Han Asia Times

With less than 30 days left before the G20 Seoul Summit, Korea is bustling with preparations to greet overseas visitors. A variety of events will be held to celebrate the G20 as event for everyone, beyond just world leaders and businesspeople. In central Seoul, a concert will be held at Sejong Cultural Center for the Performing Arts in Gwanghwamun on November 7. As many as 3,000 people, including ambassadors and other officials, are expected to attend the concert, which is being supported by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The National Library of Korea will also hold a series of programs from November 8-12, including a lecture on world literature, an art exhibition, and film screening to mark the upcoming G20 summit. One of the most notable events is the 2010 Asia Song Festival. Now in its seventh year, the festival will feature 14 top singers and groups from Korea and overseas to celebrate the opening of the G20. The concert will be held on October 23 at the main ...

Gender Equality and Family Minister Paik Hee-young speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at her office in Seoul. She says flexible working arrangements will help women continue their career and ultimately boost the country’s growth potential in the long haul. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul Gender equality minister pledges measures for immigrant wives Competition is getting fiercer in every sector of the Korean society. To hang onto their jobs and get promoted, many salaried workers here come to office early in the morning and work late into night. In order not to lag behind their colleagues, they are under pressure to overwork, leaving little time for their families. Tied to their work, fathers can ill-afford to share house chores with their wives. Women eventually tend to sacrifice their career to take care of their children. Against this backdrop, women are increasingly opting not to give birth to children due to the difficulty raising children without s...

India’s Look East Policy:   New Era of India-ASEAN Relations Prof. Man Mohini Kaul In the Asia of the mid 1960s, when individualism and closed economies were the order of the day, the Southeast Asian countries were the first to realize the benefits of cooperation and were instrumental in the creation of the ASEAN Forum. Leadership in cooperation is not an empty first mover advantage but has real learning and experience benefits that add substantive content to cooperation. Southeast Asia has reaped the benefits of its openness and foresight, though no one could have envisaged just how advantageous this would prove to be. All paths now seem to pass through the ASEAN region and, in particular, it has greatly benefited from strong economic ties within and with neighbouring countries. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is without doubt the most successful example of regional cooperation in Asia. From Indian perspective the success of ASEAN is particularly laudable, as...

Being a lover of Music I am very fond of visiting places which contains Musical Instruments,Korean Musical Instruments has always attracted me after coming to Korea.The Musical Instruments used in Samulnori(a traditional performance of Korea in which four instruments are used),Instruments used in throat singing,Pansori drum etc draws my attention no matter how much I am busy.Yesterday,I visited Music Institute of Korea to see various Musical instruments of Korea.here are some of those pictures which I took there. It was really a great experience to see these Korea's traditional Musical Instruments.I would like to recommend to visit this place atleast once if you are in Korea.

"Understanding Korea: A Cross-Cultural Perspective," an international conference organized by the Centre for Japanese, Korean, and Northeast Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and supported by the Korea Foundation, was held from October 8 to 9 at JNU, New Delhi, India. This conference and various Korea-related cultural events were held to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean language program at Jawaharlal Nehru University, the first university in India to introduce a Korean language program.

The Conference on Korea's National Brand dealing with "How the G-20 Seoul Summit and the issue of North Korea's hereditary power succession affect South Korea's National brand" yesterday at Hilton Hotel ,Seoul  was attended by Prominent Experts from different Nations,Some eminent Professors in Korea, some Members of The Presidential Council and some Foreign students in Korea at different Universities.This Conference was a privilege for me to know the various aspects of Korea in the International society and its growing importance.But Inspite of its growing importance how the  brand value of Korea  has been affected in few years is always been an important issue to be discussed.Though short but the highly informative discussions and presentation  in the Conference provided   me a broader perspective  about the impact of the G-20 and its Geopolitical impact  on Korean Peninsula.    Experts from different Nations and Korea discussing  ...

PTI Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hugs Korean President Lee Myung-Bak during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 17th ASEAN summit in Hanoi, Vietnam on Friday. Korea and India have finalised a civil nuclear agreement which now awaits signature,  after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit. Korean President Mr. Lee Myung Bak and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed issues relating to the G-20 summit, which will be hosted next month by South Korea, the first time by a non-G-8 country. Mr. Lee mentioned the need for systematic implementation of decisions taken at G-20 meetings. Dr. Singh agreed that both sides would work together to achieve this aim. I  believe that some treaties like this would also be signed in the field of Education to make these two  Countries more closer.

▲ 문화체육관광부와 국립국어원이 주최하고 한국어세계화재단과 한국방송 주관으로 개최한 ‘제1회 외국인 한국어 겨루기 한마당’에 참여한 외국인들이 권재일 국립국어원장과 함께 단체 기념사진을 찍고 있다. (제공: 한국어세계화재단) 예선 100여 명 참가… 한류열풍 넘어 한국문화의 장 될 것 삼보 볼간타미르 “한국노래 번역하다 실력 늘었어요” 가브리엘 “한국인 간호사 여자친구가 많이 도와줘요” 슐레포바 안나 “김치찌개 좋아하는 한국 주부됐어요” 선저이 꾸마르 “인도에 한국을 널리 알리고 싶어요” [천지일보=김예슬 기자] “‘안내 계시판’과 ‘태극기 게양대’ 중에서 어떤 것이 틀린 문장일까요, 답을 골라 바르게 고쳐주세요. 10초 9초 8초….” KBS 엄지인 아나운서의 질문이 채 끝나기도 전에 서툰 글씨체로 ‘계시판’을 ‘게시판’으로 고쳐 쓰는 참가자 4명은 모두 외국인. 이들은 평소 한국어에 관심이 많던 외국인들로 한글날(10월 9일)을 맞아 열린 ‘제1회 외국인 한국어 겨루기 한마당’ 1, 2차 예선에서 100여 명과 겨뤄 3차 본선에 오른 한국어 베테랑이다. 경희대학교(총장 조인원)와 (주)연합뉴스(사장 박정찬) 공동 주최로 14일 오후 경희대 크라운관에서 열린 '제13회 세계 외국인 한국어 말하기대회'는 참가자들의 재치있는 한국말 솜씨로 폭소와 박수가 연신 터져 나왔다. 세종대왕 탄신 613주년을 기념해 열린 이날 대회에는 결선에 오른 16개국 22명의 외국인과 그 가족, 언론사 관계자, 외빈 등 1천여 명이 참석해 성황을 이뤘다. 첫 번째 순서인 중국의 웨이우팅(20.魏宇女+亭.여) 씨는 '사투리는 아름다워'란 주제의 발표에서 "뭐라카노", "욕봤데이" 등의 부산 사투리를 써가면서 "한국의 진정한 미는 사투리의 구수한 멋"이라고 소개해 청중의 갈채를 받았다. 이어 인도 전통복장을 입고 나와 '한국의 맛과 멋'을 소개한 선저이 꾸마...