Most Popular
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Blinken calls on China to press N. Korea to end its 'dangerous' behavior
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New celebrity-endorsed therapy for face contouring requires only a pair of rubber bands
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[Weekender] How DDP emerged as an icon of Seoul
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Tensions heighten ahead of first president-opposition chief meeting
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Doctor group's incoming head renews call for govt. to scrap medical school quota hike for dialogue
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Seoul to provide housing subsidy to married couples with newborns
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[Music in drama] An ode to childhood trauma
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'The Roundup: Punishment' becomes fastest 2024 film to top 2 mln admissions
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Rapper jailed after public street fight with another rapper
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New head of doctors' association vows war in case of disadvantage to medical professors
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[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
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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
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[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
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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
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[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
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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
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[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
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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
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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
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[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
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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
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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
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[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
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[Weekender] Jeju Island is a sanctuary in virus times
JEJU ISLAND -- Jeju Island is a popular travel destination this summer. As overseas travel is almost impossible due to concerns about COVID-19, more people are flocking to the southern island from the mainland. The island boasts vast natural areas, from oceans to mountains and fields, where tourists can avoid close contact with others. Travelers often stay at private villas and get around in rental cars -- good holiday options in the time of the coronavirus pandemic. But tourists need to b
June 27, 2020
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[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea
Taebaek Sunflower Festival The Taebaek Sunflower Festival takes place July 14-Aug. 16 in Guwau Village, celebrating the area’s wide array of colorful wildflowers and endless fields of sunflowers. The village in Gangwon Province has the largest sunflower field in Korea. The festival area is filled with 300 species of wild flowers, along with a walking path nearby the sunflower field. Hands-on programs related to wild flowers will be prepared. For more information in Korean, visit sunf
June 26, 2020
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Culture Station Seoul 284’s answer to ‘Why do we travel?’
As COVID-19 has shut down travel across the globe, Culture Station Seoul 284’s “New Discovery of Travel” exhibition attempts to answer the question, “Why do we travel?” The “New Discovery of Travel,” which was scheduled for June 23 to Aug. 8, will be shown online starting from the second week of July instead, according to the organizer, as the former train station-turned-cultural space was closed down due to the spread of COVID-19. Scheduled performanc
June 23, 2020
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[Eye Plus] Take a stroll around 600-year-old education institute, Confucian shrine
Sitting on the northeastern side of Changgyeonggung is a Joseon-era complex where people carried out ancestral rites and nurtured the country’s leaders. “It may be difficult to believe, but there were students who actually lived and studied here around 600 years ago,” said Son Chin-woo, the 33rd director of Sungkyunkwan -- the highest educational institution of the Joseon era. Sungkyunkwan and Confucian shrine Munmyo were built in 1398 and renovated in 1869 to repair war-t
June 20, 2020
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Hotels on brink flock to TV shopping channels for sales
Local hotels, pushed to the brink amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, are reaching out to TV shopping channels with discounted package deals. Four Points by Sheraton Seoul Namsan, a business hotel in central Seoul, will go on air on Shinsegae TV Shopping channel over the weekend, selling a package deal for 60,000 won ($49.50) The hotel is managed by local hotel brand Shinsegye Chosun Hotel under retail mogul Shinsegae. Those who purchase the deal, with more than 50 percent discount, can make a
June 19, 2020
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[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea
Night of Ganghwa & Heritage Story Organized by the Ganghwa County Office and Incheon Tourism Organization, Night of Ganghwa & Heritage Story offers eight different programs to visitors, introducing the cultural heritage of Ganghwa. The festival, held Sept. 11-12 at the Yongheunggung Palace Park in Ganghwa, Incheon, west of Seoul, involves traditional art performances, a media facade and a parade, along with hands-on experiences for visitors of all age. Call the travel hotline at 1330
June 19, 2020
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[Travel Bits] Festivals, sights across Korea
Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival The Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival in Jangheung, South Jeolla Province, celebrates the clean and refreshing water of the Tamjin River and Jangheung Lake. The water festival takes place in areas along the river and in the Cypress Forest Woodland, allowing festivalgoers to take part in refreshing water activities from day to night. For more information in Korean, visit festival.jangheung.go.kr. Call the travel hotline at 1330 for help in Korean, Eng
June 12, 2020