India eases visa rule for Korean tourists

Indian Ambassador to Korea Vishnu Prakash, right, listens to Lee Ock-soon, professor of Yonsei University, as Lee answered reporters’s questions during a news conference at the embassy in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times

By Kang Hyun-kyung

India will implement a visa-on-arrival program for Korean tourists from Tuesday to encourage more Koreans to travel to the country, said Indian Ambassador to Korea Vishnu Prakash on Thursday.

During a press meeting at the embassy, the envoy said that it is a unilateral measure taken by the Indian government.

“At the moment this is our decision to show our gesture of goodwill to the Korean government,” he said.

The move is expected to make Koreans travel India easier as they don’t need to wait two or three days to get a tourist visa after submitting their applications to the Indian Embassy in Seoul.

India’s visa on arrival for Koreans was rare, given that visa decisions are usually reciprocal and the two sides adopt such a measure after agreeing to implement it together.

Ambassador Prakash stressed that India’s unilateral decision reflects strong Korea-India relations, calling on the Korean government to consider taking a similar measure.

Last year, 112,000 Koreans travelled to India.

Prakash expressed hope that the figure will rise once the new visa rule is implemented from Tuesday.

The Indian Embassy invited several Korean journalists to the embassy to present the activities of the newly-launched Institute of Indian Studies led by Professor Lee Ock-soon of Yonsei University.

Ambassador Prakash, Lee, Park Hyun-chae, professor of Chonnam National University Graduate School of Business based in Gwangju City, and several embassy staff joined the get together with the media.

Lee, who earned her doctoral degree in Indian history from an Indian university, said that she and the Indian Embassy decided to organize a press meeting as there are lots of misconceptions about India due to “misleading” media reports.

She argued that the media portrayed India as a dangerous country to travel after a couple of gang rape incidents occurred last year.

“The way the media handles such cases is misleading because they focused on sexual attack cases in India while staying mum on other positive images of the country,” Lee, president of the Institute of Indian Studies based in Seoul, said.

source:koreatimes

Samsung case: Korea could invoke Bipa for arbitration

South Korea is considering invoking provisions under the bilateral investment promotion and protection agreement (Bipa) against India for the hit on Samsung Electronics' investments, following a Supreme Court order asking its chairman, Lee Kun-hee, to appear within six weeks before a Ghaziabad trial court in a pending payment case.

This comes even as Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma expressed apprehension the apex court's decision might adversely affect India's investment climate.

Sources told Business Standard the Korean embassy here had taken up the matter with the foreign ministry of that country. Currently, Korean ambassador Lee Joon-Gye is in his home country.

Under the India-South Korea Bipa, a party can drag the other to international arbitration if its investments are threatened.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had directed Lee Kun-hee to appear before a Ghaziabad court in a $1.4-million cheating case filed against him.

The Centre believes it is Samsung India that is "to be blamed, as it did not foresee it coming and mishandled the case", says a senior official, adding the apex court order had given an option through which an exemption could be sought from Lee's personal appearance.

The government is verifying the credentials of JCE Consultancy, complainant in the case. Initial investigations have revealed the company isn't registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and doesn't have its sales tax number registered.

"The case has zero merit. The government is fully behind them. JCE Consultancy is a fraud company and is tactfully misusing the Indian judicial system," said an official directly handing the case on behalf of the Indian government.

source:business standard

Researcher's Association for the Study of Korea organizes two-day seminar to boost India-Korea relations

A two day international Seminar on the theme "Deepening India - Korea Relations: Towards a sustainable future" was held in New Delhi on Friday.

The event was jointly organized by Researcher's Association for the Study of Korea (RASK) and Center for East Asian Studies (CEAS) at the Convention Center of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and was sponsored by the KOREA FOUNDATION

This year 42 participants from 11 different universities and organizations presented their papers on various issues. The seminar commenced with the inaugural session.  A welcome speech was given by the President of RASK Ottojit Kshetrimayum which was followed by opening remarks given by Dr. Jitender Uttam, Asstt., Prof. CEAS, JNU. The Introductory speech was given by Prof. Kim Do-young, he pointed out that RASK born in 2007 for the past 6 years have been providing a platform for organizational and academic goal of encouraging researchers for their profound studies on Korea.

The Chairperson of CEAS, JNU Dr. Varaprasad Shekher delivered the inaugural address and congratulated RASK on it's achievements.

A Book entitled "Growing Synergy between India and Korea" edited by Prof. Sushila Narsimha and Prof. Kim Do-young was also released by Lee Joon gyu, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Some of the best papers during the last year seminar which marked the 40th anniversary of India-Korea diplomatic relations are included in this volume.

The seminar concluded with the Vote of thanks given by Jojin john, the joint secretary of RASK. He thanked the organizing committee, chairpersons and participants who helped to make the conference a success and hoped that RASK has achieved its initial role of sharing and learning and learning from sharing.

With the aim of tapping the potential of the growing India-Korea relations and the related job prospects, a diverse group of enthusiastic researchers and budding entrepreneurs from several premier academic and professional institutions in Delhi had set up the RASK in 2006

source: India Today

Korean Lawmakers to Visit India to Discuss Ssangyong Motor’s Workers

Ssangyong Motor CEO Lee Yoo-il (right) poses with CFO Bharat Doshi of Mahindra And Mahindra Group (center) and Pawan Goenka (right), president of the automotive and farm sector of the Indian company, at a press conference in Seoul on March 15.

11 November 2013

The opposition parties’ lawmakers from the Environmental and Labor Committee of the National Assembly of Korea will visit the headquarters of India’s Mahindra and Mahindra Group to discuss ways to rehire workers laid off by Ssangyong Motor.
According to parliamentary sources on November 10, the main opposition Democratic Party’s two lawmakers Hong Young-pyo and Eun Soo-mi and minor Progressive Justice Party lawmaker Sim Sang-jung will go to India to meet with the Indian conglomerate’s top management late on November 11 (Indian time).
The three lawmakers and a director from Korea’s labor ministry will have talks at the Indian company’s headquarters with Chairman Anand Mahindra and President Pawan Goenka, who is responsible for its automotive and farm equipment operations.
Lawmaker Hong said, “We hope that legal action taken by Ssangyong Motor against union member workers can be resolved in a mutually acceptable manner through talks with the top management,” adding that discussions will also be made about reinstating the workers laid off during the strikes.
Lawmaker Shim also said, “Ssangyong Motor President Lee Yoo-il hinted in an interview conducted last month that the Indian carmaker should keep its promises about the reinstatement of some workers,” adding, “It is our hope that the Indian conglomerate keeps the promises it made.”
The Mahindra Group took over Ssangyong Motor in early 2011, and since then the faltering Korean company has become South Korea’s fourth-largest carmaker, beating Renault Samsung Motors.

source:business korea

India, Japan and South Korea - Asia’s new security trifecta

South Korean President Park Geun Hye with Indian Prime Minister

Winter is India’s diplomatic high season, with the cool, sunny weather forming an ideal backdrop for pageantry, photo ops at the Taj Mahal or Delhi’s Red Fort and bilateral deal-making. But this winter has been particularly impressive, with leaders from Japan and South Korea visiting to advance the cause of security cooperation in Asia.

The first to arrive was South Korean President Park Geun Hye. Despite a strong economic foundation, the bilateral relationship has long lacked a meaningful security dimension. But China’s recent assertiveness — including its unilateral declaration last November of a new Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), which overlaps about 3,000 sq km of South Korea’s own ADIZ, in the Sea of Japan — has encouraged Ms Park to shore up her country’s security ties with India.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s unpredictable and often provocative policies represent an additional impetus for improved ties — as do China’s increasingly visible plans to weaken South Korea’s alliance with the US.

Not surprisingly, the discussions during Ms Park’s four-day visit focused on grand strategy, and included detailed talks on maritime security and naval shipbuilding.

Nuclear energy also featured prominently on the agenda, owing to both countries’ dependence on energy imported through dangerous sea lanes. In 2008, South Korea, as a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), supported the waiver granting India access to civilian nuclear technology and fuel from other countries — both of which it had been denied since becoming a nuclear-weapons power in 1974.

Indeed, India’s nuclear tests are what initially spurred the NSG’s formation. South Korea’s support of India’s civilian nuclear ambitions earned it high praise in India and helped to advance bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation.

 CEMENTING INDIA-JAPAN TIES KEY FOR REGION

 

This budding strategic partnership is undoubtedly important. But when it comes to the regional balance of power, India’s deepening ties with Japan are even more consequential.

source:todayonline.com

जेएनयू में कोरियन लैंग्‍वेज एजुकेटर्स सेमिनार का आयोजन

जेएनयू में सेमिनार

भारत में कोरियाई भाषा के विकास और इस ओर आगे की योजनाओं पर चर्चा के लिए हाल ही 'इंटरनेशनल कोरियन लैंग्‍वेज एजुकेटर्स सेमिनार' का आयोजन किया गया. इस दो दिवसीय आयोजन में कई इंटरनेशनल स्‍कॉलर्स ने अपने विचार साझा किए और प्रेजेंटेशन दिए. कोरिया फाउंडेशन और सिओल नेशनल यूनिवर्सिटी द्वारा प्रायोजित इस सेमिनार का आयोजन जवाहर लाल नेहरू यूनिवर्सिटी के कन्‍वेंशन सेंटर में 21 और 22 फरवरी को किया गया. कोरियन लैंग्‍वेज एजुकेटर्स इन इंडिया (एकेएलईआई) द्वारा अयोजित इस सेमिनार का थीम भारत में कोरियाई भाषा की शिक्षा के लिए सामरिक दृष्टिकोण था.
जेएनयू में कोरियन स्‍टडीज सेंटर की चेयरपर्सन और एकेएलईआई की को-प्रेसिडेंट प्रो. वैजयंती राघवन ने इस अवसर पर अतिथियों का स्‍वागत किया. जबकि एकेएलईआई के प्रेसिडेंट और डीयू में ईस्‍ट एशियन स्‍टडीज विभाग के प्रो. किम डो-यंग ने प्रारंभिक भाषण दिया.
जेएनयू में स्‍कूल ऑफ लैंग्‍वेज लिटरेचर एंड कल्‍चर स्‍टडीज के डीन प्रो. एमए इसलाहि ने एसोसिएशन द्वारा किए जा रहे कार्यों की प्रशंसा की. इस अवसर पर उन्‍होंने विदेशी भाषा की महत्ता पर भी अपने विचार रखे. रिपब्‍िलक ऑफ कोरिया दूतावास के मंत्री तई-इन-चुंग ने सेमिनार आयोजन के लिए आयोजनकर्ताओं को बधाई दी. अपने भाषण में उन्‍होंने कोरियाई भाषा के महत्‍व, इतिहास, संस्‍कृति के साथ ही लोगों में इस भाषा के लिए बढ़ रही जिज्ञासा और बढ़ते ज्ञान की भी चर्चा की.
इस अवसर पर कोरियन कल्‍चर सेंटर के डायरेक्‍टर किम कुम-पी युंग ने कहा कि बीते वर्षों में कोरियाई भाषा के छात्रों की संख्‍या में वृद्धि हुई है. वहीं, सिओल नेशनल यूनिवर्सिटी के प्रो. किम जोंग शेओल ने अपने की-नोट एड्रेस में कोरियाई प्री-मॉर्डन नॉवेल और विदेशी भाषा के रूप में कोरियाई भाषा के शिक्षण पर विचार रखे.

और भी... http://aajtak.intoday.in/story/educators-meet-to-discuss-strategies-for-korean-language-education-in-india--1-755769.html

Ancient petroglyphs captivate archeologists

Numerous ancient rock engravings of whales and whaling still remain in the southeast area of the Korea Peninsula, attracting archeologists from around the world. It has been suggested that they are the first pieces of evidence showing the prehistoric origins of whaling. These petroglyphs are found in Bangudae in the upper reaches of the Taehwagang River near Ulsan in Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang Province). Nearly 300 figures showing land and sea animals, as well as whale-hunting scenes, are found engraved into the wall over an area spanning 10 meters by 3 meters.

The name Bangudae comes from the Korean ban, the word for a carapace or a shell, gu, meaning a turtle, and dae, a structure or a site, as in a carving site; the rock formation itself is said to resemble the back of a turtle.

The petroglyphs of Bangudae recently came under the spotlight with the February edition of Current World Archaeology, a U.K.-based magazine devoted to archaeological finds. Based on his visit to Bangudae, archeologist professor Brian Fagan published a three-page article, “Discovering a Lost World,” in which he relates his observations about the engravings.

He concluded his article by saying, “The Bangudae engravings remind us of the remarkable skills of such ancient whale hunters, who attacked the world’s largest beasts with the simplest of weapons, relying on their knowledge of their prey and acute observational skills, as well as complex, now forgotten, rituals that provided powerful validation for the chase.”

The petroglyphs of Bangudae, engravings of around 300 figures, are a prehistoric cultural asset from the Neolithic Age, showing that the people who lived here mainly fished and hunted for a living. Being one of the rarer examples of prehistoric art, the engravings have attracted the attention of both the archeology and arts scenes. (photo: Yonhap News)

The petroglyphs of Bangudae were discovered in 1971. The figures engraved on the rock wall include humans, various types of animals—whales, turtles, deer, tigers, birds and pigs—and weapons, including a bow and a spear. Researchers believe that the engravings were completed over several centuries, from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. Among these are 58 engravings of whales and whaling that have attracted the most attention. The petroglyphs show a diverse range of whales, including one that’s bearing a calf. Researchers believe them to symbolize an active hunting culture, prosperity and abundance. Along with the figures, whale hunting skills are shown in the ancient works of art, too.

Until the discovery of Bangudae, it was believed that whaling began in Norway in around 4,000 B.C., according to the rock carvings in the Norwegian town of Alta. However, in 2004, the BBC reported that, “Stone Age people may have started hunting whales as early as 6,000 B.C., new evidence from South Korea suggests.” This grabbed the attention of media and archeologists from across the globe.

The figures of animals can be seen in highlights of the petroglyphs of Bangudae.

Since their discovery, the petroglyphs of Bangudae have been considered an important resource that gives a peek into the values, ideas and religions of mankind from a time before recorded history began. Oceanographer Daniel Robineau, in his book, “Une Histoire de la chasse a la baleine,” or, “A History of Whale Hunting,” published in 2007, said that the first whale hunting began in Korea, as shown in the petroglyphs.

French archaeologist and film maker Marc Azéma said the Korean petroglyphs could have possibly been the inspiration for his concept of a movie in his book, "La Prehistoire du cinema,” or, “Cinema in Prehistoric Times.” In 2013, the rock carvings stepped into the spotlight again when the French journal Archeologie described the art work as a moving object, such as a movie or cartoon.

The February edition of Current World Archeology introduces the petroglyphs of Bangudae.

Director Lee Sang-mog of the Ulsan Petroglyph Museum said that there have been a number of requests to use the carvings over recent years. “A growing number of researchers and scholars seem to be studying the petroglyphs from a variety of perspectives, whether it be looking into the mythologies surrounding the artwork or whether it be its artistic merits.
source:korea.net