The World Wide Fund for Nature, an international nongovernmental organization dedicated to conservation activities, is set to hold its annual Earth Hour event in Seoul on Saturday evening to spread awareness of global warming.Held collectively in major cities around the globe, Earth Hour is a worldwide event during which participants turn off the lights for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. The event in Seoul is to be held at Cheonggye Plaza starting at 5 p.m. Saturday under the theme “Candle Night,

Since successfully completing several joint infrastructure construction projects in Turkey -- including the Eurasian Tunnel, an underground tunnel bridging Europe and Asia beneath the Bosporus Strait, and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, one that carries rail and motor vehicles above the strait -- Turkish and Korean companies have gone beyond Turkey to win bids in third markets. One of them is a consortium consisting of Korea Highway Corp., SK Engineering and Construction and Turkish companies Alarko

When South Korean National Assembly Speaker Chung Se-kyun arrived at the Koryo Theater in Almaty, Kazakhstan on March 11, he was met by a warm reception from ethnic Koreans in Central Asia, known as “Koryo saram,” or “Koryoin.” “It still pains me to think about the plight of our ancestors, who were jettisoned like baggage here in Kazakhstan after they were forcibly transported on cargo trains some 80 years ago,” the politician said, referring to their mass relocation from Russia’s Far East in 19

The Bulgarian Embassy held a photo exhibition last week that highlighted the country’s UNESCO treasures. The event, which ran from Monday to Sunday at Gangnam Tourist Information Center, featured 17 large-scale photographs by Bulgarian photographer Alexander Nishkov, showing Bulgaria’s seven historical sites and two natural heritage sites on the list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. “The strategic position of Bulgaria as a land at a crossroads between Euro

Eoghan Murphy, Irish minister for housing, planning and local government, visited Korea last week to promote Ireland as an attractive investment destination and important trade partner, coinciding with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.“My government is committed to building a stronger and more vibrant relationship with the Asian region and Korea is a key partner for us,” he said at a reception in Seoul on March 13, in front of some 200 guests.“Our trade in both directions is growing rapidly with t

Costa Rica has been ranked the happiest country in Latin America, according to the United Nations’ Happiness Report 2018. The Central American nation was 13th out of 156 countries surveyed in the report, which placed Finland at the top. The report looked at factors associated with well-being: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. “Amongst the reasons why Costa Rica consistently ranks high in happiness is our historic decision to abolish the army in 1949,

For Zambian Ambassador to Korea Wylbur Simuusa, rectifying the mismatch between Zambia’s solid position in Africa and its obscure presence in Korea is one of his most urgent tasks. Zambia is known in Africa as a nation of peace and stability, an honest broker that has mediated numerous peace agreements and helped neighboring countries gain independence, he told The Korea Herald. It has also sheltered countless freedom fighters and refugees from bordering countries, while having no major internal

The Bulgarian Embassy celebrated last week the presidency of the Council of the European Union this year, as well as its 140th anniversary of national independence from the Ottoman Empire on March 3, 1878.“In March 2018, exactly 140 years after the restoration of our statehood, the Republic of Bulgaria is holding the presidency of the Council of the EU until June 30, the first time since our EU accession in 2007,” said Bulgarian Ambassador Petar Andonov in a speech at a reception in Seoul on Mar

Georgia expresses its deep sorrow over the death of its citizen Archil Tatunashvili in the region of Tskhinvali, also known as South Ossetia, who was killed while under detention by occupying Russian forces on Feb. 22, said the Georgian Embassy in Seoul. The Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also condemned those responsible for his death and urged Russia to return his body for a medical examination and burial, it added. Two more Georgian citizens had previously been detained in the region, on

Amid growing speculations about North Korea’s possible denuclearization, a report published by a North Korean academic journal shows North Korea advancing its argument that it has created propitious conditions for economic development on the back of nuclear statehood.“Our party’s ‘Byeongjin Line’ policy is the most righteous path for our nation. It enables us to guard our revolutionary core interests and realize radiantly the achievements of architecting a powerful socialist nation,” read a pape

British Ambassador Charles Hay wrapped up his three-year tenure in Korea, having helped enhance all-encompassing bilateral relations from trade and investment to defense, culture and education.Hay, a former director of consular services in London in charge of crisis response prior to his posting here, began his ambassadorship in February 2015. He left Korea last week. In a media interview at the embassy on Wednesday, the career diplomat said he had a “remarkable” three years in the country, witn

The Mexican Embassy in Korea has organized an art exhibition featuring iconic representations of Mexican landscapes and lives at the Mun Gallery of Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.The event “Geographies, Contemporary Mexican Art in Korea” runs through next Tuesday free of charge. It has been arranged in collaboration with the Seoul Design Foundation.From the vigorous hues of deserts to vivacious tapestries of urban life, and from the virginal marine life to visionary imagination of topographies

Kazakhstan, the world’s largest landlocked country, has primarily relied on its coal, oil and natural gas for energy, but is now moving toward renewables as global trends change. With the world shifting away from polluting energy sources to cleaner forms, Kazakhstan is keen on making the transition and eventually becoming the region’s pacesetter in the green economy, according to its top diplomat in charge of green technology investments. The blueprint for Kazakhstan’s plan to become a greener e

After more than two weeks of cutthroat competition and chivalrous camaraderie among the world’s top athletes, the PyeongChang Winter Games on South Korea’s wintry slopes and ice came to a genteel close Sunday evening. A general view of the closing ceremony for the 2018 PyeongChang Games at PyeongChang Stadium in Gangwon Province, Sunday (Yonhap)The quadrennial event from Feb. 9-25 in PyeongChang and subhost cities Gangneung and Jeongseon in Gangwon Province attracted nearly 3,000 athletes from 9

GANGNEUNG, Gangwon Province -- South Korea had golden expectations going into Thursday evening’s short track speedskating events, but fell short despite earning two medals. The host country won silver and bronze medals in the men’s 500-meter Olympic final in Gangneung, Gangwon Province. China’s Wu Dajing, who had already set a world record in the heats the same evening, broke it again with a 39.584-second time to take gold, China’s first short track medal in this Olympics and its first gold of t

After South Korea’s male speed skating team captured its second consecutive Olympic medal in the team pursuit discipline, the trio said the bond between teammates is the secret to their success.“I believe South Korea has the best teamwork in the world,” Kim Min-seok, a two-time medalist in the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, said after winning silver in the men’s pursuit on Wednesday. “(If we are to learn from Norway), I think it is important to improve our individual capabilities.”South Korea coun

The South Korean women’s curling team topped the round robin preliminaries with an 11-2 win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia at the PyeongChang Winter Games on Wednesday morning. The home team, now having seven wins and one loss in the preliminaries, had already made it to the final four as of Tuesday. It is the first time that South Korea has advanced to the semifinals in curling at the Winter Games.The team will wrap up its round robin session against Denmark later on Wednesday.The men’s

South Korea won the gold medal in the women’s 3,000 meters short track speedskating relay finals on Tuesday. Shim Suk-hee, Choi Min-jeong, Kim A-lang and Kim Ye-jin competed in the women’s 3,000 finals against the Chinese, Italian and Canadian teams at Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung, one of two cities in Gangwon Province hosting the Winter Games. (Yonhap)Choi, already a gold medalist in the women’s 1,500 meters on Saturday, finished the race in 4:07.361, closely trailed by China’s Qu Chunyu. T

South Korea has secured its place in the final four of women’s curling at the PyeongChang Winter Games, beating the United States 9-6 on Tuesday. The team of four Kims -- Kim Yeong-mi, Kim Seon-yeong, Kim Kyeong-ae and Kim Eun-jung -- will next play in the semifinals Friday, against a yet to be determined opponent. The team has won six matches and lost one, to Japan, in the round-robin preliminaries.Tuesday’s win at the Gangneung Curling Centre marks the first time South Korea has made the semif

The Canadian figure skating pair of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir conjured up a smoldering finish to secure a last-minute victory in the ice dance at the PyeongChang Winter Games on Tuesday.The Vancouver 2010 ice dance champions looked destined for silver after French rivals Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron came out strong, breaking their own free dance and combined score mark at 205.28. However, skating last to the music of “Moulin Rouge,” Virtue and Moir pulled out the dance of their li