Scholars and journalists from South Korea and the United States kicked off a forum on public diplomacy Monday, exchanging assessments and ideas about how better to reach out and win the hearts and minds of the people of the two allies.

"The success of South Korean brands has a lot to do with Chinese consumers copying the style of South Korean soap opera and music stars," Rudd told CNN. "They'll even go so far as to get the particular products being used by these stars. The stores will try to get in the exact shades that South Korean actresses are using."

The Republic of Korea is a country rich in history, culture and creativity. It’s time to get the word out.  If image is everything, South Korea needs a tune up. At least as far as the West is concerned.

On Wednesday, North Korea said Mr. Kim had personally ordered Mr. Fowle’s release after considering requests from President Obama. 

The residence of the South Korean ambassador to China has been opened to the public, in an annual public-diplomacy effort to reach out to Chinese people, the South Korean Embassy said Thursday.

Georgian Ambassador Nikoloz Apkhazava is pursuing wine diplomacy, hosting his fifth tasting event Tuesday since opening the country’s chancery in 2012.  Wine goes hand in glove in the popular imagination of diplomatic work but, for the Georgian envoy, it is also a down-to-earth policy objective of his posting in South Korea. 

The two Koreas briefly exchanged machine-gunfire across the border as speculation swirled about North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who hasn’t been seen in public for weeks and missed another official gathering Friday.

South Korea's president is cracking down on rumors in cyberspace in a campaign that threatens the popularity of Kakao Talk, the leading social media service in a country with ambitions to become a global technology leader.