[Weekender] Stranger places: out-of-the-ordinary destinations

For those weary of typical travel itineraries -- looking at landscapes, eating local food, sightseeing -- The Korea Herald recommends a number of unique, and somewhat strange, places to visit, ranging from interesting accommodations to unusual places of interest. Robotic comfortsIn Nagasaki, Japan, there is a hotel staffed almost entirely by robots, from automated employees at the reception desk and electric bellboys to droid waiters at a restaurant. 　Upon entering the futuristic establishment,

March 3, 2017

[Eye Plus] Forgotten past relived at Tongin Market

Between the forests of gray buildings in northern Seoul, a 300-meter alley near Gyeongbokgung beckons passersby for a short trip into Korea’s past.Tongin Market is a 75-store covered arcade located between Gwanghwamun and the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, and is a constant reminder of what the lives of ordinary Koreans used to be like -- long before they were tinged with the convenience brought by evolving technology and modernization. From the faces of children waiting for dalgona, a sn

Feb. 24, 2017

From Orlando to Sanibel Island, finding magic in the Florida kingdom

For more than a moment, I found magic in Orlando.As I stood in the glow of Cinderella’s Castle on a crisp November night, fireworks filled the sky and the songs of childhood pealed when Tinker Bell, a human sprite in bright green tights and Day-Glo wings, popped out of a turret and zip-lined toward Tomorrowland like a cartoonish flare.Thousands of stunned park-goers clapped furiously as the light show dimmed -- a perfect end to my first day in Florida with two nephews, a great-niece and Grandma

Feb. 17, 2017

[Travel Bits] Festivals in Korea this week

Ganghwa Icefish FestivalHeld in the Hwangcheong Reservoir at the base of mountains Deoksan and Guksusan, Ganghwa Icefish Festival is managed and sponsored by the fishery community of Hwangcheon Reservoir in Naesu-myeon. Visitors can enjoy ice fishing and visit nearby Yongdure Village for various agricultural and traditional experiences. Admission fees are 5,000 won per person and there is no age limit. Visiting hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visitors can register on site.For more information, c

Feb. 10, 2017

[Travel Bits] Festivals in Korea this week

 Ganghwa Icefish FestivalHeld in the Hwangcheong Reservoir at the base of Deoksan Mountain and Guksusan Mountain, Ganghwa Icefish Festival is managed and sponsored by the fishery community of Hwangcheon Reservoir in Naesu-myeon. Visitors can enjoy ice-fishing and visit nearby Yongdure Village for various agricultural and traditional experiences. Admission fees is 5,000 won per person, and there is no age limit. Visiting hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and visitors can register on site.For more i

Feb. 3, 2017

Korea Grand Sale 2017 kicks off

A shopping and tourism festival has been kicked off to attract foreign tourists by offering them exclusive discounts during their stay in Korea.Visit Korea Committee, under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, launched Korea Grand Sale 2017 Friday with an opening ceremony in front of Doota Mall in Dongdaemun, Seoul.Representatives of the Visit Korea Committee, Korea Tourism Organization, Korea Tourism Association, and the Korea Association of Travel Agents attended the event which also f

Jan. 22, 2017

[Travel Bits] Festivals in Korea this week

Yangpyeong Icefish Festival The Mulmalgeun Yangpyeong Icefish Festival takes place in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, each winter. Visitors can eat warm fish cakes and roasted chestnuts at the festival. Aside from ice fishing, other traditional winter games and activities such as kite-flying, top spinning, sledding and making jjimbbang (steamed buns with red bean filling) will be available.The festival will continue until Feb. 12, and online reservations are available at soomyland.winterfesti

Jan. 20, 2017

[Travel Bits] Festivals in Korea this week

Mulmalgeun Icefish Festival The Mulmalgeun Yangpyeong Icefish Festival takes place in Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province, each winter. Visitors can eat warm fish cakes and roasted chestnuts at the festival. Aside from ice fishing, other traditional winter games and activities such as kite-flying, top spinning, sledding and making jjimbbang (steamed buns with red bean filling) will be available.The festival will continue until Feb. 12, and online reservations are available at soomyland.winterfesti

Jan. 13, 2017

[Travel Bits] Festivals around Korea

Boseong Green Tea Plantation light festThe annual Boseong Green Tea Plantation Light Festival has kicked off its celebrations this year, lighting up the country’s famed green tea fields in Boseong-gun, South Jeolla Province. There are various attractions, such as the Korea Tea Culture Park’s Galaxy Tunnel, the colorful Tea Plantation Wave of Lights, Light Valley of Hope, Korea Tea Museum’s Light Plaza, Wishing Tree, along with photo spots. The festivities will also extend to the nearby Yulpo Bea

Jan. 6, 2017

In this ‘weird, lost corner of America,’ the beach of your dreams awaits in the remotest national park

Even for a Saturday in the South Pacific, this was a sleepy morning.On American Samoa’s main island of Tutuila and its neighbor, Ofu, villages were still, beaches empty.On the west coast of nearby Ta’u, a battered little fishing boat sidled up to the wharf, and a pale stranger stepped off, looking half-queasy and half-euphoric, a bagged octopus in his left hand.That was me on Day 6 at America’s most far-flung national park.National Park of American Samoa, 4,000 kilometers southwest of Hawaii, is

Jan. 6, 2017

Culture Ministry recommends themed travel outside of Seoul

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced a new initiative to promote travel outside of Seoul next year, recommending destinations based on different themes. 　The ministry selected its top sightseeing cities outside of Seoul. Separated into 10 regions, the new travel promotion initiative highlights themes such as “Peace and National Security,” “Road to Pyeongchang,” “Seonbi (classical scholar) Culture,” “Time Travel” and “Islands and Wind.” 　To allow travelers to get the best out

Dec. 27, 2016

Winter is a cool time to explore the desert

Seeking something other than the traditional 70-degree, sunny Christmas that Southern Californians like me often take for granted, I persuaded my dad to spend the long holiday weekend last year somewhere more remote, and perhaps white.We signed up for a three-day trip with an Asian tour bus company out of Monterey Park, just east of Los Angeles, to Arizona and Utah. Disclaimer: The trip is better done driving your own car, especially if you like legroom.At the crack of dawn, we loaded our luggag

Dec. 17, 2016

[Travel bits] Upcoming festivals, travel news

Everland Romantic Illuminations festEverland’s Romantic Illumination festival is continuing its celebrations until March 1 with beautiful and enchanting illuminations for a romantic and memorable holiday season.The festival will feature an extravagant 26-meter-tall Romantic Tower Tree, which will be displayed at the fountain area between Four Seasons Garden and Rose Garden. The hollowed out Christmas tree tower can accommodate up to 50 people.The tree’s interior showers visitors with enchanting

Dec. 17, 2016

Jamaica’s sweet lodgings over the water, atop the sea

MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica -- I totally admit this is a first-world problem. But for the life of me I can’t remember what my private butler said about how to turn on the underwater lights so I can see through the window on my bedroom floor.The headaches! The difficulty of being the first guest in this entrancing villa! I think I need a soak in my private infinity pool or a rest on the overwater hammock to calm down.Suddenly, a breakthrough. I push a small button labeled “ripples” on the wall. And alth

Dec. 9, 2016

New SR railway company to launch super rapid trains

On a small peninsula just over 100,000 square kilometers in area, Korea’s vastly extensive railways have made domestic flying a virtually unnecessary expense and hassle. 　Since 2005, the country’s railways have been dominated by Korail, which has been running competition-free over the past decade. However, all that is set to change on Dec. 9.　On Friday, travelers will find themselves with an alternative option, as Korea welcomes its newest contender to railway and bullet train travel -- SR.  An

Dec. 5, 2016

Busan, magnet for MICE industry

BUSAN -- Korea’s second-largest city and a major maritime hub, Busan is harnessing its capacities for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions, known as the MICE industry. Scores of convention centers, hotels, tourism attractions and cruise terminals are being built or renewed to make way for Asia’s top commercial port with 2020 in sight.Strewn with mesmeric beaches, cultural amenities, efficient infrastructure and telecommunications lines, Busan has all the ingredients necessary to att

Dec. 4, 2016

[Travel Bits] Upcoming festivals, travel news

Everland Romantic IlluminationsEverland’s Romantic Illumination festival is continuing its celebrations until March 1 with beautiful and enchanting illuminations for a romantic and memorable holiday season.The festival will feature an extravagant 26-meter-high Romantic Tower Tree, which will be displayed at the fountain area between Four Seasons Garden and Rose Garden. The hollowed out Christmas tree tower can accommodate up to 50 people.The tree’s interior showers the visitors with enchanting l

Dec. 2, 2016

Christmas destinations that even Scrooge would love

If this is the year that you decide you’ve had it with untangling Christmas lights, fighting mall crowds to find that “must-have” action figure or video game, and fighting over whose turn it is to host the holiday dinner, there is an alternative.At all of the following destinations, the lights will already be on the tree; the holiday dinner will be handled by a renowned chef and the angry, shoving mall crowds will be replaced by like-minded guests who have one thing in common — a desire for a ha

Dec. 2, 2016