Dental School Due in Afghanistan with the help of SNU Students

The Afghan Embassy in Seoul said that a dental school will be built in Afghanistan with the help of Korean dentists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The student council of Seoul National University's dental school; two Korean NGOs, Dental Service International and International Environment Development Partnership; and Afghan NGO Shuhada have agreed to set up the dental school.

Dental Service International will provide medicines and faculty for the school, while dental students are making textbooks.

A committee for the establishment of the school will be launched today at the university's dental school in Yongon-dong, Seoul.

Czech Exhibition of Slivovice Opens Today

The Czech Embassy in Seoul said that there will be an exhibition of “Slivovice,” plum brandy from the Wallachia region of the Czech Republic, at the Castle Praha restaurant in Sogyo-dong, Seoul, from today through Dec. 15.

The exhibition, titled “Slivovice and Its Seoul,” will show photos, texts and samples of true Slivovice.

The embassy said that Slivovice has become a symbol of Wallachia just like Scotch whisky has for Scotland.

“The history of Slivovice is rich, fascinating and bound up with many myths, legends and personal stories,” the embassy said in a press release.

The opening ceremony for the exhibition will be held at 7 p.m. today.

Spain to Award Korean Professor Kwon

The Spanish Embassy in Seoul said that Kwon Eun-hee, 39, a professor of Spanish at Duksung Women’s University, will receive the Cross of Civil Merit from the Spanish government for her contribution to Seoul-Madrid relations.

Spanish Ambassador to Korea Delfin Colome will present the award to her on Friday at the Cervantes Cultural Center in the Interburgo Hotel in Taegu.

In particular, she contributed to the establishment and operation of the cultural center. Kwon obtained a doctorate degree in modern and contemporary Spanish literature from the University of Complutense de Madrid.

Sweden to Present Cikada Award to Ko Un

The Swedish Embassy in Seoul said that Swedish Ambassador Lars Vargo will present the 2006 Cikada Award to renowned Korean poet Ko Un tomorrow at his residence in Songbuk-dong, Seoul.

The Cikada Award, which was founded in 2004 to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Swedish Nobel Prize laureate in literature Harry Martinson, is given to an East Asian poet who defends the inviolability of life with poems.

The embassy said that several of his poems have been translated into Swedish and they won great popularity in Sweden.

The award was named after Martinson’s poetry collection “Cikada,” published in 1953, which the poet said was inspired by East Asian literature.

Uruguay Promises No Environmental Harm

Uruguayan Ambassador to Seoul Nelson Yemil Chaben said that a pulp mill project in Uruguay, which won finance support from the World Bank on Tuesday, will not cause environmental pollution.

``We promise that the pulp mill project will be implemented in an environment-friendly way,'' he said, citing an environmental impact survey.

The project, which will put a pulp mill on the Uruguay River, has been a bone of contention between Uruguay and Argentina as the latter clamed it will pollute the river.

The Argentine government has argued that the project should be stopped and the place for the paper mill should be moved.

However, the World Bank's private-sector lender International Finance Corporation (IFC) and its guarantee agency Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency agreed to provide up to $520 million in loans and insurance for the Finnish mill construction company engaged in the project.

The IFC recommended the project, saying it complied with the bank's environmental and social guidelines, after an independent study concluded the project was unlikely to cause long-term harm to the environment.

The mills process pulp wood material for paper production and are expected to produce 1.5 million tons of paper a year and be two of the largest producers in the world.

11-26-2006