Sunrise at Haeundae in BusanPeople enjoy the sunrise on the first day of 2019 at Haeundae beach in Busan, the country’s southernmost port city on Jan. 1, where two giant balloon pigs have been installed. (Yonhap)
Year of the PigPigs, the zodiac sign under the lunar calendar for 2019, are put out to pasture at a farm in Cheongyang, South Chungcheong Province, on Dec. 31, 2018, on New Year’s Eve. (Yonhap)
Sudanese student becomes doctorThis photo, provided by Inje Medical College, shows Thomas Tarvan Akot, a 33-year-old Sudanese student, posing for a photo in front of a bust of the late South Korean Catholic priest Lee Tae-seok after a commencement ceremony at the school in Busan in January 2018. He recently passed South Korea’s monthslong national examination for medical practitioners after years of studying. The Sudanese came to South Korea from his country for his studies in 2009 on the priest’s recommendation. Nicknamed “the Schweitzer of Sudan,” Lee served many years as a doctor and died of cancer in the African nation in 2010. He was the first foreigner to be introduced in textbooks in South Sudan for his social contributions and volunteer work. (Yonhap)
Patriots minister visits Dongmyeong unitSouth Korean Patriots and Veterans Affairs Minister Pi Woo-jin (C, front row) poses for a photo with soldiers of the Dongmyeong unit in Lebanon on Dec. 19, 2018, in this photo provided by the ministry. Dongmyeong is a South Korean contingent stationed in the Mideast country since 2007 as part of U.N. peacekeepers overseeing a cease-fire and maintaining a buffer zone between Lebanon and Israel. (Yonhap)
Reporting blacklist to prosecutionOfficials from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party enter the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office in Seoul on Dec. 27, 2018, to submit a complaint over an alleged Environment Ministry blacklist. The blacklist, disclosed by the party, contains the names of the heads of the ministry’s affiliated public organizations, who are known to be the targets of replacement with figures close to the Moon Jae-in government. (Yonhap)
Xmas Mass in NKChristmas Mass is being held at a cathedral in North Korea at an undisclosed date in this photo provided by the Korea Faith & Order Council on Dec. 25, 2018. (Yonhap)
Christmas tree made of Vietnamese hatsA Christmas tree made of Vietnamese-style straw conical hats is lit up at a cathedral in the southeastern city of Daegu on Dec. 24, 2018, Christmas Eve. The Vietnamese community in the city contributed to the making of the Christmas tree. (Yonhap)
