Category > Travel

Korean Visas Made Easier

From the American Citizen Services newsletter comes this:
The JoongAng Daily is reporting that there are new changes in the process to apply for Korean work visas. Companies and individuals may now apply online at HuNet Korea, the government-run visa nomination and online visa application web site: www.visa.go.kr. In addition, JoonAng [...]

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Travel in Korea – Luke Warm iPhone App

Rob has written a well thought out piece on Korea’s almost constant seeking of some sort of brand for itself to promote to outsiders, but is always falling short because of it’s pigheadedness heavy handed approach(es)
Which is not to say there efforts aren’t well intentioned, and indeed the Travel in Korea’s (Is that the Korean Tourism Organisation [...]

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South Korea Invites Korean War Vets

If you know any Korean War vets, this is a pretty slick deal for them and their families:
This year, Lee said the Korean government is offering to pay for 50 percent of the round-trip airfare for veterans as part of the country’s 2010 Revisit Korea Program that honors the 60th anniversary of the Korean [...]

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On Korea tourism and promoting the country through foreigners

[EDITED to change the description of Mr. LEE from 'foreigner' to 'naturalized Korean' in the last paragraph - see comments section for more.]
If this sounds like a repeat of this story (and post), it’s not
While not precisely linked to the recently-ended VANK contest (and the wonderful prizes won by 100 bloggers about Korea), [...]

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Destination: Seoul Fringe Festival 2009

Source: Seoul Fringe Festival offical website
This year’s Seoul Fringe Festival has one more good weekend left in it, and definitely makes Hongdae fun to meander around and experience some next-generation artists.

Now in it’s 12th year, the Seoul Fringe Festival is an honorable attempt to bring independent arts to the forefront of peoples minds. The acts [...]

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24. (Not the TV program)

[Update:] OK! I will put my money where my mouth is and I will invite someone to objectivly pick what they think is the most interesting 24 hours and I will go and do it, camera in hand. When you think of your 24 hours in Seoul bear in mind travel times and forms of [...]

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Three Netizens Upstage Korean Tourism Organization

The Korea Herald reports that Korean chef Edward Kwon, and actors Kim Jung-eun, Keum Hyo-min and Jin Goo will be Kimchi Ambassadors at the upcoming Kimchi Festival in Gwangju.
Kimchi’s good, sure, but as for stuff that’ll actually make people want to come to Korea, these three travellers have upstaged the entire Korean Tourism Organization [...]

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Seoul subway line 9 is up and running – finally

After much delay, Seoul’s subway line 9 is up and running quite nicely. I took a couple rides earlier today, it’s first day of operation, and am pleased to report things are ready, working, and not-surprisingly on time – well, the subways themselves were on time, at least.

The stations themselves look fairly normal – marble, [...]

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Destination: Haeundae Sand Festival (Busan)

Hello faithful Hub of Sparkle! readers – Chris in South Korea here. I’m heading up the travel department for Korea Sparkling, but I might write a post or two about life in Korea for those newer to Korea.

As you might expect, a sand festival has a lot to see. Why a sand festival? Why not? [...]

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Tea Break!

With all the serious discussion going on, Fatman though we could all use a brief respite. Chill, relax, have a cup of tea . . .ahhhh! Isn’t that better?

It’s tea time! Although not well known beyond these shores, Korea has a long and venerable history of tea cultivation and appreciation. [...]

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Andong Sparkling! (and Delicious!)

The Hub of Sparkle crew recently took a trip to that bastion of Confucianism, Andong!  Located in North Gyeongsan Province, this place packs a historical and culinary punch that few places in Korea (or anywhere else, for that matter!) can match.
But how to get there?

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Andong Trip

As mentioned here, Hub of Sparkle is planning another absolutely fabulous meet-up, this time in the acclaimed Hub of Confucianism, Andong.   As a former resident of that fair city, I’m heading up the nitty-gritty detail-hashing committee.   As said before, this trip is going to be heavy on the culinary end of the tourism spectrum [...]

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