Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Foreign nationals invited to Korean Food Video Contest

A poster for the 2021 Korean Food Video Contest / Courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural AffairsBy Jun Ji-hyeThe Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is holding the 2021 Korean Food Video Contest, in which any foreign national living in or outside Korea is eligible to participate, the ministry said Sunday.The contest is aimed at sharing how to cook, eat and enjoy Korean food with people around the world. It consists of two sections ― a cooking video about kimchi and Korean traditional ingredients called “jang,” and an eating video about any Korean food. Participants can upload video clips of up to 30 minutes about the topics on the contest's official website and their own YouTube channels or Instagram accounts.Those who have more than 500 subscribers in their social media accounts are classified as Group A, while those who have less than 500 subscribers are classified as Group B. A total of $81,000 and $53,000 will be awarded to winners in Group A and Group B, respectively.The submission period is until Dec. 18, and winners will be announced on Dec

Nov 22, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Foreign nationals invited to Korean Food Video Contest

Jeju Air to resume flights to Bangkok amid easing entry restrictions

Vendors wearing face masks sell vegetables at a market amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bangkok, Nov. 16. Reuters-YonhapJeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier, said Friday it is resuming flights to Bangkok starting later next month on the back of eased entry curbs in the Southeast Asian country.Jeju Air will operate four flights per week for the Incheon-Bangkok route from Dec. 22, about 18 months after it suspended the route on the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.Since the flight suspension, it has only been running chartered planes to fly South Korean citizens traveling for essential reasons such as business or public service.The flight resumption comes as Thailand has lifted the mandatory COVID-19 quarantine for vaccinated travelers from South Korea while requiring them to present negative COVID-19 test results.With the planned flight resumption, Jeju Air plans to speed up the process to normalize the regular routes amid the easing of entry restrictions in foreign countries, helped by rising vaccination rates. Jeju Air resumed flights to Guam e

Nov 19, 2021

Jeju Air to resume flights to Bangkok amid easing entry restrictions

Must-know tips and nice accommodation for travel to Singapore

Seen is Singapore's famous view around the Marina Bay district, a popular tourist attraction there. gettyimagesbankSearch for flights between Singapore, Korea soaring with travel bubble accordBy Jun Ji-hyeA travel bubble agreement signed between Singapore and Korea in October went into effect Monday. Singapore has since allowed fully vaccinated visitors to travel between Incheon International Airport and Changi Airport without quarantining through its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme. Following the signing of the agreement, the search volume for flights to both Singapore and Korea has rapidly increased, reflecting the hopes of people who have been stuck at home due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic about the resumption of international tourism, according to global online travel agencies. Hotels.com said that it saw a spike in the search volume for outbound flight to both countries in the second week of October when the travel bubble news was announced.Flight searches to Korea from Singapore spiked from the mere double digits to over 1,100 searches on the day of announcement. The

Nov 18, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Must-know tips and nice accommodation for travel to Singapore

Grand Josun Jeju invites couples for luxury honeymoon moments

Grand Josun Jeju presents the “Romantic Escape Season 2” package to offer luxury honeymoon experiences to newlyweds. Courtesy of Grand Josun JejuBy Jun Ji-hyeGrand Josun Jeju has launched its “Romantic Escape Season 2” package with the aim of delivering a luxury honeymoon experience to newlywed guests.The package is specifically tailored for honeymooning newlyweds to provide them with the exclusive offerings of the hotel. The latest package follows last December's “Romantic Escape Season 1,” which was hugely popular among hotel guests.The basic benefits of the package include a one-night stay in an ocean view hill studio suite and breakfast at the private lounge, Gran J.In a bid to congratulate couples' new beginnings, their photo-framed pictures will be prepared in advance and given as a special gift.A bottle of wine and the Josun Deli macaron set will also be provided.For guests staying for more than two consecutive nights, additional benefits will be offered, including a sunset dinner for two at the hotel's Italian restaurant, Rubrica.When stayi

Nov 17, 2021

Grand Josun Jeju invites couples for luxury honeymoon moments

Jeju Dream Tower resort to open 2nd tower on Nov. 29

Jeju Dream Tower, the twin-tower landmark resort in the heart of Jeju City / Courtesy of Jeju Dream TowerBy Jun Ji-hyeJeju Dream Tower will open its second tower building, with 850 hotel rooms and residences, on Nov. 29, according to Lotte Tour Development.Jeju Dream Tower is an iconic twin-tower landmark in the heart of Jeju City. The integrated resort opened last Dec. 18, but only the first tower with 750 hotel rooms has been operating.With the opening of the second tower, the resort will be fully open, offering a total of 1,600 luxury rooms managed by Hyatt Hotels Corp. as the Grand Hyatt Jeju.“Grand Hyatt Jeju is the second-largest Hyatt hotel in the world, among more than 1,000 Hyatt hotels, and the largest Grand Hyatt hotel in the Asia-Pacific,” said Paul Kwok, general manager and managing director of Grand Hyatt Jeju. “It will become a leading world-class travel destination in the Asia-Pacific region.”As the second tower opens, Jeju Dream Tower will further enhance its culinary and service offerings, it said.Pocha, serving Korean street food on the 38th

Nov 10, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Jeju Dream Tower resort to open 2nd tower on Nov. 29

'Korea has chicken size problem': Columnist slams sauce-focused vendors

gettyimagesbankBy Yoon Ja-youngA well-known food columnist has slammed Korean fried chicken for being too small. Food critic Hwang Kyo-ik recently made a series of postings on his Facebook claiming that Korean fried chicken is too expensive and that therefore, the meat doesn't taste that good. “Korean chicken is not tasty. It is not tasty because the chicken is small,” he wrote. He said that the fried chicken currently being served at chicken restaurants in Korea is made from small broiler chickens weighing about 1.5 kilograms. “Some people insist that these small broiler chickens taste better than big broiler chickens. I wonder if they have ever tried big broiler chickens weighing around 3 kilograms.”He presented data from the Rural Development Administration comparing small and large chicken. The report cites increasing costs and tasteless meat as the key problems of producing small chicken, while large chicken can reduce production costs by 20 percent.He said that consumers in other countries enjoy fried chicken made using bigger chickens. “Korean fri

Nov 9, 2021By Yoon Ja-young

'Korea has chicken size problem': Columnist slams sauce-focused vendors

Jeju Air to resume flights to Guam amid vaccine campaign

gettyimagesbankJeju Air Co., South Korea's biggest budget carrier, said Friday it will resume flights to Guam later this month amid the country's accelerating vaccination campaign. Jeju Air plans to operate 38 flights on the Incheon-Guam route from Nov. 25 to Jan. 31 before it begins regular flights, depending on the country's vaccination and infection rates, the company said in a statement. The low-cost airline suspended most international routes in March last year following the outbreak of COVID-19 here in January in 2019.Jeju Air resumed regular flights to Saipan in July in a preemptive measure to absorb post-coronavirus travel demand.Charter flights to Chiang Mai, Thailand, are also available from Friday, but the flights could be temporary, depending on demand from travel agencies, a company spokeswoman said. International flights to five cities ― Tokyo, Osaka, Weihai, Harbin and Manila ― are available for business travel and Koreans residing in the cities.Jeju Air plans to expand other international routes to meet growing demand for outbound trips and an increase in vaccinated p

Nov 5, 2021

Jeju Air to resume flights to Guam amid vaccine campaign

Josun hotels collaborate with Starbucks for winter packages

Two Josun Hotels & Resorts hotels ― L'Escape Hotel and Grand Josun Busan ― present special packages for winter in collaboration with Starbucks Korea, offering Starbucks comforters for free. Courtesy of Josun Hotels & Resorts By Jun Ji-hyeTwo Josun Hotels & Resorts hotels ― L'Escape Hotel and Grand Josun Busan ― have launched special packages for this winter in collaboration with Starbucks Korea.The packages that are available until Jan. 31 provide Starbucks comforters for free to all package guests. The padded comforter was created in collaboration with visual artist 275c, known for colorful and modern-concept artwork. It can also be worn as a cape by using the buckle attached to the piece.L'Escape Hotel's “Winter Edition: My Comfort Azit” package comes with a one-night stay at the hotel's French sentiment-infused room and one Starbucks comforter per room.For guests staying in suites, two cocktails made by the head bartender of the hotel's bar Marque d'Amour and com

Nov 4, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Josun hotels collaborate with Starbucks for winter packages

Activist professor, comedian promote makgeolli

Professor Seo Kyoung-duk, left, and comedian Jeong Jun-ha / Courtesy of Seo Kyoung-dukBy Kang Seung-wooSeo Kyoung-duk, a professor of Sungshin Women's University known for his efforts to promote Korean culture abroad, has joined hands with comedian and TV personality Jeong Jun-ha to promote makgeolli, a Korean alcoholic drink made from fermenting rice. According to the professor, the two launched a multilingual video advertising the milky alcoholic drink on the occasion of “Makgeolli Day” that falls on the last Thursday in October. The four-minute clip is available in Korean and English on YouTube.Makgeolli Day was first designated by the government in 2011 as a day to introduce the world to a new line of makgeolli made of freshly harvested rice.The video explains the history of makgeolli and the reason why it has been popular as a “national alcoholic beverage” made of fermented rice and water. In addition, it also features visits to historic breweries.“I wanted to spread makgeolli-making, which was designated as a national intangible cultural asset this

Nov 3, 2021By Kang Seung-woo

Activist professor, comedian promote makgeolli

Domestic attractions with exotic ambiance lure tourists

Gimpo Laveniche March Avenue in Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of HotelsCombinedBy Jun Ji-hyeMore international flight operations are set to resume in line with the government's shift of its COVID-19 management policy to a gradual return to normalcy. But difficulties traveling abroad will still exist until the pandemic subsides in most countries and overseas travel is fully resumed. For those who are eagerly awaiting when it might be possible to travel to other countries freely again, HotelsCombined, a global hotel search platform, introduced domestic travel destinations offering an international atmosphere.'Little Italy' in GimpoGimpo Laveniche March Avenue is a place where visitors can feel an Italian atmosphere not too far from Seoul. The neighborhood consists of commercial streets built around a canal, called the Golden Waterway. It is characterized by a curved waterway and a line of bridges based on impressions of Venice, the city of water. The streets running alongside the waterway are good for taking a walk. Cafes and restaurants are lined up, so visitors can relax and enjoy the

Nov 3, 2021By Jun Ji-hye

Travel & Food