[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Seoul Lantern Festival The 2020 Seoul Lantern Festival is being held across the city of Seoul this year in an aim to disperse visitors and promote local businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.  While the festival in Jamsil, eastern Seoul, has wrapped up, lanterns will be on display from Nov. 4 to Dec. 31 in Itaewon, central Seoul, inspired by the hit webtoon “Itaewon Class.” Fashion-inspired lanterns are being showcased in Dongdaemun until Nov. 15. In Myeong-dong, lanterns d

Nov. 6, 2020

Korea’s first panda cub named Fu Bao

The first panda cub born in South Korea has been named Fu Bao 100 days after her birth, according to Everland, a theme park under Samsung C&T, Wednesday. The female panda cub was born July 20 at Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Fu Bao is a Chinese name, meaning a treasure that brings happiness. The name was selected by 50,000 people who voted both online and offline. It is an international custom to give a panda cub a Chinese name some 100 days after birth. According to Everland, p

Nov. 4, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

  Seoul International Cafe Show The 2020 Seoul Cafe Show will take place Nov. 4-7 at the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center in southern Seoul.  The annual event was launched in 2002 to promote the coffee, tea, bakery and dessert culture and related industries. The event aims to introduce the latest trends in the cafe scene. This year the organizers have set up a COVID-19 Free Zone to ensure everyone’s safety.  Tickets cost 18,000 won per person for a one-day admission

Oct. 30, 2020

[Photo News] White clouds painted across clear, sunny sky in Gangneung

The sunny sky has a bright blue hue in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, near the East Sea on Thursday morning. White clouds are painted across the morning sky as the contrasting colors of the silver grass below bring out its vivid blue. (Photos: Yonhap) By Song Donna (donnadsong@heraldcorp.com)

Oct. 24, 2020

[Photo News] Pathways at Joseon royal tombs reopen to public

The Cultural Heritage Administration Royal Palaces and Tombs Center said it will open five more forest trails at Joseon royal tomb sites from Friday. Paths have been opened up at Uireung in Seoul and at four royal tomb sites in Gyeonggi Province: Yungneung and Geolleung in Hwaseong, Jangneung in Gimpo, and Sareung as well as Hongneung and Yureung in Namyangju.  The photo shows a pathway in the traditional tree nursery at Hongneung and Yureung in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. (Photos

Oct. 24, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Autumn forest at Everland Everland’s Forest Camp is offering eco-friendly programs for visitors this fall. Forest Camp is a park spread across 90,000 square meters of land, managed by amusement park Everland for the past 50 years. The park has a dense forest of some 34,000 trees and plants. Various programs are available, from trekking, meditation, yoga and music concerts to barbecue party events. For more information in Korean, English, Japanese or Chinese, visit reservation.everlan

Oct. 23, 2020

Culture Ministry to lend additional W40b to tourism industry

  The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Wednesday that it would inject an additional 40 billion won ($35.2 million) into South Korea’s tourism industry in the form of loans in the next two months. “As of the end of September, tourism industry sales had dropped by 9 trillion won compared to last year,” Choi Yoon-hee, second vice minister of culture, sports and tourism, said during a press conference Wednesday. In its 2020 budget, she explained, the ministr

Oct. 21, 2020

Camping in the age of COVID-19

Camping has come under the limelight in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an outdoor activity that guarantees fresh air, some space from others and also individual freedom. But because campsites are not virus-free zones, campers must be responsible when using common areas. Larger, less crowded campsites may be better options under the current circumstances. Here is a list of some campsites recommended by the Korea Tourism Organization.  Meonguri Valley Camping Site Pocheon, Gyeong

Oct. 17, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Busan Fireworks Festival The 16th Busan Fireworks Festival will take place on Nov. 7. Organized by the Busan Culture & Tourism Festival Organizing Committee, the annual festival is held every autumn along Gwangalli Beach. During the festival, visitors can enjoy a myriad of unique and colorful fireworks at sites across Hwangnyeongsan, Dongbaek Island and Igidae Coastal Park. For more information in Korean and English, visit www.bfo.or.kr. Mungyeong Chasabal Festival The Mungyeong Cha

Oct. 16, 2020

First five-star hotel of global brand to be built in Gyeonggi Province

  Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds Seoul, will get its first five-star hotel with a global brand in Pyeongtaek by 2022, the city government announced on Thursday. According to the municipality of Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of Seoul, the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), a global hotel company, plans to build a voco hotel with more than 250 rooms near a United States military base in the city by December 2022. Voco is a luxury brand owned by IHG. The municipality said it h

Oct. 15, 2020

[Eye Plus] Incheon Airport still battling COVID-19

Will we ever be able to feel the excitement and joy that we had at airports before the COVID-19 outbreak?  After eight months of border shutdowns, the Incheon International Airport, one of the largest and busiest airports in Asia, appears to be trying to return to normalcy.  Yet, the third-floor departure area remains eerily quiet, as people continue to refrain from flying abroad under travel restrictions.  On the first floor for arrivals, hundreds of quarantine officials are s

Sept. 26, 2020

South Korea to resume flights with Vietnam, Russia

South Korea said Thursday it has agreed with Vietnam and Russia to resume flights following months of suspension over the new coronavirus outbreak. Flights linking Incheon, west of Seoul, with Vietnamese and Russian cities will start this and next month, according to the land and foreign ministries, helping businesspeople having a hard time due to months of disruptions in international travel. Under an agreement with Vietnam, flights connecting Incheon with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will oper

Sept. 24, 2020

[Eye Plus] Walking from Seoul's first park to northern city gate that overlooks Seoul

Sitting on the lower slopes of Bukaksan is Samcheong Park.  Samcheong Park is the first officially designated park in Seoul, and still among the more popular areas for a stroll in the Samcheong-dong area. This park is busiest in April for its cherry blossoms, but many locals and tourists visit year-round. The park has a library as well as a learning center for children and sports facilities.  Located around 500 meters to the north from Samcheong Park is Malbawi, a popular spot to lo

Sept. 19, 2020

120 Taiwanese tourists to experience Korea from high above

Taiwanese travelers are to board a flight that will take off to Jeju Island -- before landing right where it started. The Korea Tourism Organization‘s Taipei office, Taiwanese travel agency Ezfly and airline Tiger Air introduced a flight deal from Taipei to Jeju Island on Friday, selling out in just four minutes. The flight will not land on Jeju Island, however, it will circle above the island before returning to Taipei. To offer an experience of Korean travel, passengers will have a c

Sept. 14, 2020

[Eye Plus] Hongjecheon: Seoul stream that courses through history

Of the many streams that weave through the crowded city of Seoul, Hongjecheon one of the first tributaries of the Han River, passes many historic monuments.  The 13.92-kilometer stream starts in the mountains just north of the city, and courses through Seodaemun-gu and Mapo-gu districts in the west of Seoul before reaching the Han. Built on Hongjecheon is Hongjimun, a structure that connected Hanyangdoseong, or the Seoul City Wall, and Bukhansanseong, a nearby mountain fortress. Built du

Sept. 12, 2020

50-day-old giant panda cub 10 times heavier than birth weight

Photos of a 50-day-old giant panda cub at Everland, a theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, released Thursday show a cub who now weighs 10 times as much as she did at birth. The female cub now weighs 2 kilograms, almost 10 times her birth weight of 197 grams recorded in July. Yet to be named, she is the first panda to be born in South Korea. According to Everland, the cub is in good health. She recently opened her eyes for the first time and can turn over by herself. The theme park has

Sept. 10, 2020

[Herald Interview] Hotels adjust to new requirements in COVID-19

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of our daily lives, and one of the industries most heavily affected is the hospitality industry. With government policies changing weekly as the number of coronavirus cases fluctuates, hotels are keeping a close eye on the situation. In the midst of this crisis, Kang Ah-hyun, commercial director of Millennium Hilton Seoul, is attempting to find an opportunity in tough times. As the hotel’s commercial director, Kang is responsible for the hotel’s re

Sept. 5, 2020

2020 World Heritage Festival in Jeju to kick off Sept. 4

The 2020 World Heritage Festival, cohosted by Cultural Heritage Administration and the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, kicks off Sept. 4 on the southern island. The 17-day festival will allow visitors to enjoy some of the restricted sites, including lava caves on Jeju Island that are not normally open to the public. The agency said it has selected 550 people for the 3-day guided tour around Seongsan Ilchulbong and caves of the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System. It added that the participant

Sept. 1, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Sancheong Medicinal Herb Festival The 20th Sancheong Medicinal Herb Festival will be held Sept. 25-Oct. 4 in Sancheong, South Gyeongsang Province. The festival, which began in 2001, includes exhibitions and events to learn about and directly experience Korea‘s medicinal herbs, for which the county of Sancheong is well-reputed. Visitors can also purchase medicinal herbs at relatively low prices at the festival. For more information in Korean, English, Japanese or Chinese, visit scher

Aug. 28, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea

Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival The Incheon Pentaport Rock Festival will be held Oct. 16-17 at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, an hour’s drive from Seoul. The annual rock festival, ardently supported by local rock fans and music fans worldwide, usually takes place in early August. However, this year the event was postponed to October due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. Program details for the festival have yet to be announced. For more information in Korean, visit www.ppen

Aug. 21, 2020