With Hallyu spreading Korean culture across the world, the popularity of Korean movies, TV shows and music has been attracting foreign tourists to the country. Capitalizing on this trend, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Tuesday launched plans for this year’s Spring Travel Week -- 16 days in late April and early May designated to introduce travel destinations and programs based on locations featured in popular Korean movies and TV shows.Travel Week, which started in 2014, is a gove

Herb Island Lighting & Illumination FestivalHerb Island in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, will be hosting the annual Lighting & Illumination Festival until Oct. 31. With its 300-meter wish tunnel, a lavender field lit up in various colors and more, Herb Island aims to get visitors in the holiday spirit. Inspired by European Christmas markets, the festival offers various events, including Christmas-themed soap-, tree- and candle-making, a Christmas cookie market and roasted turkey.Admission to the H

Samcheok 2018 bike trek A noncompetitive bicycle race around Samcheok, Gangwon Province, will take place on the last weekend of April. The event will take off at Samcheok Culture & Art Center on April 29, and will consist of a course that crosses the city of Samcheok. Olympic gold-medal speedskater Mo Tae-bum has been appointed honorary ambassador for the event.Riders can choose between a 138-kilometer "challenge" course and 42-kilometer "accompanying" course. The challenge course is available t

South Koreans took up the largest percentage of foreign tourists visiting Japan in January and February this year.The number of Koreans visiting Japan early this year surpassed that of Chinese tourists, who topped the list last year, the Japan National Tourism Organization announced Sunday. The surge came after the Chinese government staged economic retaliation against Korea following diplomatic tensions around the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, driving Koreans to Japan instead, rep

A South Korean software company has launched a specialty tour service targeting foreign visitors hoping for their own “oppa,” as depicted in Korean TV dramas. Korean women use the term “oppa” to address an older male family member, friend or romantic partner of the same generation. The service -- “Oh My Oppa” -- allows foreign visitors to “rent an oppa.” “It started out as a joke that foreigners coming to Korea expect to find men like the ones they see on dramas, but no, there aren’t any men on

Jeju Island’s Dark Tours commemorate those slaughtered in the 4.3 massacres

Herb Island Lighting & Illumination FestivalHerb Island in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, will be hosting the annual Lighting & Illumination Festival until Oct. 31.With its 300-meter wish tunnel, a lavender field lit up in various colors and more, Herb Island aims to get visitors in the holiday spirit. Inspired by European Christmas markets, the festival offers various events, including Christmas-themed soap, tree and candle-making, a Christmas cookie market and roasted turkey.Admission to the Herb

Herb Island Lighting & Illumination Festival Herb Island in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, will be hosting the annual Lighting & Illumination Festival until Oct. 31.With its 300-meter wish tunnel, a lavender field lit up in various colors and more, Herb Island aims to get visitors in the holiday spirit. Inspired by European Christmas markets, the festival offers various events, including Christmas-themed soap, tree and candle-making, a Christmas cookie market and roasted turkey.Admission to the Her

While most of Seoul sleeps, Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul comes alive with freshly caught seafood and merchants preparing for early morning auctions. Dazzling lights brighten the bustling market at 1 a.m., while moving trucks as well as handcarts and boxes being unloaded create an energized atmosphere. The timings of the auctions differ by the types of seafood. Auctions selling shellfish and squid usually start at 1 a.m., while live-fish auctions begin at 3 a.m.  Before these

Herb Island Lighting & Illumination FestivalHerb Island -- located in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province -- will be hosting the annual Lighting & Illumination Festival until Oct. 31.With its 300-meter wish tunnel, a lavender field lit up in various colors and more, Herb Island aims to get visitors in the holiday spirit. Inspired by European Christmas markets, the festival offers various events, including Christmas-themed soap, tree and candle-making, a Christmas cookie market, roasted turkey, and others

Anseong Ice Fishing Fest Visitors are offered winter activities such as ice fishing, sledding, traditional winter games and barehanded fishing. Gwanghyewon Reservoir, the venue of the Anseong Ice Fishing Festival, is one of the largest reservoirs of Anseong, known for its pristine water that runs down from the Charyeonsan mountains.The festival runs until Feb. 25, and admission is 5,000 won per person. Children under 5 are admitted free.Call the travel hotline at 1330 for information in Korean,

Gangneung will exempt taxis from a restriction on operations in order to increase the supply of taxis during the Olympics. Taxis in Gangneung, Gangwon Province, are usually required to take one day off when they have operated for two consecutive days, but the recent increase in visitors to the city has prompted the authorities to lift the rule during the Olympic period from Feb. 10 to 25. (Yonhap)As for vehicles other than rental cars and public transportation services, those with odd plate numb

Anseong Ice Fishing FestVisitors are welcome to participate in various winter activities such as ice fishing, sledding, traditional winter games and barehanded fishing. Gwanghyewon Reservoir, the venue of the Anseong Ice Fishing Festival, is one of the largest reservoirs of Anseong known for its first-class water quality that runs down from Charyeon Mountain Range.The festival lasts until Feb. 25, and admission is 5,000 won per person. Children under 5 are admitted free.Call the travel hotline a

A rare cosmic display decorated the skies around the world Wednesday as a blue moon synced up with a supermoon and a total lunar eclipse for the first time in 35 years.The following are shots of the moon seen throughout Korea around 9 p.m. Photo credit: Yonhap(khnews@heraldcorp.com) 

The Inje Ice Fishing festival is gaining popularity, with 110,000 people flocking to rural Inje County on the event's first day to catch smelts through holes pierced in a frozen lake, the county office said Tuesday.The annual festival opened Saturday for a nine-day run after a four-year hiatus due to unseasonably warm winter weather.The lake, located 165 km northeast of Seoul, was packed with people all day long Sunday despite one of the strongest cold spells in the country's history. Some 6,000