Closed road reborn as world’s longest box car race track

A road on a closed national highway in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province, reopened as Hoengseong Luge, a 2.4-kilometer-long track for racing unmotorized carts down -- also known as luge in korea. Hoengseong invested 2.7 billion won ($2.3 million) in crafting the tourist destination out of part of the National Route 42, which is closed. It is the first such track in South Korea to be constructed and operated under a local government. A recent investigation done by Korea Consumer Agency showed that

Aug. 16, 2020

[67th Anniversary Special] ‘Wanderlust gene’: Travel during COVID-19

The show must go on, and so must travel. While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everyone’s life one way or another, one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest is the tourism industry. The tourism industry around the world has been crippled by the virus. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, 96 percent of the planet’s destinations have imposed travel restrictions, either completely or partially closing their borders. Though international travel is off the table f

Aug. 15, 2020

Chimaek clampdown cuts Gangwon beach trash

The popular pairing of fried chicken and beer -- known locally as chimaek -- can be eaten almost anywhere in Korea, but east coast beaches have become an exception. Under government guidelines issued for disease control, Gangwon Province imposed an administrative order on eight of its provincial beaches last month to restrict gatherings and ban eating outdoors at nighttime. Announcements warning that visitors are barred from eating there from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that those who violate the r

Aug. 15, 2020

Gyeongbokgung to open up at night

The Cultural Heritage Administration on Friday announced that it will open Gyeongbokgung to visitors in the evening from Sept. 2 to Dec. 4. During this time, the palace will accept up to 4,500 nighttime visitors per day from 7 p.m to 9:30 p.m. The palace is closed on Tuesdays. The CHA added that it will sell 2,500 tickets online, while selling 2,000 tickets on-site. The online tickets can be booked on portal giant Naver’s Booking platform. Before entering the site, people who made res

Aug. 14, 2020

Gyeongbokgung tours bring flavor of Joseon

Two events will be held at Gyeongbokgung this month to give visitors a literal taste of Joseon royal life. First held in 2016, the Gyeongbokgung Starlight Tour includes a tasting of an everyday meal for the king and queen, traditional music performances and a guided tour of the grounds. This year’s night tour begins at Heungnyemun Gate and offers an exclusive tour of the two halls--Jipgyeongdang and Hamhwadang -- which are normally not open to the public during the night tour. The to

Aug. 12, 2020

Contact-free travel in Daejeon

DAEJEON -- With international travel more burdensome than ever because of the spread of COVID-19, many Koreans are traveling domestically for a summer break. The city of Daejeon, about a two-hour drive south of Seoul or an hour by high-speed train KTX, offers a plethora of unique outdoor-contact-free experiences for people thinking of travelling safely amid COVID-19. “In Daejeon and Gyeryongsan there are many socially distanced tourist attractions that are less affected by COVID-19, suc

Aug. 8, 2020

Korail sets up multilingual information kiosks in KTX stations

Korail has introduced multilingual information kiosks in five of the KTX stations most visited by foreigners. The touchscreen machines can be used in four different languages. KTX train schedules and flight schedules as well as live traffic information and routes to destinations are provided. The machines also have information on the station’s facilities and nearby tourist attractions. Information on Korail Pass for foreigners is provided as well. The kiosk is available at Seoul, Yong

Aug. 8, 2020

[Around the Hotels] Promotions and Packages

’Relax 26 Hours Package’ at Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Novotel Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun Hotel & Residences presents a staycation package, “Relax 26 Hours Package.” The package includes a one-night stay, 30,000 won worth of food credit and free use of the hotel’s swimming pool, fitness center and kids’ zone. Guest can check in early, starting at noon, and check out late at 2 p.m. the next day for a total stay of 26 hours. The package, price

Aug. 7, 2020

Jeju’s UNESCO heritage cave to open up for 17 days

JEJU CITY -- “Please turn off all the flashlights,” Ki Jin-seok, a curator of Jeju World Natural Heritage Center, said during a press tour of a restricted section of Manjanggul. Unlike the section of the cave that is open to the public, this area does not have a single light installed. The cave soon became pitch dark. 　 “Even after a while, your eyes will not get used to this darkness, because there is no light at all here,” Ki said. Manjanggul is a 7.4-kilometer-l

Aug. 2, 2020

[Eye Plus] Yangyang is a summer playground

The small county of Yangyang in Gangwon Province, a 2 1/2-hour drive from Seoul, has morphed into a bustling surf town in recent years, as the hub of Korea’s surfing culture.  Surf shops, restaurants and cafes for surfers line Yangyang’s streets. On the weekends, the beaches are packed with surfers in wetsuits looking far out into the horizon with their surf boards, waiting for the right wave.  The local surfing culture is thought to have emerged in the 1990s and today

Aug. 1, 2020

Taean offers idyllic beach getaway in COVD-19 times

TAEAN, South Chungcheong Province -- Though COVID-19 has yet to be contained, summer is here, and so is the vacation season. Taean is a popular tourist town on the west coast of Korea, about a three-hour drive from Seoul. The small seaside county was the site of the worst oil spill in Korea in 2007, when a crane-barge collision led to the leaking of 11 million gallons of oil into the ocean. Workers, residents and volunteers from across the nation gathered in Taean to clean the blackened beache

July 25, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Jeonju International Sori Festival The 2020 Jeonju International Sori Festival is a global music festival that centers on Korean music and vocals. It runs Sept. 16-20 at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. The festival bills itself as a major performing arts festival that brings together exquisite styles of music from around the globe, with its programs encompassing a wide array of performance genres. The program for the 2020 festival has not yet been set. For more inf

July 24, 2020

Walking above Seoul

Lotte World Adventure will launch its Sky Bridge Tour program Friday from the top of its observatory, Seoul Sky, at Lotte World Tower. Lotte World Tower, a 123-story skyscraper in eastern Seoul, will add the Sky Bridge Tour program to its activity list. The program allows participants to cross the outdoor Sky Bridge, which connects the tower’s two structures.   The 11-meter bridge is situated 541 meters above ground. It will be the first time the tower’s uppermost structure

July 21, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Jeonju International Sori Festival The 2020 Jeonju International Sori Festival aims to encompass both traditional Korean music and world music as a global music festival that centers on Korean vocals and music. The festival will be held at the Sori Arts Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, Sept. 16-20. The festival touts itself as a top performing arts festival where exquisite music from around the globe are brought together, with its programs ranging across a wide array of performance

July 17, 2020

Wide open nature of Jeju offers solace for COVID-19 weary

Five months into COVID-19, I was itching to go somewhere, anywhere. The past few months had been filled with anxiety as I worried about family members in different countries. When we were finally all united in Seoul, the house got too crowded, as we mostly kept to home, other than returning to work. I needed to self-isolate in a quiet place -- undisturbed by anyone. Travel abroad was out of the question. So were crowded tourist destinations. That left me with an escape to Jeju Island, some

July 17, 2020

Suncheon Bay Nat'l Garden most popular regional travel destination in 2019

The Suncheon Bay National Garden, a massive ecological park in the country's southwestern region, was the most popular regional tourist destination last year outside of hot spots in and around Seoul, according to government data Wednesday. The number of visitors to the park, located 415 kilometers south of Seoul in the province of South Jeolla, reached 6.18 million, the largest among regional tourist destinations, last year, according to data provided by the culture ministry and its affiliated

July 15, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Gangneung Coffee Festival Gangneung Coffee Festival is held every year to promote coffee culture and celebrate Gangneung’s growth as the leading coffee hub in Korea. The city in Gangwon Province is known to be a city of coffee, being home to some legendary baristas in Korea. This year’s festival, slated to be held Oct. 8-11 at Gangneung Ice Arena, will invite big name figures from the local coffee scene for talks and seminars. Barista competitions and performances will take place,

July 10, 2020

Hantan River area listed as UNESCO Global Geopark

The Hantan River area near the inter-Korean border has been designated as a UNESCO Global Geopark, officials said Tuesday. The UN body made the decision to add the 1,165-square-kilometer area to the list during a meeting in Paris, according to the Gyeonggi provincial government. The designation raised the number of South Korean geoparks on the list to four, including the southern island of Jeju, Cheongsong in the southeast and Mount Mudeung in the southwest. "We will put special effort

July 7, 2020

KTO promotes Korea through eyes of Netflix

The Korea Tourism Organization released a promotional video titled “Explore Korea,” made in collaboration with Netflix, using a compilation of clips of Korea shown in films and dramas on the global online streaming platform. The approximately 90-second clip was released Monday through the KTO’s YouTube channel. The clip, a compilation of scenes from Netflix original programming, shows the history, food and tourist attractions of Korea, along with local lifestyles. Tradition

July 7, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Goyang Street Arts Festival Goyang Street Arts Festival allows festivalgoers a chance to see performances ranging from underwater dance, midair performances to fireworks show all in one place. The festival, organized by the Goyang Cultural Foundation, will be held at Lake Park in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, an hour’s drive west of Seoul, from Sept. 24-27. For more information in Korean, visit www.gylaf.kr. Call the travel hotline at 1330 for help in Korean, English, Japanese or Chinese.

July 3, 2020