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South Korea Department of State Background
U.S. Department of State Background Note
South Korea
|Chogye temple, Seoul, South Korea, May 5, 2006. [© AP Images]
Republic of Korea
Area: 98,477 sq. km. (38,022 sq. mi.); about the size of Indiana.
Cities (2005): Capital--Seoul (10.3 million). Other major cities--Busan (3.7 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Inchon (2.6 million), Gwangju (1.4 million), Daejeon (1.5 million), Ulsan (1.0 million).
Terrain: Partially forested mountain ranges separated by deep, narrow valleys; cultivated plains along the coasts, particularly in the west and south.
Climate: Temperate.
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Korean(s).
Population (2006): 48,846,823.
Population annual growth rate (2006): 0.42%.
Ethnic groups: Korean; small Chinese minority.
Religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Shamanism, Confucianism, Chondogyo.
Language: Korean.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Enrollment--11.5 million. Attendance--middle school 99%, high school 95%. Literacy--98%.
Health (2006): Infant mortality rate--6.16/1,000. Life expectancy--77.0 yrs (men 73.6 yrs.; women 80.8 yrs).
Work force (2005): 23.53 million. Services--67.2%; mining and manufacturing--26.4%; agriculture--6.4%.
Type: Republic with powers shared between the president, the legislature, and the courts.
Liberation: August 15, 1945.
Constitution: July 17, 1948; last revised 1987.
Branches: Executive--President (chief of state); Prime Minister (head of government). Legislative--unicameral National Assembly. Judicial--Supreme Court and appellate courts; Constitutional Court.
Subdivisions: Nine provinces, seven administratively separate cities (Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan).
Political parties: Uri Party (Uri); Grand National Party (GNP); Democratic Party (DP); Democratic Labor Party (DLP); People Centered Party (PCP).
Suffrage: Universal at 19.
Central government budget (2004): Expenditures--$100.46 billion.
Defense (2005): $21.06 billion; over 680,000 troops.
Nominal GDP: 2005, $787.5 billion; 2006 est., $897.4 billion.
GDP growth rate: 2004, 4.7%; 2005, 4.0%; 2006 est. 5.0%.
Per capita GNI (2005): $16,291.
Consumer price index: 2004, 3.6%; 2005, 2.8%; 2006, 2.2%.
Natural resources: Limited coal, tungsten, iron ore, limestone, kaolinite, and graphite.
Agriculture, including forestry and fisheries: Products--rice, vegetables, fruit, root crops, barley; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs, fish. Arable land--17% of land area.
Industry: Types--Electronics and electrical products, telecommunications, motor vehicles, shipbuilding, mining and manufacturing, petrochemicals, industrial machinery, steel.
Trade (2006 est.): Exports--$360.0 billion f.o.b.: electronic products (semiconductors, cellular phones and equipment, computers), automobiles, machinery and equipment, steel, ships, petrochemicals. Imports--$343.0 billion f.o.b.: crude oil, food, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals and chemical products, base metals and articles. Major markets (2005)--China (21.8%), U.S. (14.6.%), Japan (8.5%), Hong Kong (5.5%). Major suppliers (2005)--Japan (18.5%), China (14.8%), U.S. (11.8%), Saudi Arabia (6.2%).
Korea's population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world. Except for a small Chinese community (about 20,000), virtually all Koreans share a common cultural and linguistic heritage. With 48.85 million people, South Korea has one of the world's highest population densities. Major population centers are located in the northwest, southeast, and in the plains south of the Seoul-Incheon area.
Korea has experienced one of the largest rates of emigration, with ethnic Koreans residing primarily in China (1.9 million), the United States (1.52 million), Japan (681,000), and the countries of the former Soviet Union (450,000).
The Korean language is related to Japanese and Mongolian. Although it differs grammatically from Chinese and does not use tones, a large number of Chinese cognates exist in Korean. Chinese ideograms are believed to have been brought into Korea sometime before the second century BC. The learned class spoke Korean, but read and wrote Chinese. A phonetic writing system ("hangul") was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong to provide a writing system for commoners who could not read classical Chinese. Modern Korean uses hangul almost exclusively with Chinese characters in limited use for word clarification. Approximately 1,300 Chinese characters are used in modern Korean. English is taught as a second language in most primary and secondary schools. Chinese and Japanese are widely taught at secondary schools.
Half of the population actively practices religion. Among this group, Christianity (49%) and Buddhism (47%) comprise Korea's two dominant religions. Though only 3% identified themselves as Confucianists, Korean society remains highly imbued with Confucian values and beliefs. The remaining 1% of the population practice Shamanism (traditional spirit worship) and Chondogyo ("Heavenly Way"), a traditional religion.
The myth of Korea's foundation by the god-king Tangun in BC 2333 embodies the homogeneity and self-sufficiency valued by the Korean people. Korea experienced many invasions by its larger neighbors in its 2,000 years of recorded history. The country repelled numerous foreign invasions despite domestic strife, in part due to its protected status in the Sino-centric regional political model during Korea's Chosun dynasty (1392-1910). Historical antipathies to foreign influence earned Korea the title of "Hermit Kingdom" in the 19th century.
With declining Chinese power and a weakened domestic posture at the end of the 19th century, Korea was open to Western and Japanese encroachment. In 1910, Japan began a 35-year period of colonial rule over Korea. As a result of Japan's efforts to supplant the Korean language and aspects of Korean culture, memories of Japanese annexation still recall fierce animosity and resentment, especially among older Koreans. Nevertheless, import restrictions on Japanese movies, popular music, fashion, and the like have been lifted, and many Koreans, especially the younger generations, eagerly follow Japanese pop culture. Aspects of Korean culture, including television shows and movies, have also become popular in Japan.
Japan's surrender to the Allied Powers in 1945, signaling the end of World War II, only further embroiled Korea in foreign rivalries. Division at the 38th parallel marked the beginning of Soviet and U.S. trusteeship over the North and South, respectively. On August 15, 1948 the Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) was established, with Syngman Rhee as the first President. On September 9, 1948 the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (D.P.R.K.) was established under Kim Il Sung.
On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded South Korea. Led by the U.S., a 16-member coalition undertook the first collective action under United Nations Command (UNC). Following China's entry on behalf of North Korea later that year, a stalemate ensued for the final two years of the conflict. Armistice negotiations, initiated in July 1951, were ultimately concluded on July 27, 1953 at Panmunjom, in what is now the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). The Armistice Agreement was signed by representatives of the Korean People's Army, the Chinese People's Volunteers, and the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC). Though the R.O.K. supported the UNC, it refused to sign the Armistice Agreement. A peace treaty has never been signed. The war left almost three million Koreans dead or wounded and millions of others homeless and separated from their families.
In the following decades, South Korea experienced political turmoil under autocratic leadership. President Syngman Rhee was forced to resign in April 1960 following a student-led uprising. The Second Republic under the leadership of Chang Myon ended after only one year, when Major General Park Chung-hee led a military coup. Park's rule, which resulted in tremendous economic growth and development but increasingly restricted political freedoms, ended with his assassination in 1979. Subsequently, a powerful group of military officers, led by Lieutenant General Chun Doo Hwan, declared martial law and took power.
Throughout the Park and Chun eras, South Korea developed a vocal civil society that led to strong protests against authoritarian rule. Composed primarily of students and labor union activists, protest movements reached a climax after Chun's 1979 coup and declaration of martial law. A confrontation in Gwangju in 1980 left at least 200 civilians dead. Thereafter, pro-democracy activities intensified even more, ultimately forcing political concessions by the government in 1987, including the restoration of direct presidential elections.
In 1987, Roh Tae-woo, a former general, was elected president, but additional democratic advances during his tenure resulted in the 1992 election of a long-time pro-democracy activist, Kim Young-sam. Kim became Korea's first civilian elected president in 32 years. The 1997 presidential election and peaceful transition of power marked another step forward in Korea's democratization when Kim Dae-jung, a life-long democracy and human rights activist, was elected from a major opposition party. The transition to an open, democratic system was further consolidated in 2002, when self-educated human rights lawyer, Roh Moo-hyun, won the presidential election on a "participatory government" platform.
The Republic of Korea (commonly known as "South Korea") is a republic with powers nominally shared among the presidency, the legislature, and the judiciary, but traditionally dominated by the president. The president is chief of state and is elected for a single term of 5 years. The 299 members of the unicameral National Assembly are elected to 4-year terms--243 members are from single-seat districts and 56 members are chosen by proportional representation. South Korea's judicial system comprises a Supreme Court, appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court. The judiciary is independent under the constitution. The country has nine provinces and seven administratively separate cities--the capital of Seoul, along with Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Incheon and Ulsan. Political parties include the Uri Party (Uri), Grand National Party (GNP), Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Democratic Party (DP), and People Centered Party (PCP). Suffrage is universal at age 19 (lowered from 20 in 2005).
In December 2002, President Roh Moo-hyun was elected to a single 5-year term of office. In the April 2004 elections, the ruling Uri Party won a slim but outright majority in the National Assembly. Because of the loss of seats in by-elections and as a result of convictions for election law violations, Uri no longer has a majority, but does retain a plurality of seats.
Principal Government Officials
President--Roh Moo-hyun
Prime Minister--Han Duck-soo
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Human Resource Development--Kim Shin-il
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy--Kwon O-kyu
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technology--Kim Woo-shik
Minister of Agriculture and Forestry--Im Sang-kyu
Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy--Kim Young-ju
Minister of Construction and Transportation--Lee Yong-sup
Minister of Culture and Tourism--Kim Jong-min
Minister of Environment--Lee Kyu-yong (pending National Assembly confirmation)
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade--Song Min-soon
Minister of Gender Equality and Family--Jang Ha-jin
Minister of Government Administration & Home Affairs--Park Myung-jae
Minister of Government Policy Coordination--Kim Young-ju
Minister of Health and Welfare--Rhyu Si-min
Minister of Information and Communication--Rho Jun-hyong
Minister of Justice--Chung Sung-jin (pending National Assembly confirmation)
Minister of Labor Affairs--Lee Sang-soo
Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries--Kang Moo-hyun
Minister of National Defense--Kim Jang-soo
Minister of Planning and Budget--Chang Byoung-wan
Minister of Unification--Lee Jae-jong
Director of the National Intelligence Service--Kim Man-bok
Chief Secretary to the President for Unification, Foreign, and Security Policy--Baek Jong-chun
Ambassador to the U.S.--Lee Tae-sik
Ambassador to the UN--Kim Hyun-chong
Korea maintains an embassy in the United States at 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-939-5600). Consulates General are located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Hagatna (Agana) in Guam.
The Republic of Korea's economic growth over the past 30 years has been spectacular. Per capita GNP, only $100 in 1963, exceeded $16,000 in 2005. South Korea is now the United States' seventh-largest trading partner and is the 11th-largest economy in the world.
In the early 1960s, the government of Park Chung Hee instituted sweeping economic policy changes emphasizing exports and labor-intensive light industries, leading to rapid debt-financed industrial expansion. The government carried out a currency reform, strengthened financial institutions, and introduced flexible economic planning. In the 1970s Korea began directing fiscal and financial policies toward promoting heavy and chemical industries, consumer electronics, and automobiles. Manufacturing continued to grow rapidly in the 1980s and early 1990s.
In recent years, Korea's economy moved away from the centrally planned, government-directed investment model toward a more market-oriented one. Korea bounced back from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis with some International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance, but based largely on extensive financial reforms that restored stability to markets. These economic reforms, pushed by President Kim Dae-jung, helped Korea maintain one of Asia's few expanding economies, with growth rates of 10% in 1999 and 9% in 2000. The slowing global economy and falling exports slowed growth to 3.3% in 2001, prompting consumer stimulus measures that led to 7.0% growth in 2002. Consumer over-shopping and rising household debt, along with external factors, slowed growth to near 3% again in 2003. Economic performance in 2004 improved to 4.6% due to an increase in exports, and remained at or above 4% in 2005 and into 2006.
Economists are concerned that South Korea's economic growth potential has fallen because of a rapidly aging population and structural problems that are becoming increasingly apparent. Foremost among these structural concerns is the rigidity of South Korea's labor regulations, the need for more constructive relations between management and workers, the country's underdeveloped financial markets, and a general lack of regulatory transparency. Restructuring of Korean conglomerates ("chaebols") and creating a more liberalized economy with a mechanism for bankrupt firms to exit the market are also important unfinished reform tasks. Korean policy makers are increasingly worried about diversion of corporate investment to China and other lower wage countries.
North-South Economic Ties
North and South Korea have moved forward on a number of economic cooperation projects. The following projects are most prominent:
- Kaesong Industrial Complex (KIC): Since the June 2003 groundbreaking, the KIC has grown to include a variety of South Korean companies operating in this North-South cooperation project. The R.O.K. envisages a substantial enlargement of participation in the project in the following years, although new investment was suspended following the North's testing of a nuclear device in October 2006.
- Tourism: R.O.K.-organized tours to Mt. Kumgang in North Korea began in 1998. Since then, more than a million visitors have traveled to Mt. Kumgang.
- Infrastructure Development: Although east and west coast railroad and roads links have been reconnected across the DMZ, neither rail link has been tested. The roads crossing the DMZ are used on a daily basis between South Korea and Mt. Kumgang, as well as to the Kaesong Industrial Complex.
Two-way trade between North and South Korea, legalized in 1988, hit almost $1.35 billion in 2006, up 27.8% from 2005. This total included a substantial quantity of non-trade goods provided to the North as aid (fertilizer, etc.) or as part of inter-Korean cooperative projects. According to R.O.K. figures, about 60% of the total trade consisted of commercial transactions, much of that based on processing-on-commission arrangements. The R.O.K. is North Korea's second-largest trading partner.
In August 1991, South Korea joined the United Nations along with North Korea and is active in most UN specialized agencies and many international forums. The Republic of Korea also hosted major international events such as the 1988 Summer Olympics, the 2002 World Cup Soccer Tournament (co-hosted with Japan), and the 2002 Second Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies.
Economic considerations have a high priority in Korean foreign policy. The R.O.K. seeks to build on its economic accomplishments to increase its regional and global role. It is a founding member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and chaired the organization in 2005.
The Republic of Korea maintains diplomatic relations with more than 170 countries and a broad network of trading relationships. The United States and Korea are allied by the 1953 Mutual Defense Treaty. Korea and Japan coordinate closely on numerous issues. This includes consultations with the United States on North Korea policy.
Korean Peninsula: Reunification and Recent Developments
For almost 20 years after the 1950-53 Korean War, relations between North and South Korea were minimal and very strained. Official contact did not occur until 1971, beginning with Red Cross contacts and family reunification projects in 1985. In the early 1990s, relations between the two countries improved with the 1991 South-North Basic Agreement, which acknowledged that reunification was the goal of both governments, and the 1992 Joint Declaration of Denuclearization. However, divergent positions on the process of reunification and North Korean weapons programs, compounded by South Korea's tumultuous domestic politics and the 1994 death of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, contributed to a cycle of warming and cooling of relations.
Relations improved again following the 1997 election of Kim Dae-jung. His "Sunshine Policy" of engagement with the D.P.R.K. set the stage for the historic June 2000 inter-Korean summit between President Kim and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. President Kim was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for the policy, but the prize was somewhat tarnished by revelations of a $500 million dollar "payoff" to North Korea that immediately preceded the summit.
Relations again became tense following the October 2002 North Korean acknowledgement of a covert program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Following this acknowledgement, the United States, along with the People's Republic of China, proposed multilateral talks among the concerned parties to deal with this issue. At the urging of China and its neighbors, the D.P.R.K. agreed to meet with China and the United States in April 2003. In August of that year, the D.P.R.K. agreed to attend Six-Party Talks aimed at ending the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons that added the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Russia to the table. Two more rounds of Six-Party Talks between the United States, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, and the D.P.R.K. were held in February and June of 2004. At the third round, the United States put forward a comprehensive proposal aimed at completely, verifiably, and irreversibly eliminating North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.
A fourth round of talks was held in two sessions spanning a period of 20 days between July and September 2005. All parties agreed to a Joint Statement of Principles on September 19, 2005, in which, among other things, the D.P.R.K. committed to "abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an early date, to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to IAEA safeguards." The Joint Statement also committed the United States and other parties to certain actions as the D.P.R.K. denuclearized. The United States offered a security assurance, specifying that it had no nuclear weapons on R.O.K. territory and no intention to attack or invade the D.P.R.K. with nuclear or other weapons. Finally, the United States and D.P.R.K., as well as the D.P.R.K. and Japan, agreed to undertake steps to normalize relations, subject to their respective bilateral policies. On October 9, 2006, North Korea announced a successful nuclear test, verified by the United States on October 11. In response, the United Nations Security Council, citing Chapter VII of the UN Charter, unanimously adopted Resolution 1718, condemning North Korea's action and imposing sanctions on certain luxury goods and trade of military units, weapons of mass destruction (WMD)-related parts, and technology transfers.
The Six-Party Talks resumed in December 2006 after a 13-month hiatus. Following a bilateral meeting between the United States and D.P.R.K. in Berlin in January 2007, another round of Six-Party Talks was held in February 2007. On February 13, 2007, the parties reached an agreement on "Initial Actions for the Implementation of the Joint Statement" in which North Korea agreed to shut down and seal its Yongbyon nuclear facility, including the reprocessing facility, and to invite back International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) personnel to conduct all necessary monitoring and verification of these actions. The other five parties agreed to provide emergency energy assistance to North Korea in the amount of 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil (HFO) in the initial phase (within 60 days) and the equivalent of up to 950,000 tons of HFO in the next phase of North Korea's denuclearization. The six parties also established five working groups to form specific plans for implementing the Joint Statement in the following areas: denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, normalization of D.P.R.K.-U.S. relations, normalization of D.P.R.K.-Japan relations, economic and energy cooperation, and a Northeast Asia peace and security mechanism. All parties agreed that the working groups would meet within 30 days of the agreement, which they did. The agreement also envisions the directly-related parties negotiating a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula at an appropriate separate forum. As part of the initial actions, North Korea invited IAEA Director General ElBaradei to Pyongyang in early March for preliminary discussions on the return of the IAEA to the D.P.R.K.
The sixth round of Six-Party Talks took place on March 19-23, 2007. The parties reported on the first meetings of the five working groups. The talks recessed following the March round.
Under President Roh Moo-hyun, the R.O.K. has simultaneously sought the elimination of the D.P.R.K.'s nuclear weapons through the Six-Party Talks and pursued a policy of reconciliation known as the "Peace and Prosperity Policy." By engaging with the D.P.R.K. through projects such as the Kaesong Industrial Complex, the R.O.K. hopes to invigorate the North Korean economy and engineer a gradual, long-term unification process.
The United States believes that the question of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula is, first and foremost, a matter for the Korean people to decide.
Under the 1953 U.S.-R.O.K. Mutual Defense Treaty, the United States agreed to help the Republic of Korea defend itself against external aggression. Since that time in support of this commitment, the United States has maintained military personnel in Korea, including the Army's Second Infantry Division and several Air Force tactical squadrons. To coordinate operations between these units and the over 680,000-strong Korean armed forces, a Combined Forces Command (CFC) was established in 1978. The head of the CFC also serves as Commander of the United Nations Command (UNC) and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). The current commander is General Burwell Baxter "B.B." Bell.
Several aspects of the security relationship are changing as the U.S. moves from a leading to a supporting role. In 2004, agreement was reached on the return of the Yongsan base in Seoul--as well as a number of other U.S. bases--to the R.O.K. and the eventual relocation of all U.S. forces to south of the Han River. In addition, the U.S. and R.O.K. agreed to move 12,500 of the 37,500 U.S. troops out of Korea by 2008. At the same time U.S. troops are being redeployed from Korea, the U.S. will bolster combined U.S./R.O.K. deterrent and defense capabilities by providing $11 billion in force enhancements in Korea and at regional facilities over the next four years.
As Korea's economy has developed, trade has become an increasingly important aspect of the U.S.-R.O.K. relationship. The U.S. seeks to improve access to Korea's expanding market and increase investment opportunities for American business. The implementation of structural reforms contained in the IMF's 1998 program for Korea improved access to the Korean market, although a range of serious sectoral and structural barriers remained. Korean leaders appear determined to successfully manage the complex economic relationship with the United States and take a more active role in international economic fora as befits Korea's status as a major trading nation. On April 1, 2007, the U.S. and Korea successfully concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. Eight rounds of formal talks held over the course of 10 months culminated in a deal that will "further enhance the strong United States-Korea partnership, which has served as a force for stability and prosperity in Asia," as stated by President Bush. The agreement was signed by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab and South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong on June 30, 2007. If approved by the U.S. Congress and the Korean National Assembly, the FTA is expected to stimulate billions of dollars in trade through the removal of trade barriers and increased investment.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador-- Alexander R. Vershbow
Deputy Chief of Mission--William A. Stanton
Counselor for Political Affairs--Joseph Yun
Counselor for Economic Affairs--Andrew Quinn
Counselor for Management Affairs--Rob Davis
Counselor for Public Affairs--Patrick Linehan
Consul General--Julia Stanley
Counselor for Commercial Affairs--John Fogarasi
Counselor for Agricultural Affairs--Lloyd Harbert
Chief, Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group, Korea (JUSMAG-K)--Col. Kevin Madden
Defense Attaché--Col. Kip McCormick
Drug Enforcement Administration, Special Agent in Charge--Troy Derby
Foreign Broadcast Information Service, Seoul Bureau Chief--J. Loren Reeder
DHS-Citizenship & Immigration Services--Jose R. Olivares
DHS-Immigration & Customs Enforcement Attaché--Barry Tang
Federal Bureau of Investigation Legal Attaché--J. Sung Maeng
The U.S. Embassy in South Korea is located at 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710. The contact information for the U.S. Embassy is: American Embassy-Seoul, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550 (tel.: 82-2-397-4114; fax: 82-2-738-8845). The U.S. Agricultural Trade Office (ATO) is located at 146-1, Susong-dong, Jongno-gu, Leema Bldg., Rm. 303, Seoul 110-140 (fax: 82-2-720-7921). The U.S. Export Development Office/U.S. Trade Center can be reached c/o U.S. Embassy (fax: 82-2-739-1628).
Additional Resources
The following general country guides are available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402:
Library of Congress. North Korea: A Country Study. 1994.
Library of Congress. South Korea: A Country Study. 1992.
Department of State. The Record on Korean Unification 1943-1960. 1961.
Department of the Army. Communist North Korea: A Bibliographic Survey. 1971.
Internet Resources on North and South Korea
The following sites are provided to give an indication of Internet sites on Korea. The Department of State does not endorse unofficial publications, including Internet sites.
- R.O.K. Embassy--http://www.koreaembassyusa.org/
- Korea Society--http://www.koreasociety.org/; links to academic and other sites.
- Nautilus Institute--http://www.nautilus.org/; produced by the Nautilus Institute in Berkeley, California, and includes press roundup Monday through Friday.
- Korea Web Weekly--http://www.kimsoft.com/korea.htm; links to North Korean sites.
- Korea Herald--http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/; South Korean English-language newspaper.
- Korea Times--http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/; South Korean English-language newspaper.
- (North) Korean Central News Agency--http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm
The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information Sheets, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets exist for all countries and include information on entry and exit requirements, currency regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad. Public Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly about terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.
For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution, Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.
The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens traveling or residing abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security conditions.
Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.
The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer service representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.
Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements, and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.
Further Electronic Information
Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov
Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free export counseling, help with the export process, and more.STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from the Federal government. The site includes current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.
Revised: Sep. 2007
- Infoplease country profile: South Korea
- Encyclopedia: South Korea
- Atlas: South Korea
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subset: commoncrawl


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text:
New research has brought us closer than ever to synthesizing entirely new forms of life. An international team of researchers has shown that artificial nucleic acids - called "XNAs" - can replicate and evolve, just like DNA and RNA.
We spoke to one of the researchers who made this breakthrough, to find out how it can affect everything from genetic research to the search for alien life.
The researchers, led by Philipp Holliger and Vitor Pinheiro, synthetic biologists at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK, say their findings have major implications in everything from biotherapeutics, to exobiology, to research into the origins of genetic information itself. This represents a huge breakthrough in the field of synthetic biology.
The "X" Stands for "Xeno"
Every organism on Earth relies on the same genetic building blocks: the the information carried in DNA. But there is another class of genetic building block called "XNA" — a synthetic polymer that can carry the same information as DNA, but with a different assemblage of molecules.
The "X" in XNA stands for "xeno." Scientists use the xeno prefix to indicate that one of the ingredients typically found in the building blocks that make up RNA and DNA has been replaced by something different from what we find in nature — something "alien," if you will.
Strands of DNA and RNA are formed by stringing together long chains of molecules called nucleotides. A nucleotide is made up of three chemical components: a phosphate (labeled here in red), a five-carbon sugar group (labeled here in yellow, this can be either a deoxyribose sugar — which gives us the "D" in DNA — or a ribose sugar — hence the "R" in RNA), and one of five standard bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine or uracil, labeled in blue).
The molecules that piece together to form the six XNAs investigated by Pinheiro and his colleagues (pictured here) are almost identical to those of DNA and RNA, with one exception: in XNA nucleotides, the deoxyribose and ribose sugar groups of DNA and RNA (corresponding to the middle nucleotide component, labeled yellow in the diagram above) have been replaced. Some of these replacement molecules contain four carbons atoms instead of the standard five. Others cram in as many as seven carbons. FANA (pictured top right) even contains a fluorine atom. These substitutions make XNAs functionally and structurally analogous to DNA and RNA, but they also make them alien, unnatural, artificial.
Information Storage vs Evolution
But scientists have been synthesizing XNA molecules for well over a decade. What makes the findings of Pinheiro and his colleagues so compelling isn't the XNA molecules themselves, it's what they've shown these alien molecules are capable of, namely: replication and evolution.
"Any polymer can store information," Pinheiro tells io9. What makes DNA and RNA unique, he says, "is that the information encoded in them [in the form of genes, for example] can be accessed and copied." Information that can be copied from one genetic polymer to another can be propagated; and genetic information that can be propagated is the basis for heredity — the passage of traits from parent to offspring.
In DNA and RNA, replication is facilitated by molecules called polymerases. Using a crafty genetic engineering technique called compartmentalized self-tagging (or "CST"), Pinheiro's team designed special polymerases that could not only synthesize XNA from a DNA template, but actually copy XNA back into DNA. The result was a genetic system that allowed for the replication and propagation of genetic information.
A simplified analogy reveals the strengths and weaknesses of this novel genetic system: You can think of a DNA strand like a classmate's lecture notes. DNA polymerase is the pen that lets you copy these notes directly to a new sheet of paper. But let's say your friend's notes are written in the "language" of XNA. Ideally, your XNA-based genetic system would have a pen that could copy these notes directly to a new sheet of paper. What Pinheiro's team did was create two distinct classes of writing utensil — one pen that copies your friend's XNA-notes into DNA-notes, and a second pen that converts those DNA notes back into XNA-notes.
Is it the most efficient method of replication? No. But it gets the job done. What's more, it does all this copying to and from DNA with a high degree of accuracy (after all, what good is replication if the copy looks nothing like the original?). The researchers achieved a replication fidelity ranging from 95% in LNA to as high as 99.6% in CeNA — the kind of accuracy Pinheiro says is essential for evolution:
"The potential for evolution is closely tied with how much information is being replicated and the error in that process," he explains. "The more error-prone… a genetic system is, the less information can be feasibly evolved." A genetic system as accurate as theirs, on the other hand, should be capable of evolution.
The researchers put this claim to the test by showing that XNA strands made up of the HNA xeno-nucleotides like the one pictured here could evolve into specific sequences capable of binding target molecules (like an RNA molecule, or a protein) tightly and specifically. Researchers call this guided evolution, and they've been doing it with natural DNA for some time. The fact that it can also be accomplished in the lab with synthetic DNA indicates that such a system could, in theory, work in a living organism.
"The HNA system we've developed," explains Pinheiro, is "robust enough for meaningful information to be stored, replicated and evolved."
A Step Toward Novel Lifeforms
The implications of the team's findings are numerous and far-reaching. For one thing, the study sheds significant light on the origins of life itself. In the past, investigations into XNA have been largely driven by the question of whether simpler genetic systems may have existed before the emergence of RNA and DNA; the fact that these XNAs appear to be capable of evolution adds to an ever-growing body of evidence of a genetic system predating DNA and RNA both.
Practical and therapeutic applications abound, as well. "The methodologies [we've developed] are a major step forward in enabling the development of nucleic acid treatments," says Pinheiro. Natural nucleic acids [i.e. DNA and RNA] can be forced to evolve so that they bind tightly and specifically to specific molecular targets. The problem is that these nucleic acids are unsuitable for therapeutic use because they are rapidly broken down by enzymes called nucleases. As a result, these evolved nucleic acid treatments have a short lifespan and have a difficult time reaching their therapeutic targets.
To get around this, Pinheiro says medicinal chemistry is used to modify evolved DNA sequences in an attempt to create a functional molecule that can still bind to a therapeutic target but resist nuclease degradation. But doing this is tough:
"Overall, this leads to high cost and a high failure rate for potential therapies - there is still only a single licenced [nucleic acid-based] drug on the market (Macugen)."
But all six of the XNAs studied by Pinheiro and his team are stronger than regular DNA or RNA, in that they're more resistant to degradation by biological nucleases.
As a result, these molecules would need little or no adaptation for therapeutic (or diagnostic) use. "Since these molecules can now be selected directly on XNA, medicinal chemistry should no longer be limiting," says Pinheiro. You could select a suitable XNA for its biocompatibility and therapeutic potential, and not worry about having it rapidly degrade inside the body.
Pinheiro also says the outcome of the research could even have a strong impact on exobiology:
In my view, exobiology looks for life in regions it cannot physically visit. In that context, it searches for tell tale signs of life that can be remotely monitored but it has only life on Earth as examples to identify such suitable markers. Based on extant biology, DNA and RNA are good candidates for such a search. However, by showing that other nucleic acids can also store information, replicate and evolve, our research may force a rethink as to whether DNA and RNA are the most suitable tell tale signs of life.
Of course, nothing would call the indispensability of DNA- or RNA-based life into question more than the generation of an entirely synthetic, alternative life form, built from the ground up entirely by XNA. Such an organism would require XNA capable of driving its own replication, without the aid of any biological molecules. Pinheiro says that's still a ways off. "Even in its simplest setup... it would be very challenging to develop an XNA system within a cell." Such a system would require XNA capable of self-replication, and capable of undergoing evolution in a self-sustained manner.
That said, his team's work represents a major step in the right direction. As the molecular machinery designed to manipulate XNAs grows, so, too, will the capacity for synthetic genetic systems to stand and operate on their own.
The researchers' findings are published in today's issue of Science.
Top image via Shutterstock; XNA moieties via Science; all other images via Wikimedia Commons


text:
The allegedly mediocre Middle Men is about Internet porn. And the Los Angeles premiere was certainly...porn-tastic.
Jena Malone's 90s mini was one option for this event: the better one, I might add.
Amy Smart went with "day-spa."
Selma Blair did, too: although I must say, she's rocking the simplicity of this. And I have several ideas about who she might be looking at...
Starting with Stephanie Pratt.
Maybe Laura Ramsey? Although this is stealth-awesome.
I too like vintage lingerie detailing. Not necessarily in Milena Govich's combination.
Claudia Jordan must be feeling either over- or under-dressed.
Mary Carey. Because, really, what's to say? Her boyfriend was a dick on Celebrity Rehab. You can say that, I guess.
Bridget Marquardt: demure by comparison!
When I was little I loved to draw dresses and every single time I would give them, no matter what the dress was, a Marie Antoinette-style "opening curtain" effect. I would have been all about Jacinda Barrett's frock.
For once, Luke Wilson's look of bemusement makes sense.
[Images via Getty]


text:
Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TEMESCAL VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California driver intentionally rammed a Toyota Prius with six teenage boys inside, killing three and injuring three others before fleeing, authorities said Monday.
The Prius went off the road and slammed into a tree at around 10:30 p.m. Sunday in Temescal Valley in Riverside County, southeast of Los Angeles.
Anurag Chandra, 42, of Corona was arrested a short time later in a neighborhood near the crash site, according to the California Highway Patrol.
"It was an intentional act," CHP Lt. David Yokley said at a news conference, although he did not disclose a motive. "Our investigation led us to believe Mr. Chandra intentionally rammed the Prius, causing the driver to lose control."
"The investigation has now changed from a hit-run collision to homicide," he said.
Firefighters freed some teens trapped in the car. One boy died at the scene and two others were pronounced dead at hospitals. Their names were not immediately released.
The other victims had moderate injuries, authorities said.
It wasn't immediately clear whether any of the teens were wearing seat belts, authorities said.
A witness followed the other car and notified police. Officers found an Infiniti with front-end damage parked in a neighborhood near the crash site, Officer Juan Quintero told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Chandra was booked on suspicion of murder with malice and assault with a deadly weapon. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text:
Editor: Click Here to Email the Editor
The New Zealand Journal of Forestry is a journal publishing technical articles and peer-reviewed research relevant to forestry in New Zealand and the South Pacific. It has been published since 1925 (as Te Kura Ngahere until 1936). Full text articles are available as PDF files for all issues. Issues < 3 years old are restricted to members/subscribers - all older issues are available free. Authors may self-archive the publisher's version/pdf of their paper on open-access websites with the condition that the author attributes the paper to the journal. The New Zealand Journal of Forestry is published by the New Zealand Institute of Forestry (Inc.).
NEW ISSUES ARE PASSWORD PROTECTED. Issues < 3 years old are available to members only. Members please enter your email in the box on the lower right to get your password emailed to you. Note that this will only work if your email address is on the NZIF membership list. If this does not work, or your email address has changed, please email firstname.lastname@example.com to receive a password. Computers at institutions that subscribe to NZJF should not be asked for a username and password, so long as their IP address(es) have been provided.
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text:
Mallorn 53
From Tolkien Gateway
|Mallorn 53
|Henry Gee
|Cover artist
|Ted Nasmith
|The Tolkien Society
|The Printed Word, Horsham, UK
|Spring 2012
|A4 stapled paperback, glossy
|Preceded by
|Mallorn 52
|Followed by
|Mallorn 54
Mallorn 53 is the fifty-third issue of the The Tolkien Society's biannual journal Mallorn, published in Spring 2012. This was the last issue to be published biannually; the journal returned to its annual format with Mallorn 54 coming out a year later in Spring 2013.
Contents[edit | edit source]
- Cover Art
- By: Ted Nasmith
- Guest Editorial
- "An Elrond by any other name"
- By: Kristine Larsen
- "An Elrond by any other name"
- Letters to the Editor
- "Tolkien's Nobel prize"
- By: Troels Forchhammer
- "Tolkien's Nobel prize"
- Reviews
- "On the origin of ideas": Tolkien and the Study of His Sources
- "Visions of Middle-earth": A Tolkien Tapestry
- By: Daniel Howick
- "Life during wartime": Tolkien and the Peril of War
- By: Becky Hitchin
- "The year in perspective:" Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review, Volume VIII 2011
- By: Troels Forchhammer
- "Telling tales": Among Others
- By: Pat Reynolds
- "Exploring the blind spots": The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
- By: Harley J. Sims
- "Sought in translation": C.S. Lewis's Lost Aeneid: Arms and the Exile
- By: Sharron Sarthou
- Commentary
- "What made J.R.R. Tolkien tick and why was he called 'Reuel'? The importance of Tolkien biography"
- By: Colin Duriez
- "From Dunne to Desmond: disembodied time travel in Tolkien, Stapledon and Lost"
- By: Kristine Larsen
- "Going back: time travel in Tolkien and E. Nesbit"
- By: Virginia Luling
- "What made J.R.R. Tolkien tick and why was he called 'Reuel'? The importance of Tolkien biography"
- Fiction
- "Ten-thousand moons of howling"
- By: Gareth Owens
- "Riders of the last orc"
- By: Lynn Forest-Hill
- "Dark trails"
- By: Mark Ridge
- "Ten-thousand moons of howling"
- Well, I'm Back
- "Meriadoc and the matter of Rohan"
- By: David Doughan
- "Meriadoc and the matter of Rohan"
- Inside Art
- By: Lorenzo Daniele, Jef Murray, Cor Blok, Ted Nasmith, Rick J. Ritchie, John Gilbey
See also[edit source]
- Mallorn, the large tree after which the journal is named
- List of Mallorn issues
- Mallorn cover art gallery
- Amon Hen, the bi-monthly bulletin of The Tolkien Society


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text:
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text:
Contemporary Topics 1 with Essential Online Resources
Solorzano Helen S
€ 43.98
FREE Delivery in Ireland
Description for Contemporary Topics 1 with Essential Online Resources Paperback. BIC Classification: 2AB; ELM. Category: (L) ELT / TEFL. Dimension: 276 x 210 x 8. Weight in Grams: 282.
Now in a fourth edition, Contemporary Topics expands on its highly respected approach to developing academic listening and study skills. Organized around realistic college lectures, the text guides learners through carefully sequenced activities in skills such as note-taking, focusing attention, intensive listening, and vocabulary building. It also helps students evaluate their interests and explore possible career paths.
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- New audio interviews with topic experts provide context for the upcoming unit lecture.
- Bottom-up listening and pronunciation exercises emphasize important principles and improve real-time perception.
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- Collaborative activities with presentation strategies and peer evaluations allow students to make connections and develop critical thinking skills.
- Unit comprehension tests assess students' grasp of key concepts presented in the unit lecture.
- Mapped to the Global Scale of English.
Product Details
Publication date
Pearson Education (US) United States
Signed by the author
Number of Pages
Place of Publication
Upper Saddle River, United States
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 4 to 8 working days
Reviews for Contemporary Topics 1 with Essential Online Resources


text: Google is trying to register the word "Glass" as a trademark for its computer-powered glasses. But so far, the company and the U.S. trademark office aren't seeing eye to eye. Google, which has successfully trademarked the term "Google Glass," submitted an application last year for a trademark on just the single word "Glass," displayed with the same futuristic font used in its marketing campaign. But the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is holding up the company's bid. In a letter to the company last fall, a trademark examiner raised two main objections. One concern was that the trademark was too similar to other existing or pending computer software trademarks that contain the word "glass," creating a risk of consumer confusion. The examiner also suggested that "Glass" — even with its distinctive formatting — is "merely descriptive."


text:
Quick, drop everything you're doing. Knitting, reading, fighting fires, creating world peace, whatever; Nothing is more important that baking these cookies.
Forget about the best vegan cookies – These are the best cookies, period. The days of dry, tasteless, cardboard-esque "cookies" are over. I swear, these chocolate gems are moist, chewy, and most of all INTENSELY chocolatey.
I made this recipe for the first time in order to thank a friend at school for being… Well, a friend. (I don't have enough of those… So I feel I must maintain their loyalty through baked goods!) Stopping me periodically in the hall throughout the day, she told me again and again how amazing they were, and that everyone else she shared with liked them so much, she herself had only eaten two! By the time lunch came, the entire box was already cleaned of the very last crumb. The demand was so great, in fact, that I came home that same night and made a second batch! Seeing as my neglected homework was piling up, I had less time to shape and pat the second batch, but just dropped them on the sheet in haste. They still turned out just as good, if slightly less photo-worthy, (Thus, no picture) but honestly, these cookies won't stick around long enough for you to really admire their beauty, anyways.
Of course, this is yet another fantastic recipe from the
Post Punk Kitchen, titled quite simply and accurately, Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made absolutely zero changes or substitutions, because I believe that these are truely the perfect baked goods. Clearly, they will be seen much more often when I'm asked to bake something with chocolate… Which is in fact my most common request.
If only I had known about these before becoming vegan… To think, I've been missing out for all these years!


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Do Ho Suh's Gate (2005) will go on view this weekend in LACMA's Korean art galleries. Made of translucent silk, Gate is a full-size rendering of one of the gates to the artist's childhood home in Seoul. Suh's father, the artist and scholar Suh Se-Ok, built the house based on the design of traditional Korean architecture of the 1880s. He reconstructed the traditional scholar's house using discarded wood from demolished buildings that were torn down as Korea was modernizing in the 1950s and 1960s.
Do Ho Suh, Gate, 2005, purchased with funds provided by Carla and Fred Sands through the 2006 Collectors Committee
Born in Seoul in 1962, Suh lives and works in both New York and South Korea. He began making "fabric-architecture" in 1994, using transparent and translucent materials like silk and nylon to recreate the places he has lived throughout his life. Architecture and memory are central themes in Suh's work. By rendering such intimate spaces as his childhood home and his first adult apartment in translucent materials, he evokes questions in the viewer about their own sense of place and memory. When asked about the fabrication of these works, he responded: "A big portion of the fabrication has been done by me, especially measuring and pattern making. Measuring is such an important process and it becomes always very personal since the process allows me to revisit my childhood memories and personal histories. It has to be also a very intimate process, too, because it is a very tactile process. I have to caress all the surfaces of the building and record the measurements. Of course, I must hire other people who are in various skill levels from 'Human National Treasures' (old sewing ladies who still carry on traditional techniques) to part-time students because it is a very labor intensive process."
Michele Urton, Assistant Curator, Contemporary Art


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Road Trip: Pirate Route, Jamaica
Once the home of pirates galore, today's treasures of Port Royal, Jamaica, are historic and scenic delights.
Located below the eastern end of Cuba, in the heart of the Spanish Main, Jamaica was the perfect base for pirates intent on plundering Spain's New World treasure ships as they sailed the high seas bound for Cadiz. Many of these bloodthirsty nomads operated out of the city of Port Royal.
Set between the Blue Mountains and a sunlit turquoise sea, Port Royal appeared blessed, but in what seemed the act of a vengeful God, most of this "wickedest city in Christendom" was destroyed in a 1692 earthquake, leaving two-thirds of the city beneath the sea. "Jamaica was once all about the pirates," says Rodney Campbell, a denizen of the Port Royal pier. "Look closely and you'll see reminders of them everywhere."
Port Royal is the starting point for this journey into history. What remains of Port Royal lies at the tip of a 9-mile (14-kilometer) breakwater road called the Palisadoes, which partially encircles Kingston harbor, with Norman Manley airport halfway down its length. Here you can pick up a rental car to set off on your 380-mile (612-kilometer) trip. Beginning in Port Royal, this excursion first goes east, past a beached freighter, into Kingston. From there, a roughly clockwise circumnavigation of the island will take you past green savannas, sugarcane fields, and mountains, with the azure Caribbean in the distance.
Start in Port Royal
On approach to Port Royal, a faded Red Stripe sign proclaims the old city, "Where the Buccaneers Drank their Beer." This once swashbuckling enclave is now a quiet fishing town—one in which Red Stripe flows at the tumbledown Fisherman's Cabin on a harborside pier. Captain Henry Morgan, the city's foremost citizen, triumphantly returned to Port Royal in 1668 after famously looting the "impregnable" Spanish stronghold of Portobelo, Panama. Port Royal retains such buccaneer sites as St. Peter's Church. Inside is the silver communion service said to have been donated by Captain Morgan. Beyond St. Peter's, Fort Charles appears largely as it did at the time of the 1692 earthquake. Its Maritime Museum is rich in pipes, tools, dishes, and other archaeological artifacts rescued from the sunken part of the city. Across a green that was once a British army parade ground, original battlements overlook the site of the sunken pirate vessel Ranger. Down a side street is the Old Gaol, which withstood the earthquake and is now a pharmacy with a sign for Ting soda on its ancient facade.
Heading back to the Jamaica of dancehall music and Bob Marley T-shirts, a drive east along the Palisadoes leads into Kingston, Jamaica's capital city, founded when refugees fled Port Royal after the earthquake. Bob Marley's former home on Hope Road has been turned into a museum featuring his music. From Kingston, journey west along highway A1 for about 18 miles (30 kilometers) to the former Jamaican capital of Spanish Town, where the town's main square is suitably Georgian and includes the remains of the 19th-century Old Courthouse on Constitution Street. On the square's west side, in a former couthouse that was demolished in the 1760s, John "Calico Jack" Rackham, a dandified pirate chief, and his female crew—Anne Bonny and Mary Read—were tried. Following their 1720 capture in Jamaican waters, the three were convicted of piracy—a crime for which Calico Jack was strung up on Rackham's Cay east of Port Royal while the women were sent to the Spanish Town jail, the ruins of which stand behind the Old Courthouse.
From Bluefields, head northwest on the coastal A2 to the resort town of Negril. There, the villas at Rondel Village (www.rondelvillage.com), with their breezy, octagonal architecture, make for a serene and friendly resort set right on Bloody Bay. It was here that John Rackham and his female cohorts were captured. The bay's sandy beach stretches for miles backed by a series of luxury all-inclusive resorts.
Round Hill
Beyond Negril, the coastal highway (now designated the A1) heads north and then eastward, providing commanding vistas of the sea for many of the 40 miles (64 kilometers) to Hopewell, an untidy suburb of Montego Bay. As you approach Hopewell, you'll notice Round Hill, a forested promontory that juts into the western end of Montego Bay's harbor. The five-star Round Hill resort (www.roundhilljamaica.com), built on and named for this feature, is among the most elegant places to stay on the island. At the top of Round Hill, the remains of Round Hill Fort, which protected the harbor from pirates during the early 18th century, offers visitors great views of Montego Bay and the city.
Ocho Rios
From Montego Bay, it's a 63-mile (101-kilometer) drive along the stunning North Coast to Ocho Rios, where the Henry Morgan portraits begin to reappear. Just outside Port Maria (20 miles/32 kilometers east of Ocho Rios) stands British playwright Noel Coward's Firefly—the estate where he spent the last 20 years of his life. It was from a nearby point that Morgan directed attacks upon passing ships. Coward's composing room—the "Room with a View"—looks out over a gun-slit "pirate cabin" that sheltered Morgan behind thick walls and offers views of Port Maria's harbor and the lighthouse. A hole in the earth that lead to a tunnel that supposedly gave Morgan passage to the sea can be found not far from Coward's hillside gravesite.
- Nat Geo Expeditions
End Back in Kingston
Though the buccaneer-related sights thin out as you continue east to Port Antonio, the drive here is one of the most scenic in Jamaica, skirting the Blue Mountains as you round the eastern end of the island and head back west toward Kingston. Just past Port Antonio, stop for some authentic jerk pork at Boston Bay, a laid-back seaside village. As you enjoy your meal and a cold Red Stripe, look out to sea. Who knows, you just might spot a pirate ship along the horizon.
Road Kit
Enjoy this drive any time of year. To contact the Jamaica Tourist Board in the United States, call 800 233 4582.
—Text by Alan Wellikoff, adapted from National Geographic Traveler


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BANGOR, Maine — A bail check Friday at a Hermon home led to the arrest of four people who allegedly were found divvying up bath salts with an estimated street value of more than $1 million, according to information made public Tuesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center.
Arthur Coy, 49, and Elizabeth Fuentes, 29, both of Houston; Leonard Wells, 53, of Hermon and Greenbush; and Stephen Warren, 29, of Corinth were charged with aggravated trafficking in synthetic hallucinogenic drugs, a Class A crime.
Coy, Fuentes and Warren made their first appearances Tuesday at the Penobscot Judicial Center. None of them entered pleas.
Wells was released Saturday from the Penobscot County Jail on $50,000 cash bail, Tracy Lacher, assistant district attorney for Penobscot County, told Superior Court District Judge William Anderson.
She said that deputies with the Penobscot County sheriff's office went to a home owned by Wells at 6 New Boston Rd. in Hermon at about 6 p.m. Friday to make sure he was complying with bail conditions.
Wells is scheduled to go on trial next month on one count of Class B burglary and one count of Class C theft in connection with a break-in at a Greenfield home in August, according to the Penobscot County district attorney's office. He was free on $3,000 cash bail.
Coy obtained bath salts in China, imported them to the United States and distributed them in Maine through Wells, Lacher said Tuesday.
Anderson set bail for Coy at $300,000 cash.
"The police walked in on a situation where he and other people were dividing up a fairly obscene quantity of drug, the street value of which was estimated at over a million dollars," Anderson said in setting the high bail.
The judge set bail for Fuentes, described as Coy's girlfriend by the prosecutor, at $50,000 cash and at $75,000 cash for Warren, who is Wells' stepson.
More details about the case were not available after Tuesday's hearing because the affidavit was sealed. Penobscot County Sheriff Glenn Ross declined Tuesday afternoon to comment on the case.
Lacher said that the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency has been asked to assist in the investigation after the four were arrested.
Coy, Fuentes and Warren remained Tuesday night at the Penobscot County Jail, unable to make bail.
All four people charged are scheduled to appear in court again on March 7.
If convicted of drug trafficking, they face up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.


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Today, the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law, is releasing the issue brief Copycat Snacks in Schools on the food industry's recent push to market popular junk food brands in schools. As noted in today's New York Times story by Michael Moss entitled "The Domino's Smart Slice Goes To School," PHAI has called upon the USDA to address branded junk food marketing in schools. Starting July 1, 2014, all foods sold outside of the National School Lunch Program, such as food from vending machines and school stores, will have to meet United States Department of Agriculture "Smart Snacks" nutrition criteria. Not wanting to lose an in-school marketing opportunity, major food companies like PepsiCo are producing reformulated versions of popular junk foods like Cheetos® and Doritos® that meet the Smart Snacks criteria, but use the same brand names, logos and spokescharacters as are used to market traditional junk food.
For example, PepsiCo produces and markets to school food service directors a product called Cheetos® Flamin' Hot Puffs Reduced Fat. This product meets the USDA Smart Snack guidelines, but it is not widely available for retail purchase outside of schools. Instead, PepsiCo offers Cheetos® Flamin' Hot Puffs to the broader public. As you can see below, the product packaging is almost identical.
Copycat snacks like reduced fat versions of Cheetos® products are not widely available for purchase outside of schools and are clearly designed to co-market traditional junk food to children in school. The issue brief describes copycat snacks, how they undermine nutrition education efforts, and what can be done to stop the sale and marketing of these products in schools.