The Korea Herald

Adventure travel grows despite occasional disaster

TravelFeb 28, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― When Carole Rosenblat was growing up in the 1970s, her parents’ idea of an adventurous vacation was “driving cross-country from Michigan to California in a non-air-conditioned car with three kids.’’ Her idea of adventure is a little different: “Jumping out of planes ― things like that. Parasailing, hot-air ballooning. These things make you know you’re alive!’’And the balloon accident in Egypt that killed 19 people Tuesday is not likely to deter her from future adventures. “It doe
More travelers use Airbnb

TravelFeb 28, 2013

The online accommodation information service Airbnb announced the company experienced its largest growth in 2012 with 3 million guests who booked a night’s stay on the peer-to-peer lodging marketplace out of the 4 million total guests who traveled on Airbnb since the company’s founding in 2008. The peer-to-peer service matches spare rooms at homes of local residents and tourists looking for accommodation. The business model has received much attention as an example of the “sharing economy.” “On
KTO recruits college student travel writers

TravelFeb 28, 2013

The Korea Tourism Organization is recruiting 70 college students to write travel stories about various places in Korea. As part of efforts to promote unknown spots in the country, the KTO plans to use groups of college students who are interested in travel and good at using social networking sites. Those who are selected are required to write travel stories, create short video clips on the destinations they are writing about and promote the places online through Twitter and Facebook. They will b
Free Wi-Fi picked as most needed hotel amenity

TravelFeb 28, 2013

Free Wi-Fi has been picked as a must-have service for travelers, according to a hotel amenity survey by Hotels.com. A majority of the 8,600 respondents selected free Wi-Fi as the most necessary hotel amenity service. Two-thirds of the respondents also answered they would like to have free Wi-Fi become standard service in every hotel. Free breakfast service (31 percent) ranked second. Thirty percent of Korean respondents also chose free Wi-Fi as their favorite hotel amenity service, followed by f
Park Hyatt Busan opens in Marine City

TravelFeb 28, 2013

Busan’s new affluent and luxury district of Marine City welcomed newcomer Park Hyatt Busan this week. Located adjacent to Haeundae Beach, the 33-story hotel features 269 guestrooms, including 69 suites, and restaurants, meeting facilities, spa and fitness centers. Designed by the world-renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, the hotel adds to the dynamic landscape of Busan with its curved shape representing ocean waves. The interior design by the Japanese design firm Super Potato creates a modern
Marine City: The glamorous side of Busan

TravelFeb 28, 2013

Busan adds sophistication, style to the southern coastline with luxury residential complexes and hotels
Mom, daughter package at Lotte Hotel Jeju

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

The hotel offers a two-night “Mother and Daughter Healing Retreat Package” from March 3 to 26. The package is priced at 850,000 won (tax excluded) for two nights’ stay at the hotel’s Deluxe room, two Asiana Airlines roundtrip tickets, SK-II Boutique Spa for two, breakfast (choice between in-room dining or restaurant) and dinner for two on one preferred date of stay. Dinner guests can choose between Japanese, Korean and Italian restaurants. Guests will also be provided with wine Le Fronde Moscato
Strawberry dessert promotion at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

The hotel’s lounge lobby is running a strawberry dessert promotion from Feb. 18 to April 30. The buffet is available from Friday to Sunday. The buffet features dishes ranging from fresh strawberries to strawberry clairs, strawberry cheese pie, strawberry tart, strawberry mille-feuille, strawberry shortcake, soft strawberry pudding, strawberry mousse, strawberry tiramisu, chocolate-covered strawberries, pink strawberry macaroons, and a chocolate fountain for dipping strawberries. From Monday to T
St. Patrick’s Day celebration at Millennium Seoul Hilton

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

The hotel’s traditional English-style bar, the Oak Room will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day during the month of March. In honor of the Irish holiday, the bar is offering a wide selection of Guinness beer. Ireland’s representative brew will be tinted green all month. Meanwhile, for guests who want to enjoy the ultimate St. Patrick’s Day experience, there will also be two specially-priced Guinness Beer Sets to savor. Set I priced at 50,000 won includes two glasses of beer, one side dish and a free gi
Star Chef Dinner at Westin Chosun Seoul

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

The hotel’s Japanese restaurant Sushi Cho presents the Star Chef Dinner paired with three types of champagnes on March 15 and 16 by inviting Koji Koizumi, chef and owner of Michelin two-star restaurant Kohaku. Starting with tofu as an appetizer, the course dinner features abalone, blow fish, bamboo shoots, king crab and more. The dinner will serve the chef’s famous kaiseki dishes such as truffle beef and marinated file fish sashimi. Three types of champagne ― Pol Roger Brut Reserve NV, Pol Roger
Spring Specials at the Plaza Hotel

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

The hotel’s main restaurants offer spring specials from March 1 to 31. Chinese restaurant Taoyuen offers a variety of fresh seafood along with spring vegetables. The set menu ranges from 97,000 won to 146,000 won. The Japanese Restaurant Murasaki introduces the “Cherry Blossom Kaiseki” course set featuring sea food and cherry blossom, priced at 230,000 won. Italian Restaurant Tuscany introduces a special course set for lunch and dinner. The menus use spring herb flowers, Korean red sea bream, ba
Bulgogi deopbap (bulgogi rice bowl)

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

Deopbap, literally translated as “covered rice,” is a bowl of rice with some sort of topping. It’s a casual one-dish meal that can be prepared with a variety of ingredients. To make this dish with bulgogi, you will need to add a little bit more sauce when cooking the marinated meat depending on how much sauce you want mixed in your rice. Usually, anchovy broth is used for that extra bit of sauce, but you can also use beef broth or even water. Make sure to season the broth so as to not dilute the
Culinary-minded cafes

Food&BeverageFeb 28, 2013

Star eats put spotlight on food at two new spots
Calendar

CultureFeb 28, 2013

Classical music“Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens Du Louvre Grenoble”: Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens Du Louvre Grenoble (The musicians of the Louvre) will perform Rameau’s “Une Symphonie Imaginaire” and Gluck’s “Le Festin de Pierre-Don Juan” on March 5 at the Seongnam Arts Center in Gyeonggi Province at 8 p.m. The French bassoon player-and-conductor known for his interpretation of French Baroque music excerpted some arias ― which are, surprisingly, dance music ― from 11 of Rameau’s operas and
Changdeokgung moonlit tour tickets on sale March 12

CultureFeb 28, 2013

Tickets for this year’s moonlight promenades at Changdeokgung Palace will go on sale starting March 12. The 30,000 won-program organized by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the Cultural Heritage Administration and sponsored by the Culture Ministry offers a two-hour guided tour of the UNESCO World Heritage site under the moonlight. During the tour, visitors will be able to enjoy traditional Korean performances, tea and snacks. It is one of the most popular tour programs in the country, wit