In this interview, His Excellency Ahn Ho-Young, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the U.S., outlines South Korea’s concerns about and hopes for the Asia-Pacific region, including the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

Seoul plans to spare no effort to promote public diplomacy in the U.S. to prevent American citizens from having negative sentiments toward South Korea following the attack on Lippert, according to officials.

The United States ambassador to South Korea, Mark W. Lippert, was attacked Thursday morning by a knife-wielding man who said he opposed joint American-South Korean military exercises, according to the South Korean police and journalists who were at the scene.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye said on Monday her country must use the "second Middle East boom" as a new engine for economic growth, as she plans to visit Kuwait and three other Gulf States from March 1, Seoul's official public broadcaster KBS reported. 

Vietnam and South Korea have long shared a historical and cultural background in sinocentric Confucianism and have encountered few cultural obstacles. It is not surprising, then, that the ‘Korean wave’ — or Hallyu — in Southeast Asia is said to have started in Ho Chi Minh City, where the first Korean drama series ‘Medical Brothers’ was shown in 1998.

After capturing the hearts of Vietnamese audiences, South Korea continued to conquer the broader Vietnamese market. As of December 2014, South Korea has been Vietnam’s biggest investor, with US$37.23 billion of foreign direct investment in 4,110 projects throughout the country. 

Overseas participants at the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair are seeking to turn a new page beyond conventional agenda of strengthening business ties with India and striving to enhance cultural relations.