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Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas unveils 'true luxury'

The Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas reopened Dec. 1 after an 11-month renovation. / Courtesy of Grand InterContinental Seoul ParnasBy Jun Ji-hyeThe Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas at the center of Seoul's Gangnam District reopened Dec. 1 after an eleven-month-long renovation project that was aimed at setting new standards for a luxurious lifestyle.Following the 2014 refurbishment of the lobby and restaurant on the ground floor and shared facilities including the Grand Ballroom, the hotel, which first opened in 1988, has now been completely transformed after the renovation of the exterior of the hotel and all rooms from the seventh to the 33rd floor. The InterContinental Club Lounge, which was located on the 26th floor, has now been moved to the hotel's top floor, the 34th, in a symbolic change that indicates the club's upgraded services. The hotel's overall interior design was done by 1508 London, a British interior design group that was in charge of various interior design projects for five-star hotels in Europe and the Middle East. The hotel said the interior creates an ele

Dec 10, 2020By Jun Ji-hye
Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas unveils 'true luxury'

Mungyeong farmer grows premium apples with honey-sweet flavors

Farmer Sohn Seong-kook shows some of the Gamhong apples he has grown in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province. / Courtesy of Sohn Seong-kookBy Jun Ji-hyeSohn Seong-kook, a farmer committed to growing premium apples in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province, calls himself a “happy farmer” who has drawn the attention of apple lovers.Among others, the Gamhong apples he grows have gained popularity across the country for their distinguished taste and texture.The Gamhong apple cultivar is a mid-late season apple that was introduced in 1992 in Korea. The cultivar is famous for its palatability, but is known to be very difficult to grow.“I began growing apple trees in 2001, and cultivated my first Gamhong apples seven years ago,” Sohn said in an interview with The Korea Times, noting that the cultivar is very crisp and offers honey-sweet flavors even when it is eaten with the peel on.The harvest season of Mungyeong's Gamhong apples lasts for only about 20 days in October, and numbers are very limited. A 10-kilogram box of Gamhong apples costs about 100,000 won ($92), fa

Dec 10, 2020By Jun Ji-hye
Mungyeong farmer grows premium apples with honey-sweet flavors

Online platform enables people to enjoy festivals amid pandemic

A poster promotes the online platform launched by the Korea Tourism Organization and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to enable people to enjoy a variety of regional festivals online amid the COVID-19 pandemic. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism OrganizationBy Jun Ji-hyePeople will be able to enjoy a variety of regional festivals at any time amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic through the “Online Experience Center for Cultural Tourism Festivals,” the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said, Thursday. The platform, launched by the KTO together with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is aimed at maintaining public interest in regional festivals at a time when a number of events have been canceled or postponed due to the public health crisis that began here in January. The KTO said the platform introduces diverse festivals to be held this year and next, selected by the tourism ministry, and other information such as experience programs, nearby tourist attractions and reviews from other tourists. The platform also offers useful content such as articles by travel

Dec 10, 2020By Jun Ji-hye
Online platform enables people to enjoy festivals amid pandemic

Hotel Lobby

By Jun Ji-hyeAndaz Seoul Gangnam presents 4 kinds of Christmas cakesIn celebration of the end of the year, Andaz Seoul Gangnam offers four Christmas cakes from Dec. 4 to 25 at A'+Z cafe located on the lobby floor of the hotel. This year, the pastry chef has prepared Buche de Noel, Santa Clause Mousse Cake, Christmas Fresh Cream Cake and Christmas Cheese Cake.First, the traditional Buche de Noel cake, resembling a decorative Yule log, brings the message to burn bad things from the year and wish for good luck in the coming year. It is made of a sheet of red velvet sponge cake with white chocolate cream, mascarpone cream and raspberry jam filling for a sweet and fruity taste. Santa Clause Mousse Cake, with Santa's excited face, is made from the 100-year-old, French Valrhona chocolate mousse recipe and features layers of raspberry, blueberry and strawberry cream, delivering a sweet harmony of dark chocolate and sweet berries. The Christmas Fresh Cream Cake is a signature classic from Andaz Seoul Gangnam, made of white sheet cake and topped with mascarpone cheese, fresh cream and fresh st

Dec 3, 2020By Jun Ji-hye
Hotel Lobby

Hotels canceling year-end, New Year's events amid pandemic

The Westin Chosun Seoul sets up a big screen to livestream the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra's New Year's Concert for guests having dinner at the hotel on Jan. 1, 2019. The hotel has decided not to hold the annual event on Jan. 1 2021 due to concerns over COVID-19 infections. / Courtesy of The Westin Chosun SeoulBy Jun Ji-hyeThe year-end period has been the traditional peak season for luxury hotels to hold concerts, parties and other events to celebrate the holidays. But an increasing number of hotels have decided not to hold New Year's celebrations this year due to concerns over possible transmission of COVID-19 amid the prolonged pandemic, according to hotel industry officials, Thursday.As the country is battling a third wave of infections caused by continued sporadic outbreaks, the government has also prohibited hotels, party rooms and other guesthouses from hosting year-end parties, beginning from Dec. 1, in an effort to slow the spread of the virus among young people.“Many hotels have canceled plans to hold events this winter such as the countdown to the New Year as precau

Dec 3, 2020By Jun Ji-hye
Hotels canceling year-end, New Year's events amid pandemic

KTO wins tourism award for 'Rhythm' videos

A scene from “Feel the Rhythm of Korea,” a video series promoting tourism. The series, produced by the Korea Tourism Organization, won an award at the Tourism Innovation Summit in Spain. / YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Wednesday that the organization won an award for its promotional video series “Feel the Rhythm of Korea” at the Tourism Innovation Awards 2020, held during the recent Tourism Innovation Summit in Seville, Spain.The awards are given to institutions and tourism companies around the world that apply innovative business models or technologies in the tourism sector. It is divided into five categories: customers' experience, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analysis, digital campaigns, sustainable tourism projects, and new business models. The KTO's promotional video won the award for best digital campaign.“Feel the Rhythm of Korea,” a series of two-minute clips, introduced major cities here that are frequented by overseas tourists. Three videos, each about Seoul, Busan and Jeonju were released on the K

Dec 2, 2020By Bahk Eun-ji
KTO wins tourism award for 'Rhythm' videos

INTERVIEW Marriott focusing on enhancing customer relations amid pandemic

Duke Nam, Marriott International's area vice president of Korea and the Philippines, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, Monday. / Courtesy of Marriott International Korea'International visitors expected to come back in 2nd half of next year'By Jun Ji-hyeThe global hotel industry is one of many that have been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak as the global public health crisis has resulted in a rapid fall in the number of international visitors. Duke Nam, Marriott International's area vice president for Korea and the Philippines, said the situation facing the hotel business in Korea has been less severe, compared to the difficulties facing other countries, on the back of growing demand for local “staycations” and national antivirus efforts.“Marriott hotels in Korea have recovered sales to some extent quarter-on-quarter, as we suffered a 60 percent decrease in sales in the second quarter from a year earlier and then a 50 percent decrease in the third quarter. We expect sales in the fourth quarter to fall by 40 perce

Dec 2, 2020
[INTERVIEW] Marriott focusing on enhancing customer relations amid pandemic

Kimchi controversy: China's cultural provocation

Kimchi / gettyimagesbankFlawed kimchi coverage upsets Koreans By Park Ji-wonThe Chinese nationalist media outlet Global Times' unverified claim that China has set the international standards for kimchi has recently been refuted by various media organizations. But the issue has raised concern among Koreans who worry about the “kimchi paradox.” Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish but Koreans are increasingly consuming products made in China. Korea's exports of kimchi continued to grow but at the same time the country's imports of kimchi from China are also rising.Although the kimchi controversy may have come to an end, some worry that similar incidents could occur. Following the Sichuan provincial government's winning of an ISO listing for pao cai last week, some Chinese media reported that it was a victory against Korean kimchi. The Chinese state-run Global Times reported Saturday that the listing was “an international standard for the kimchi industry led by China” in an article titled, “China sets the international standard of kimchi; Korea, its sovereig

Dec 2, 2020By Park Ji-won
Kimchi controversy: China's cultural provocation

South Korea refutes China's claim on industrial standard for kimchi

At Eyang village in South Jeolla Province's Hwasun County, people from social welfare agencies make kimchi for elderlies living alone and people with disabilities on Nov. 27. Courtesy of Hwasun County OfficeKimchi is not just fermented cabbage but a central part of Korea's food culture, and the process of making it has already been recognized as a global standard for nearly two decades, Seoul's agriculture ministry said Monday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs made the remark to refute Chinese media's claim that Beijing has won a certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for its kimchi making process.The ministry said Beijing won ISO certification for pao cai, another type of pickled vegetable consumed in China, which "has nothing to do with kimchi." "We need to understand that pao cai is different from kimchi," the ministry said.China began the process of standardizing pao chai in 2019, and five ISO members ― China, Turkey, India, Iran and Serbia ― last week approved categories of pao cai, according to the ISO document, which said

Nov 30, 2020
South Korea refutes China's claim on industrial standard for kimchi

Remains of two Silla people found in castle wall of Wolseong Palace site in Gyeongju

Part of the excavation of Wolseong Palace and the west rampart. / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration By Kwon Mee-yooThe remains of two Unified Silla era people were found in the ramparts of the Wolseong Palace excavation site in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (GNRICH) revealed Friday. The discovery came during excavation and academic research on the west rampart and the approach road between Gyerim Forest and Wolseong. The bodies of the two men in their 50s found in the castle walls are considered the first case in Korea of "Insingonghui," or human sacrifice, in the process of building a rampart. According to legend, an embankment or building would not collapse if a person was buried under a cornerstone.The excavation of the west rampart of Wolseong was conducted in a bid to identify the palace gate site. The bodies were found between a base construction layer and an artificial ground laye

Nov 27, 2020By Kwon Mee-yoo
Remains of two Silla people found in castle wall of Wolseong Palace site in Gyeongju
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