The Korea Herald

China's No. 1 social commerce site to pick best Seoul restaurants

Sept 27, 2016

China's largest food delivery and group buying website will pick the hottest restaurants in Seoul to help a growing number of individual travelers find the best places to eat, the state-run tourism agency here said Tuesday. The state-run Korea Tourism Organization said it has signed an agreement with Meituan Dianping, China's No. 1 restaurant and entertainment review and daily deals website, to share big data related to Chinese travelers. The first joint project will be selecting the best restau
Run with the bulls on Terceira island

Sept 23, 2016

VILA NOVA, TERCEIRA, Azores -- There are ways to look nonchalant when you stand on a street with nothing between you and an over 900-kilogram bull but a few skinny guys with a rope.Strike a vigorous stance with hands on your hips, for one. That projects machismo. Hands in your pockets can make you look fairly unruffled, too. Talking loudly and unconcernedly with friends shows you’re fine with a little danger.Crossing your arms, however, isn’t recommended. That might stray just a little into nerv
[Travel Bits] Travel news from around the world

Sept 23, 2016

Seoul International Fireworks Festival The Seoul International Fireworks Festival is an annual event of extravagant firework displays by firework masters from home and abroad. It attracts more than a million spectators every year. Celebrating its 16th year, one of the most anticipated autumn festivals in Seoul is taking place outside the Yeouinaru Station at the Han River Park.Prior to the firework show, visitors will also be able to enjoy various live performances and hands-on cultural programs
[Around the Hotels] Roundup of hotel events and news

Sept 23, 2016

Park Hyatt Seoul’s Autumn at the Park Park Hyatt Seoul is presenting the Autumn at the Park package until Nov. 30. It comes in two options, either basic or gourmet, and aims to provide a refuge for guests in the comfort of the city. Starting at 340,000 won, the basic package includes a one-night stay in a Park King room, and a skincare set from Aesop. The gourmet option includes everything in the basic package as well as a full-course dinner for two at the hotel’s Italian restaurant Cornerstone.
Japan choosing 88 animation travel spots to boost tourism

Sept 18, 2016

TOKYO (AP) -- Eighty-eight places in Japan are going to be designated as “animation spots” to encourage tourism, using train stations, school campuses, rural shrines and other fairly everyday places where the characters of popular “manga,” or Japanese comics, are depicted. Such landmarks number in the tens of thousands, given the popularity and volume of manga in Japan. But this is being billed as the official list for any fan’s animation “pilgrimage,” as the places are known as “seichi,” or “sa
[Around the Hotels] Roundup of hotel events and news

Sept 9, 2016

Chuseok Package at Park Hyatt SeoulPark Hyatt Seoul will be offering the Chuseok Package for guests staying at the hotel from Sept. 1-18.The main component of the package is the Evening Chill-out promotion, which includes a late 2 p.m. checkout time, a discounted breakfast price of 30,000 per person as well as free access to the hotel’s sauna, pool and fitness studio. There is also happy hour for two from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Timber House, which has a wide selection of drinks and Japanese dis
Where ghosts are guests

Sept 9, 2016

It was a dark and stormy night when I arrived at Nottoway Plantation, eager to get to my room, unaware of the ghosts.Western Louisiana was flooding. Roads were washed out, hotels in short supply. I had pointed my rented jeep toward one of the few places with a room, a mansion by the Great Mississippi River Road, 48 kilometers south of Baton Rouge that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.It was about 1 a.m. when I finally passed sugar cane fields surrounding the plantation on Ba
[Travel Bits] Travel news from around the world

Sept 9, 2016

Seoul International Fireworks Festival The Seoul International Fireworks Festival is an annual event of extravagant firework displays by firework masters from home and abroad, attracting more than 1 million spectators every year. Celebrating its 16th year, one of the most anticipated autumn festivals in Seoul is taking place outside Yeouinaru Station at the Han River Park.Prior to the firework show, visitors will also be able to enjoy live performances and cultural programs.The 16th annual Seoul
[Travel Bits] Round up of travel news from around the world

Sept 2, 2016

Seoul International Fireworks FestivalSeoul International Fireworks Festival is an annual event of extravagant firework displays by firework masters from home and abroad, attracting more than a million spectators every year. Celebrating its 16th year, one of the most anticipated autumn festivals in Seoul is taking place outside the Yeouinaru Station at the Han River Park.Prior to the firework show, visitors will also be able to enjoy various live performances and hands-on cultural programs.The 1
Follow Beatrix Potter through Britain’s Lake District

Sept 2, 2016

When I was a little girl, my grandparents gifted me with a beautiful set of Beatrix Potter books for Christmas one year. I could barely wait for everyone to finish unwrapping presents so that I could sneak off to my room with my treasure. The first Potter story I read on that long ago Christmas Day was “The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher,” about a determined frog whose fishing trip turned out to be not quite what he expected.Now, all these years later, here I was wandering through the rooms of Hill T
[Around the hotels] Round up of hotel events and news

Sept 2, 2016

Chuseok Package at Park Hyatt SeoulPark Hyatt Seoul will be offering the Chuseok Package for guests staying at the hotel from Sept. 1-18.The main component of the package is the Evening Chill-out promotion, which includes a late 2 p.m. checkout time, a discounted breakfast price of 30,000 per person as well as free access to the hotel’s sauna, pool and fitness studio. There is also happy hour for two from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Timber House, which has a wide selection of drinks and Japanese dis
Lower Manhattan reborn 15 years after 9/11

Sept 1, 2016

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fifteen years after the Sept. 11 attacks, Lower Manhattan has been reborn. The revitalization of the city’s downtown, powered by $30 billion in government and private investments, includes not just the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site, but also two new malls filled with upscale retailers, thousands of new hotel rooms and dozens of eateries ranging from the new Italian marketplace Eataly to a French food hall, Le District. The statistics alone are stunning. There are
[Travel Bits] Round up of travel news from around the world

Aug 26, 2016

Water splash parade at EverlandEverland is hosting the Summer Splash and Fantastic Summer Night festival, which is packed with programs such as splash parades, fireworks and a 3-D mapping show every night. During the day, guests can enjoy Jack’s Splash Parade, which sprays 84 tons of water from 40 water cannons and six floats, three times a day. At night when the heat dies down, the park’s Rose Garden will be turned into a midsummer night’s dream paradise as the garden is transformed into a fest
Surfer heaven: Kauai’s north shore

Aug 26, 2016

The surf instructor Rick, sitting next to us, points out to vast ocean as we sit in the crystal-clear water, where he’s pushing a few beginners into waves.“A few months ago, there were 60-foot (18-meter) waves crashing right here,” he said, gazing out to where it looked more like a lake on a recent day in May. “This past winter was one of the best we’ve had for waves.”As summer started this year, locals were still feeling a hangover from their epic El Nino-driven winter. Stories flowed of how wi
[Around the hotels] Round up of hotel events and news

Aug 26, 2016

Relaxing Chuseok Package at Banyan Tree Club & Spa SeoulIn celebration of Chuseok, Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul will be offering the Relaxing Chuseok Package for those staying at the hotel from Sept. 9-18. Starting at 590,000 won per night, guests who choose to stay at the Banyan Full Deluxe Room, Namsan Full Deluxe Room, Namsan Full Premier Room, Namsan Full Suite or the Namsan Full Premier Suite will be offered free breakfast for two at the Granum Dining Lounge, discount coupons to the Banyan