[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

20 for 2020 at Everland　 Everland theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is to hold the “Hello My Twenties” event to celebrate the year 2020. In Korea, the number 20 symbolizes the beginning of adulthood, as students enroll in universities when they turn 20 by the Korean age system. The “Hello My Twenties” event aims to congratulate and encourage those who have just turned 20 and to remind those who are older of their 20s. Visitors can record special moments at a

Jan. 31, 2020

5 cities to get nearly W16b for tourism development in 2020

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday announced five cities across the country will be developed into tourism hubs. “Five cities were picked based on their potential. We will inject around 15.9 billion won ($13.51 million) in total this year,” Culture Minister Park Yang-woo said during a press conference in Seoul. The move is aimed at promoting destinations outside of Seoul, which currently attracts the vast majority of overseas tourists. Busan, picked as a glob

Jan. 28, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Inje Icefish FestivalInje Icefish Festival, officially launched in 1997, offers a true winter experience with icefish fishing.The festival takes place at Bingeoho Lake in Gangwon Province. Admission is free but additional fees may apply depending on the program. For more information in Korean, English, Japanese or Chinese, call the travel hotline at 1330. The homepage (www.injefestival.co.kr) is in Korean only. Herb Island Lighting Festival The Herb Island Lighting Festival creates a romant

Jan. 23, 2020

Hongcheon Ice Fishing Festival faces cold shoulder

HONGCHEON, Gangwon Province -- The opening day of the Hongcheon Ice Fishing Festival on Jan. 10 was marked by tourists pouring out of shuttle buses, clad in thick down jackets and gloves, to find the sun beaming down on an unfrozen river.The river is usually completely frozen over by this time in January, offering punters the chance to catch local trout from holes drilled into the river. But not a sliver of ice was to be found on the opening day of the festival, which last year welcomed approxim

Jan. 17, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Herb Island Lighting Festival The Herb Island Lighting Festival creates a romantic ambiance with beautiful lighting displays. Visitors can enjoy the pink wish tunnel, sparkling buildings, the Santa Village, a photo zone and other twinkling places.It is open to visitors of all ages, and admission costs 9,000 won. Children, senior citizens, people with disabilities and groups of 20 or more get in for 7,000 won per person. The festival runs through April 30.For more information in Korean, English o

Jan. 17, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

E-World Starlight Festival (1) The E-World Starlight Festival in Daegu features 10 million lights in a large area around E-World and 83 Tower. Hot air balloons, illuminated roses and mask light decorations are all part of this carnival-like festival. Large trees are decorated along the 200-meter Light Road, as well as the Umbrella Road, Carnival Road and a photo zone with 1,000 lights. Some 10,000 light-emitting diode roses cover the “proposal stairs.”The festival runs until March 1.

Jan. 10, 2020

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France (1)The sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held at the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to beautiful lighting at night, another highlight is the 30-meter light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book

Jan. 3, 2020

Hwacheon ice-fishing festival opening delayed

Organizers of a world-famous ice fishing festival on Thursday decided to delay its opening to Jan. 11 from the originally announced Jan. 4 due to safety issues.On Wednesday, the organizers -- local government of Hwacheon and Nara Foundation -- tested the ice condition of Hwacheon River, where the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival’s signature program that allows visitors to catch sancheoneo -- a species of trout known to live only in very clean freshwater-- takes place. “We normally c

Dec. 27, 2019

Places to reflect on 2019, make New Year’s wishes for 2020

Making wishes while watching the first sunrise of the new year is considered a special event for many Koreans, who believe the practice will bring them luck in the year ahead. Rising before dawn on New Year’s Day is difficult, but watching the beautiful sunrise is worth the effort. Similarly, some people enjoy watching the sunset on the last day of the year, reflecting on the passing year. Here are some of the best spots for catching the sunset or sunrise in Seoul, and around the country.H

Dec. 25, 2019

[Weekender] 3 Christmas markets in Seoul

Part of the joy of the Yuletide season is visiting Christmas markets. Although not as grand as those found in some European cities, Seoul has places where one can shop for Christmas decorations, gifts and treats. Han River Park Seoul’s Bamdokkaebi Night Market’s official 2019 run ended in mid-October, but is back for a special Christmas edition. Opening today at the Multiplaza inside Yeouido Han River Park, the market’s Bamdokkaebi charm is intact -- a mix of delectable fo

Dec. 20, 2019

[Weekender] Holiday sparkles

South Korea is not particularly well known as a Christmas holiday destination for travelers, but it has some aspirations.  Taking a cue from famous Christmas markets and light festivals around the world, Seoul has decked out its Cheonggye Stream in a splendid display of colorful lights. And this weekend the “spaceship” Dongdaemun Design Plaza will turn into a magical, sparkling place when it holds its inaugural light festival. Down in the portside city of Busan, the sandy beach

Dec. 20, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France (1)The sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held at the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to beautiful lighting at night, another highlight is the 30-meter light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book

Dec. 19, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite FranceThe sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held at the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to lighting decorations at night, one highlight is the 30-meter-long light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s book.

Dec. 12, 2019

Government launches foreign-language menu website

A website that provides foreign language translations of local menus was launched Wednesday.According to the state-run Korea Tourism Organization, Food Trip in Korea (foodtrip.or.kr) was launched Wednesday afternoon with translations of 8,500 Korean dishes in English, Japanese and Chinese as its main feature. The service had been previously provided via the agency’s Visit Korea (visitkorea.or.kr) site. The tourism organization plans to add a mobile page of the website, various menu designs

Dec. 11, 2019

Everland holds New Year events

Everland theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, is holding “2020 Begin Again with Everland,” a series of events to welcome the year 2020 through next February.Kicking off the events is a drawing contest for children in sixth-grade or younger, which kicked off Monday and will continue until next Tuesday. Those wishing to participate can submit drawings of their goals for the future through Everland’s homepage or its social media pages. A total of 220 winners will receive prize

Dec. 6, 2019

[Eye plus] Once a ghetto, now tourist hot spot

Gamcheon Culture Village, a hilltop village in Busan’s Saha district, is a tourist hot spot, drawing an increasing number of visitors.Camera-toting tourists from Korea and elsewhere explore terraced rows of small houses, painted in pastel colors, and labyrinth-like alleys, with some so narrow only one person can pass at a time. The town has hidden gems as well -- murals, sculptures, installation art, galleries and eateries.Among its recent visitors was Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who

Dec. 6, 2019

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul named chain’s best hotel in Asia Pacific

JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul was named the best-performer of the hospitality group’s more than 750 properties in the Asia-Pacific region, the hotel said Wednesday.  The global hotel chain recognized the Seoul hotel for its large increase in sales, number of visitors and efforts to adjust to the rapidly evolving trends of the hospitality industry, it explained. “This award further underscores our commitment to putting our customers first, and our efforts to become the lead

Dec. 6, 2019

[Travel Bits] Festivals and sights across Korea

Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France The sixth Little Prince Starlight Festival of Petite France will be held throughout the Petite France Park in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, until Feb. 29. The annual festival is inspired by the southern French town of Montpellier. In addition to lighting decorations at night, one highlight is the 30-meter-long light tunnel installed next to a round structure modeled after asteroid B 612, home of the Little Prince from Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Dec. 5, 2019

Wizard, character themed kids rooms at Kensington

Kensington Hotel and Resort has added new types of “character kids rooms” to its Chungju and Gyeongju resort branches in order to appeal to families with young children. The “wizard’s room” at the branch in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, is furnished with various props like a sorcerer’s robe and tools, and its wallpaper bears illustrations of bookshelves, brick walls and magical books. Cocomong Kidsrooms in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, use the an

Dec. 5, 2019

Mount Bukak to be fully open to public starting in 2022: Cheong Wa Dae

The mountain just behind the presidential compound will be fully opened to the public in stages before mid-2022, more than a half century after it became off-limits to the public for security reasons, Cheong Wa Dae said Tuesday. It means citizens will be able to walk across the 1.1 million-square-meter Mount Bukak, 4.8 times bigger than Yeouido in western Seoul.The region had been off limits to the public since the so-called Jan. 21 incident in 1968. At the time, 31 North Korean commandos sneake

Dec. 3, 2019