Spain

Spanish decoration: Yim Sung-joon, left, former president of the Korea Foundation, poses with Spanish Ambassador to Korea Luis Arias-Romero after receiving the Order of Isabella the Catholic (la Orden de Isabel la Catolica in Spanish) for his contribution to Korean-Spanish relations at the latter’s residence in Seoul, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Lee Ji-eun

Russia

Russian Language Contest: Winners of the 2nd Russian Language Contest pose with organizers and hosts during an award ceremony at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, May 18. The pair of An Yeon-ju and Seong Ri-sa from HUFS won the top prize, a three-month language training trip to Russia, in the competition where 24 contestants from nine universities took part. The annual event aims to help students get interested in Russia and its culture. Three other runner-up teams were chosen for prizes. / Courtesy of Russian Embassy

Pakistan

Investment in Pakistan: Pakistani Ambassador to Korea Shaukat Ali Mukadam, fifth from left, poses with dignitaries at Gyeonggi College of Science and Technology in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, May 21, after giving a presentation on the investment environment in his country. / Courtesy of Pakistani embassy

Germany

Werner Herzog film festival
The German Cultural Institute in Seoul is presenting 34 films by German director Werner Herzog at the Korean Film Archive in Sangam, northwestern Seoul, until June 17.

With the title “The Absolute, the Sublime and the Truth,” it presents the experimental director’s important works from his debut film “Herakles (1962)” to the recent 3D documentary “Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010).”

Director Herzog, often considered one of the most important and influential German directors, gained world fame with the visually stunning films, “Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972),” “Woyzech (1979)” and “Fitzcarraldo (1982)” starring the eccentric actor Klaus Kinski.
There will be a photo exhibition by Beat Presser, still photographer and documentary maker, who joined Herzog’s work, in the foyer of the cinema during the festival.

Admission is free. For more information on the screening schedule, visit http://www.koreafilm.org/.

Kenya

Wildlife in Kenya: Kenyan Ambassador to Korea Ngovi Kitau, third from left, and Korean Air officials pose for a photo at the carrier’s headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday, after a virtual dialogue with online users about wildlife in Kenya. The event took place to celebrate the launch of Korean Air’s direct flight to Nairobi this summer. From left are Lee Hwa-seok, senior vice president of the corporate communications division; Hur Won-suk in charge of social network services; Kitau; and Emily Cho, vice president of the communications division.