A few days ago, when a child of a newly arrived Korean diplomat joined his school in Beirut, the first question he got from his Lebanese classmates was whether he was able to sing and dance to the popular Korean song “Gangnam Style.”Today we live in an interconnected world. People-to-people connectivity that governments have championed for decades is being achieved in the cultural arena among younger generations, undeterred by borders and physical distances. In the past, when it came to promotin

A newly forged cultural agreement will reinforce relations between the two countriesThe explanation presented by the Japanese government on the annexation of Dokdo is oversimplified. Nakai Yozaburo, a resident of Shimane Prefecture in Japan, wished to obtain a exclusive permit to hunt sea lions on Dokdo, according to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1904, he filed a petition with the Japanese government and the islets were subsequently “incorporated” into Japanese territory on

South Korea is poised to crank up pressure on Japan over wartime sex slavery and other historical issues at a U.N. session on Wednesday as neighboring countries are increasingly concerned about Tokyo’s rapid swing to the right. Seoul officials plan to urge once again a sincere apology and compensation for the victims during a session of the Third Committee, which covers social, women and human rights issues. Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan raised the issue of the wartime abuses against women at t

A local memorial association said Tuesday that it has filed a defamation suit against a Japanese activist accused of setting up a provocative wooden stake in Japan last month to lay claim to Dokdo.Nobuyuki Suzuki, a member of an ultra-right Japanese party, allegedly put the wooden post with a phrase claiming Japan’s sovereignty over South Korea’s Dokdo islets next to a monument commemorating Yun Bong-gil, a Korean independence fighter, located in Kanazawa of Ishikawa Prefecture on Sept. 22.He th

The main opposition Democratic United Party on Tuesday announced two candidates to lead a special probe to determine if any laws were broken in the purchase of land for President Lee Myung-bak’s retirement home. The party said former judge Lee Kwang-bum and civics rights lawyer Kim Hyoung-tae have been recommended to become the special prosecutor with the investigation set to start this month. President Lee has to choose one of the two candidates by Friday.“Both lawyers are fully qualified to be

The South Korean government will establish a foundation to support victims of Japan’s forced labor during that country’s colonial rule of the Korean peninsula and their bereaved families, officials of a committee handling the issue said Tuesday.The government has earmarked 1 billion won ($899,361) of budget to set up the foundation around early next year, with the budget proposal to be submitted to the National Assembly next month for approval, according to the forced laborer investigation commi

More than 100 young Korean political, business and social leaders from 22 countries launched a four-day meeting in Seoul on Tuesday to share their visions for overseas Korean communities and reinforce their cooperation. Organized by the state-run Overseas Korean Foundation and sponsored by the Foreign Ministry, the 15th Future Leaders’ Conference coincides with the Korean Day on Oct. 5. Since its founding in 1998, the annual event has provided a venue for networking between Korean entrepreneurs

An explosion at a chemical plant in Gumi in the southern part of Korea killed at least four workers and injured eight others Thursday, police said.The death toll may rise as some of the wounded are in critical condition, police said. The blast broke out at around 3:45 p.m. at the Gumi National Industrial Complex in North Gyeongsang Province when the employees of Hube Global were unloading hydrochloric acid from a tank truck, according to the police. The Seoul-based company makes chemicals and ma

Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan is expected to raise the issue of Japan’s wartime sexual enslavement Friday at the U.N. General Assembly for the first time.“The minister will refer to the importance of proper recognition of history and women’s human rights during wartime, though details are yet to be confirmed,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young told reporters Thursday.Three Asian powers are engaging in a diplomatic quarrel at the U.N. meeting in New York as Korean and Chinese diplomats ge

The Chinese Embassy owes the highest amount in parking fines among foreign missions in Korea taking advantage of diplomatic immunity, Seoul City data showed Wednesday. In the first eight months of the year, the city government issued 440 tickets worth around 19 million won ($17,000) to embassies. It has so far collected only some 6.3 million won, or about 33 percent. China topped the list with fines worth more than 5.3 million won. Trailing next is Russia with about 1.3 million won, followed by

Workers in the sex industry called Wednesday for the scrapping or revision of anti-sex trafficking laws, saying it restricts their right of sexual autonomy.South Korea has banned the sex trade since two pertinent laws went into effect in 2004, dealing a serious blow to the industry.“Part of the anti-sex trafficking laws about those who sell sex is against the Constitution,” a sex worker said in a news conference in Seoul hosted by their trade association, Hanteo. The clause limits sex workers’ r

A lawmaker from the main opposition party appeared before Busan prosecutors on Wednesday for questioning over allegations that he bribed his way into parliament.Rep. Choi Dong-ik of the Democratic United Party (DUP) is suspected of giving a total of 70 million won ($62,389) to former DUP lawmaker Jang Hyang-sook over three different occasions between March and April of this year, prosecutors said.The money was allegedly given in return for her help in securing a proportional representative ticke

The Navy said Wednesday it is hosting an international conference on submarine operations for the first time.Officials from 19 submarine-operating nations, such as the United States, China, Russia and Britain, are attending the 12th Asia-Pacific Submarine Conference that got under way Wednesday in Busan and at the Jinhae naval base on the southern coast for a three-day run, the Navy said.Japan also sent a five-member delegation to the meeting, it said.It is the first time South Korea’s Navy has

The ruling Saenuri Party is considering providing college education for free to students from the bottom 20 percent in terms of income, a party official said Wednesday.Lower college tuition has been a cornerstone of the conservative party’s election pledges ahead of both last April’s parliamentary polls and the upcoming presidential vote in December.“We are considering expanding free tuition from people living off social security benefits to those from the bottom 20 percent earnings bracket,” th

The foreign ministry plans to strengthen its public diplomacy next year to improve South Korea’s image abroad and help increase its influence among foreign audiences, an official said Wednesday. Under the plan, the ministry is seeking a budget of 5 billion won ($4.5 million) for next year, which will be used to hold government-sponsored cultural programs and K-pop events in South America, the Middle East and Africa. It is the first time that the ministry has sought a budget to promote such event

President Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday warned North Korea against any attempt to sway the December presidential election and reaffirmed his pledge to sternly respond to its provocation. Lee convened a top security meeting as North Korean fishing boats continued to violate the maritime border in the West Sea, raising concerns of a new naval clash. On Friday, South Korean patrol vessels fired warning shots at six North Korean crab boats to force them back. Another fishing boat briefly crossed the No

DALIAN, China (Yonhap News) ― Long-standing tensions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program will top the agenda of an annual security conference that brings together all key regional players committed to resolving the communist country’s nuclear drive, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.The Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue will draw government officials and civilian experts from South Korea, North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia in this eastern Chinese port city of Dalia

New satellite imagery shows North Korea has halted work at a launch pad capable of testing intercontinental missiles, possibly setting the project back by up to two years, a US website reported Tuesday.The commercial satellite images taken on August 29 also show construction postponed on crucial fuel and oxidizer buildings designed to support future tests near the new pad, the 38 North website said.“The slowdown, barring concerted North Korean efforts to make up for lost time, could result in a

One of two new tunnels at North Korea’s nuclear test site was damaged by a recent typhoon and heavy rains, but appears to have only minor damage, a Seoul government source said Wednesday.North Korea has built two new tunnels at Punggye-ri in the northeastern province of North Hamgyong, where the North conducted atomic tests in 2006 and 2009, in a possible preparation for its third underground nuclear test.“It appears that one of two newly-dug tunnels at Punggye-ri was damaged by a typhoon and he

Chief of memorial to victims at former East German political prison helps  promote N.K. human rightsDuring the Cold War period, the Stasi, the East German secret police, was notorious for its intelligence gathering, rigorous interrogations and persecution of political prisoners. The communists ran gulags in East Berlin, inmates being mostly ordinary people who had applied to live in the West or attempted to flee across the wall. They were forced into harsh conditions and hard labor before being