Seowon, or Neo-Confucian Academy of the Joseon dynasty, has been designated as a cultural heritage by UNESCO. Among the many seowon in Korea, nine were chosen and added to the list of Korea’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites as follows: Sosuseowon, Namgyeseowon, Oksanseowon, Dosanseowon, Piramseowon, Dodongseowon, Byeongsanseowon, Museongseowon, and Donamseowon.

At the 43rd session of World Heritage Committee (WHC) held on July 6, 2019, the nine seowon sites were evaluated to hold a significant universal value for their excellent preservation of Korea’s Neo-Confucianism tradition and illustration of how Neo-Confucianism developed and adapted in Korea. With the addition of seowon, Korea now has a total of 14 world heritages. Diverse tour programs and events are planned to attract both domestic and international travelers to seowon.

Do check out these newly added UNESCO World Heritage sites on your trip to Korea! For more information, check out UNESCO Website or VisitKorea Website. 

Chimac is one of the favourite snacks of Koreans that one shall not miss when visiting Korea. The term "chimac" is a portmanteau of chicken and maekju (meaning "beer"). Daegu Chimac Festival, is pride as the mecca for chicken and beer lovers across the nation. The event attracted one million visitors including foreigners in 2016, is growing year on year and has been selected as one of the up-and-coming festivals in Korea by the Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism this year.

Daegu Chimac Festival Details:

Date: 17th - 21st July 2019 (Wednesday - Sunday)

Venue: Daegu Duryu Park

Admission: Free

Program: Stage performances, exhibitions, activities related to chicken and beer

The greatest perk of this festival is the opportunity to try out all sorts of chicken and beer. This year the event will include music and cultural performances, making the entire festival overflow with youthful energy. Just imagine the attendants relaxing and listening to live music while enjoying their chimac.

Come chill out this July at Daegu Chimac Festival with yummy fried chicken and beer! For more information about the festival, check out Chimac Festival official event website.

Direction:

[Train] 

[Subway] 

photo credit: KTO Singapore

Korea Tourism Organization has appointed popular K-pop idol group EXO as Korea Tourism Honorary Ambassador for 2018 to attract and increase international visitors. EXO members will be appearing in promotional videos that showcase unique experiences in Korea from the perspective of international tourists.

The all-boy band EXO is an iconic K-pop idol group under SM Entertainment, agency known for internationally popular TVXQ and BoA. The group also made an appearance at the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games ceremony event and presented the audience with a remarkable performance. EXO is popular both in and out of Korea, boasting a great number of fans in Japan, China, and even in regions of North America. Along with BtoB, another popular K-pop idol who was appointed honorary ambassador in March, EXO will use their talents to their fullest to promote Korea to the world.

Earlier this month, EXO members appeared as the main cast in six different promotional videos that introduce Korea’s tourism divided in themes of history & tradition, Korean’s everyday life, adventure, trend, healing, and Korean wave. These videos had been released through television, Youtube, Facebook, and other digital marketing media.

 

School holidays ended and it is now time to get ready to plan for your next holiday! And if your next holiday destination is Korea or planning to, here is some good news for you! First of all there will be two travel fairs happening in August and you can be sure to get great Korea tour deals at the upcoming travel fairs. KTO will also be giving away redemption items* for those who purchased Korea tour packages at either of the travel fairs with any of the participating travel partners.

This is also the time to start planning for your Korea trip as from September to October Korea will be entering into autumn season where cool temperatures and colors change from the vibrant greens of summer to a rich palette of red, orange and yellow. Not only is the autumn foliage beautiful, autumn is also the season where crops ripen and are harvested, giving festival-goers a chance to sample fresh, delicious treats and local delicacies. If you plan further into November or December, you will be able to experience snow and wintry landscapes in Korea. And if you are lucky enough, you might even be able to see snow falling.

So mark down on your calendar and do check out at the travel fairs this August! 

*Redemption items is while stocks last and on a first-come-first-serve basis.

One-Stop Travel Service offering all your travel needs from transportation information, accommodation reservation, baggage storage to pocket WIFI rental opened at Travel Center in Gimpo International Airport Station.

Travel Center, which opened its doors on January 1 within the Tourist Information Center at basement level of Gimpo International Airport Station, has tour managers fluent in English, Japanese and Chinese to provide tourists with various travel information.

Currently, the center provides services including public transportation information, travel packages and accommodation reservation, baggage storage and delivery, overcoat storage, SIM card sale, and Pocket WIFI rental. With the center open all year round, travelers can visit whenever they need any assistance! 

More Information:

☞Enjoy One-Stop Travel Service at Gimpo International Airport Station Address: 

Tourist Information Center B1F, 77, Haneul-gil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul 

☞Operating hours: Daily 07:00 - 21:30 

☞ Inquiries: +82-2-2665-0211 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) 

* Assistance in languages other than English may not be available at all times depending on staff schedule. 

☞AREX Official website: www.arex.or.kr (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese) 

☞ 1330 Korea Travel Hotline: +82-2-1330 (Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese)

*source: KTO Singapore

The Gyeonggang High Speed Line connecting Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon province has been scheduled to open in mid-December this year! The opening of the Gyeonggang High Speed line makes travelling between Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon province more convenient and faster than ever before.

Construction commenced in July 2012, the Gyeonggang Line is now close to its completion after upgrading the existing tracks into high-speed tracks and constructing 120.3km-long new tracks in the Wonjoo-Gangneung section. In October, KORAIL had verified all of the facilities involved. The new line will officially open in the upcoming December when the commercial test operation is completed at the end of November.

Once open, the Gyeonggang Line will reduce the travelling time between Seoul station and Gangneung station with an average of 1hr 54min. Thanks to the new line, Olympic athletes and fans heading to PyeongChang next February will be able to make a fast and comfortable KTX travel to the station near Olympic venues.

In order to provide a fast and comfortable KTX service for sports fans heading to PyeongChang for the upcoming 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, KORAIL is planning to operate 51 daily operations during the Olympics period. 

Source, Photo by KTO Singapore

Interested in becoming a cheering member of PyeongChang 2018? To gear up for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Korea Tourism Organization launched the “I am Waiting for Me in Korea” campaign recruiting special cheering members for PyeongChang 2018.

2018 lucky winners selected through the campaign will be made into 3D figurines and be part of a cheering team cheering on the athletes at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Some of these figurines will also be travelling to attractive spots in Korea in wait for the winners at the Sang Sang Stadium (imagination stadium).

Aside from having your own figurine cheering at the Sang Sang stadium, there are also other attractive prizes such as 2 round trip tickets to Korea, 1-night accommodation in Korea and official mascots for PyeongChang 2018 out for grab. You might be lucky and be one of them to visit Korea and meet your own cheering figurine!

First of all, prepare photographs of yourself with views from the front, back and sides. Then log on to the website (http://www.waitinginkorea.com), submit your particulars, select your personalised cheering member and submit your photographs.

Event Information:

Date: 1 – 30 November 2017

To participate, go on to http://www.waitinginkorea.com now.

Available in English, Japanese, Chinese

This article is brought to you by Korea Tourism Organization Singapore and GOkpop.