As the only permanent African member of the Group of 20, South Africa is committed to the continent’s industrialization and inclusive growth with a strategic policy framework tailored for the 21st century, according to the country’s top envoy to Korea. Nozuko Gloria Bam said in an interview that Pretoria’s foreign policy rested on its commitment to the values and ideals of pan-Africanism. The diplomat explicated that the vision entailed “solidarity with people of the South and the need to cooper

Diplomatic Circuit July 23, 2018

Kazakhstani and international residents in Korea mourned the death of the late Denis Yuryevich Ten, a Kazakhstani figure skater of Korean descent, at a memorial ceremony at the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Seoul on Saturday. Some 60 people uttered their final, belated words of love and condolences for Ten, who died Thursday from stab wounds by two Kazakh men who had tried to steal his car’s side-view mirrors in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Photographs, flowers and a teddy bear adorned the facade of the embas

Diplomatic Circuit July 23, 2018

YEONGWOL, Gangwon Province -- As the ferry leisurely sailed toward Cheongnyeongpo Cape, Gangwon Province, a needle-floored pine forest gradually rose from a distance. In the thick of sweltering summer heat, the verdant woodland provided an umbrella of shade and cool breeze, a stillness suspended from the trappings of modern life.It was here, on a sequestered patch of greenery, that King Danjong (1441-57), the sixth king of the Joseon era, was sent into a brief exile before his death at the age o

Travel July 19, 2018

The Pakistani Embassy in Seoul, in collaboration with the International Food and Culture Exchange Association of Korea, co-hosted the inaugural Pakistan-Korea Culture, Food and Business Forum at Imperial Palace Hotel Seoul on July 10. Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Rahim Hayat Qureshi said the two countries shared many similarities, including colonialization and independence shortly after World War II. While Korea gained its independence on Aug. 15, 1945, Pakistan was established as a sovereign s

Diplomatic Circuit July 16, 2018

Two years after an aborted coup attempt in Turkey, the country has regained much of its domestic stability and security, stressed the top Turkish envoy to Korea, urging the international community to show understanding toward a nation that has undergone a test of its existence. July 15 marks the second anniversary of the failed putsch, orchestrated by anti-government forces that laid deep inside the Turkish state apparatus. Aiming to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, coup plotters staged

Diplomatic Circuit July 16, 2018

Every year on July 18, South Africa and the global community celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day. The day commemorates the late South African president’s antiapartheid struggles and sacrifices as well as his contributions to universal human rights for benefitting the larger world.It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2009, and calls on people worldwide to devote 67 minutes of their lives -- in reflection of the late leader’s charity work over 67 years -- in the servi

Diplomatic Circuit July 16, 2018

Mitigating global warming and embracing sustainable development goals based on decarbonization is the sole remaining ticket to an environmentally responsible and economically vibrant future, stressed the head of an intergovernmental scientific body with credible authority on climate change in a media interview last week. Lee Hoe-sung, the chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, told journalists that “the thinking that reducing greenhouse gas emissions slows economic development r

Diplomatic Circuit July 9, 2018

Choi Jung-wha, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute, firmly believes that to thrive in a global community, people should learn to respect and care for others as cultured citizens. She also regrets that many Koreans do not know much about their own culture, history and heritage, while being more passionate about foreign cultures. Choi’s decadeslong efforts to bridge Korea and the world bestowed her the Yeongsan Diplomat Award on Wednesday, given to individuals who made superb achi

Diplomatic Circuit July 9, 2018

Nearly 30 years after a process of geopolitical fragmentation in Southeastern Europe, Bulgaria has supported the region’s “Europeanization” to align it closer to the democratic and prosperous European Union, according to Bulgaria’s top envoy to Korea.Bulgaria assumed the presidency of the Council of the European Union in the first half of this year. Sofia has sought to bring the Western Balkans -- which have been riven by past conflict and ethnic and religious division, and generally lag behind

Diplomatic Circuit July 9, 2018

As South Koreans become increasingly conscious of democracy and human rights, and venture farther afield for one-of-a-kind experiences, South Africa’s tourism can offer just what they crave this year on the centennial anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, said a group of South African tourism officials on a visit to Korea last week. Tourism is one of the largest and fastest-growing national industries of South Africa. It directly employs over 750,000 people and indirectly 1.5 million people, ta

Diplomatic Circuit July 9, 2018

Choi Jung-wha, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute, received the Yeongsan Diplomat Award on Wednesday for her decadeslong efforts to uplift Korea from obscurity to the world’s limelight. The annual award given by the Seoul Forum organization recognizes individuals who made consummate endeavors to enhance the nation’s image and interests around the world. Choi was honored alongside former South Korean Ambassador to the United States Ahn Ho-young. CICI President Choi Jung-wha (cen

Foreign Affairs July 5, 2018

When Sweden opened its doors to more than 165,000 asylum seekers in 2015, half of them children and mostly coming from war-torn Syria, the Swedish government overhauled its education system to accommodate the shortage of 8,000 teachers. The government put in place fast-track training programs for migrant teachers, and facilitated their immigration. It provided daily Swedish language lessons to the new arrivals and gave them vocational training at universities. Municipalities offered housing, hea

Books July 4, 2018

Participants at the Capacity Building Workshop for the Greater Mekong Subregion's Cross-border E-Commerce organized by the ASEAN-Korea Center in Seoul in August, 2017. (AKC)The ASEAN-Korea Centre and the Korea International Trade Association will co-host the 2018 ASEAN Digital Commerce Forum at Trade Tower in Seoul from Thursday through Friday. The event will be attended by diplomats, commerce officials and private sector representatives from the electronic commerce sector from the Association o

Diplomatic Circuit July 3, 2018

Following the European debt crisis that started in late 2009, Portugal and Lisbon took painful structural reforms, privatizing state assets and cutting expenditures to make their economies more efficient, with money borrowed from the European Union and International Monetary Fund. The crisis ended up a catalyst for change. It has strengthened their regulatory oversight and diversified their inbound investments and trade, adding much value to them. It ultimately set the stage for their progressiv

Diplomatic Circuit July 2, 2018

Participants pose at a mango-tasting event at JW Marriott Dongdaemun in Seoul on Wednesday, organized by the Indian Embassy and Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. In the photo are (from the left) Vladimir Vazquez Hernandez, Mexican Embassy deputy head of mission; Satish Sivan, Indian Embassy deputy head of mission; Shin Myung-jin, chairman of the Korea Importers Association; Kim Hyun-myung, vice chairman of the Korea Importers Association; and Vasudev Tumbe, chairman of the ICCK. (Joel Lee/The

Diplomatic Circuit July 2, 2018