT)SEOUL, (Yonhap) -- South Korean demand for white wine jumped in the first half of the year as consumers sought more diversity in their preferred brands, a leading local wine retailer said Friday.Winenara Co. said 17 white wine brands were included among the top 100 best sellers at its nationwide stores in the January-June period, compared with just five a year earlier. The company sold 330,00

 

South Koreans celebrate winning the right to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. (Yonhap News)Foreign reports have described Pyeongchang’s selection Wednesday to host the 2018 Winter Olympics as a “crushing victory.” International media noted that Korea’s “dreams came true,” after a decade of trying to win the right to host the games, and remarked on the large portion of votes the country received from

(Yonhap News)DURBAN, South Africa, (Yonhap) -- On the eve of a crucial vote to select the host city for the 2018 Winter Olympics, President Lee Myung-bak said Tuesday that South Korea should put forth every possible effort until the last moment to bring the Games to the alpine city of PyeongChang."We have to do our best when there is an opportunity," Lee told aides in a meeting in this South Afric

Illegal immigrants from Africa are caught on Isla Fuerteventura, Spain, December 18, 2003. (MCT)KHARTOUM, Sudan, (AFP) - Nearly 200 people drowned on Tuesday when a boat carrying illegal migrants from Sudan to Saudi Arabia caught fire after four hours at sea, Sudanese officials said."One hundred and ninety seven people from neighboring countries drowned in the Red Sea, inside Sudanese territorial

(Yonhap News)SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea ranked first among advanced countries last year in terms of wireless high-speed Internet penetration, according to data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday.South Korea was the leading country for wireless broadband subscriptions last year among the 34 OECD countries, with 89.8 per 100 people. The number of subscr

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- A new iPhone application now offers a rare glimpse into North Korea, one of the most isolated countries in the world.The free application, Fotopedia North Korea, which launched in late June, displays more than 1,140 photos that photographer Eric Lafforgue took across North Korea on his four visits between 2008 and 2010.The photos show soldiers, children, the massive gymnastics ex

Hong Joon-pyo waves after he was elected new GNP leader Monday. (Yonhap News)In the ruling Grand National Party’s national convention on Monday, former Supreme Council member Rep. Hong Joon-pyo was elected as the new chairperson to lead the party up to next year’s general and presidential elections.The fourth-term lawmaker was ranked atop not only in the delegate vote held in the Olympic Gymnastic

Casey Anthony reacts as the state presents its closing arguments in her murder trial in Orlando, Fla., Sunday, July 3, 2011. Anthony has plead not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her daughter, Caylee, and could face the death penalty if convicted of that charge. (AP-Yonhap News)ORLANDO, Florida (AP) _ Casey Anthony briefly wept Sunday as prosecutors told jurors during closing argumen

Yingluck Shinawatra, leader of the opposition Pheu Thai party, greets her supporters at her party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, on Sunday, July 3, 2011. (Bloomberg)BANGKOK (AP) _ The sister of Thailand's fugitive former prime minister led his loyalists to a landslide election victory Sunday, a stunning rout of the military-backed government that last year crushed protests by his supporters wi

GAPYEONG, South Korea (Yonhap) -- Police said Sunday that they have rescued one person from a group of five who jumped together into the Bukhan (North Han) River, east of Seoul, in an apparent group suicide attempt earlier in the day.The rescued person, identified only by her family name Chang, told police that she and the four others jumped from the Shin Cheong Pyeong Grand Bridge into the Bukhan

William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge participate in Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday July 1, 2011. (AP-Yonhap News)OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) _ Prince William and Kate have started the third day of their Canadian tour with a tree-planting ceremony at Government House that has become a royal family tradition.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge each wielded a sho

 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, (AFP) - A treasure trove of gold and silver jewelry, coins and precious stones said to be worth billions of dollars has been found in a Hindu temple in southern India, officials said on Saturday.The valuables have an estimated preliminary worth of over 500 billion rupees ($11.2 billion), said Kerala Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar, catapulting the temple into the league of India'

(MCT)SYDNEY, (AFP) - Australian officials were on Saturday working to isolate potential victims after uncovering two more cases of the deadly horse-borne Hendra virus, which has erupted in a second state.Spread to humans from horses, Hendra can lead to fatal respiratory illness and has killed four of the seven people who have contracted it in Australia since it was first documented in 1994.A fresh

SEOUL, (Yonhap) -- South Korea's stock market is expected to continue its upward movement next week as worries over the Greek debt crisis were eased and investors' outlooks for major economies could improve, analysts said Saturday.The country's key stock index, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), gained 1.67 percent, or 34.93 points, to close at 2,125.74 on Friday. The bourse got off to

(Yonhap News)SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Subway and bus fares in Seoul and its adjacent cities will likely jump by 10 percent in the second half of the year, adding to the already heavy financial burden on households under inflationary pressure.The Ministry of Public Administration and Security announced a guideline for local governments' management of public service fares on Thursday, allowing them to marg