[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Gapyeong Cherry Blossom Festival Welcoming spring, the Gapyeong Cherry Blossom Festival is set to start from April 8 to 16 at Eden Cherry Blossom Road in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province. The 1.2-kilometer cherry blossom tunnel features stage performances of classical and popular songs, a flea market of handmade things and local specialties throughout the festival. The festival makes a return after a four-year break as most of the remaining COVID-19 policies were lifted as of Monday. The event is o

March 24, 2023

[From the Scene] Korean galleries put domestic artists forefront at Hong Kong Art Basel

HONG KONG -- South Korea’s homegrown galleries have brought contemporary Korean artists to Art Basel Hong Kong, Asia’s largest art fair, as it made a full return after four years this week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. “We had a smooth start. I see as many people as before the pandemic. All of the paintings by Joung Young-ju were sold out to collectors from outside South Korea, including those from the US,” said Woo Chan-kyu, president of Hakgojae, on

March 23, 2023

[Photo news]Joseon palaces welcome spring spectators

Colourful flowers adorning Seoul’s old palaces are just around corner as spring has officially arrived in Seoul in the middle of March. The Royal Palaces and Tombs Center of Cultural Heritage Administration on Tuesday announced that the spring blossoms in the royal palaces will peak from late March to early April, forecasting blossoms of cherry, apricot, plum and weeping cherry to kick off the season on Thursday. The palace authority chose three places for best flowers in Seoul’s Jos

March 21, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Pinnacle Land Spring Flower Festival The Pinnacle Land Spring Flower Festival is scheduled to take place at Pinnacle Land, a botanical garden in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, starting March 24. The event runs through May 30. The botanical garden will present some 50,000 tulips and narcissus plants, allowing visitors to enjoy a fragrant spring atmosphere. The second edition of Pinnacle Land Spring Flower Festival also puts on a firework display at 8 p.m. on Saturdays. The event is open to p

March 17, 2023

City that treasures nostalgic memories: Goyang

GOYANG, Gyeonggi Province -- Less than a 50-minute drive northwest from central Seoul, Goyang is an easy-to-reach destination for Seoulites. The city's reputation as a quiet residential area might have kept it off the top of day-trippers' lists, but in recent years, Goyang's increasingly successful spring flower expo has been encouraging people to see more of what the town has to offer. Looking to capitalize on this, the city has begun to offer guided bus tours to introduce its mo

March 17, 2023

[Photo News] Spring begins blooming

Spring has arrived across Korea in the middle of March, with flowers blooming in the warmer provinces along the southern and eastern coasts. Apricot and cornelian cherry flowers bloom the fastest among spring flowers, indicating the end of winter. Here are photos of colorful spring views with those flowers, taken this week across South Korea.

March 15, 2023

Salute spring at Hwaseong Botanical Garden

HWASEONG, Gyeonggi Province -- Although the weather still feels cold for early March, impatient flower lovers head to Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province to look for the first signs of spring. Some 50 kilometers southwest of Seoul, Hwaseong Botanical Garden welcomes visitors with more than 580 species of plants growing on the Korean Peninsula. Outside the garden, trees and flowers have yet to bloom and the dry, crinkled brown leaves are a reminder of the last snap of winter. But inside the walls of a la

March 11, 2023

No fire at 2023 Jeju Fire Festival

The Jeju Fire Festival, this year's iteration of which kicked off Thursday, has decided to cancel the program's highlights involving actual fire due to safety concerns, according to the organizers on late Thursday. Several events scheduled for Friday and Saturday, including the festival's highlight, the Oreum Fire Lighting, were canceled as a series of wildfires have recently broken out in other areas in Korea amid the dry weather. Other performances, concerts and programs will go

March 10, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival is scheduled to take place at various sites in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, including Gyeongju Expo Grand Park, the park of royal tombs, also known as Daereungwon, and more. The festival starts March 25 and will run through April 16. Visitors can enjoy a festival that combines cherry blossoms with art and culture. Hueree Maehwa and Canola Flower Festivals, Jeju Island The Hueree Maehwa Festival, which kicked off on

March 10, 2023

[Photo News] When is peak cherry blossom season?

The peak season for cherry blossoms is forecast to reach Seoul in the third week of April after starting in the southernmost province of Jeju on April 1. According to the Korean Forest Service, Mulhyanggi Arboretum and Mount Suri, 20-40 kilometers south from Seoul, will see the peak on April. 11, while the Korea National Arboretum in northern Gyeonggi Province will reach the peak on April 18. The forest authority issued the cherry blossom forecast on March 3, indicating the dates when more than

March 9, 2023

Walk in nature on Jeju, away from bustling crowds

SEOGWIPO, Jeju Island -- As more Koreans head overseas for holidays with the lifting of COVID-19 related travel restrictions, there are concerns that domestic travel to Jeju Island may decrease. But with a number of luxury hotels newly opening on the southern island, Jeju’s travel industry is positive about growth prospects. JW Marriott Jeju Resort & Spa, expected to open sometime this month, is the latest five-star hotel on the island -- Grand Hyatt Jeju opened its doors in 2020 and P

March 4, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Nonsan Strawberry Festival Nonsan Strawberry Festival will take place from March 8 through March 12 at various areas of Nonsan Citizen Park in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province. The event promotes Nonsan strawberries, providing opportunities for tourists visiting the city to enjoy them and the beautiful surroundings in which they are grown. The five-day festival offers various hands-on activities, including strawberry jam making, strawberry picking and more. Visitors can also enjoy delicious st

March 3, 2023

[Newsmaker] Colonial-era place of torture now monument to sacrifice

Tiny was hardly even the word for it. The solitary confinement inside the buildings of Seodaemun Jail was barely wide enough for an average-sized man to enter, and would have been just long enough for one to lie down. On one side of the windowless cell was a small hole, which turned out to be possibly among the most depraved versions of a toilet. Built in 1908 near the end of the Joseon era, this notorious jail was a place where many Korean independence fighters were locked up, tortured and exec

Feb. 28, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Hueree Maehwa Festival, Jeju The Hueree Maehwa Festival, which kicks off Friday, runs through March 24 at Hueree Natural Park on Jeju Island. Maehwa is plum blossom in Korean. The park, near Mount Halla, offers a chance to stroll, relax and enjoy the early spring. The annual festival highlights Jeju Island’s splendid scenery and its beautiful plum blossoms, among many other flowers blooming in the spring season, offering multiple photo zones for families and friends to take memorable pictu

Feb. 24, 2023

Beat the cold in jjimjilbang heat

Outdoor activities -- skiing, snowboarding, sledding -- may be among common ways to enjoy the winter season. But, sometimes, laying on your back on a heated floor at a jjimjilbang is simply the better way to beat the bitter cold. Jjimjilbang, a Korean-style sauna featuring two traditional heating systems -- “ondol” and “gama,” referring to a heated floor and kiln-shaped sauna rooms in Korean, respectively. Diehard sauna lovers or those who know about jjimjilbang through K

Feb. 11, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Gangjin Celadon Festival The 51st edition of Gangjin Celadon Festival is scheduled to start Feb. 23, running through March 1 at the areas around Goryeo Celadon Museum in Gangjin, South Jeolla Province. Celebrating the excellence of Korean celadon from Goryeo period, the event offers various hands-on activities, including spinning wheel, coil-style celadon making and more. The fees for hands-on activities vary from 1,000 won to 5,000 won. A special parade, busking by local artists, a lantern-maki

Feb. 10, 2023

[Subway Stories] Dongnimmun Station, where memories of heroes are commemorated

Almost immediately, one can feel the nationalistic pride that fills Dongnimmun Station as the taegeuk mark and the four black trigrams of the Taegeukgi, the national flag, can be seen across multiple corners of the Line No.3 terminal. It is one of the few subway stations in Seoul that has its own unique design reflecting the significance of the surrounding areas. Such meaning can be found immediately upon stepping out of exit No. 3, adjacent to a small exhibition hall named “House for

Feb. 4, 2023

The colder the better

WONJU, Gangwon Province -- With temperatures dropping nationwide, long puffer jackets can be spotted everywhere. While many people begrudgingly head outside armed with heavy gloves, winter hats and mufflers, ice climbers can’t hide their smiles as they stand in front of the ice wall in Wonju, Gangwon Province. “It was pretty cold last week! I heard Seoul’s temperature dropped to minus 18 degrees Celsius right? That sounds like a good time to enjoy some ice climbing,” Pand

Feb. 4, 2023

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Hallim Park Narcissus Festival The Narcissus Festival, which began Jan. 21, will run through Feb. 19 at Hallim Park, one of the most popular tourist spots on Jeju Island. The park, reaching almost 100 thousand square meters in size, is home to various types of flowers and plants. More than a million narcissuses welcome flower lovers during its flowering season. Admission is 9,000 won ($7.38), 10,000 won and 15,000 won for children, teenagers and adults, respectively. Online reservation can be

Feb. 3, 2023

[Newsmaker] New visas, faster entries: Immigration changes in 2023

South Korea has recently rolled out a series of changes for foreign visitors and residents in the country, ranging from new visas to giving young children access to automated immigration gates at airports. The measures are intended to draw more foreigners, from tourists to long-term workers, after a period of pandemic-induced strict border controls. Introduction of new visas Two new visa types will be made available to visitors, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced last mont

Feb. 1, 2023