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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Lotte Hotel female exec adds another 'first' achievement

By Kang Seung-wooBae Hyun-mi, a veteran hotelier at Lotte Hotels and Resorts, has been dubbed the “first female” everything.Bae Hyun-miWhenever assuming positions such as assistant manager, section chief, team leader and even general manager, she was the first woman to do so in the history of the nation's largest hotel chain.And now, the 49-year-old has one more to add to her “first female” list, as she has become the first female executive from operations after being promoted to vice president late last month. Operations include housekeeping, security, food service, sales and finances.“I will try my best to pave the way for more female hoteliers to have more opportunities in various fields of the hospitality industry,” Bae said.A hotel official said, “Bae's aggressive drives and execution or work have led her to what she is now.”After joining Lotte in 1986, she began her career as hotelier in the room management and reservation division. She also headed the room management team at the Lotte Hotel Seoul and in 2016 became the first gene

Jan 4, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Lotte Hotel female exec adds another 'first' achievement

Hotel Shilla to open new hotel in Silicon Valley in 2022

Seen is a concept image of Shilla Stay hotel in Silicon Valley, California, which will open in 2022. / Captured by Mercury NewsBy Baek Byung-yeulHotel Shilla, the hotel and duty free arm of Samsung Group, will open its branch hotel in Silicon Valley, California, in a bid to expand its overseas operations, the firm said Wednesday.“We plan to open a new hotel in San Jose scheduled to begin operation in 2022,” an official of the firm said. “We will come with more details when things are finalized.”Hotel Shilla is building a 200-room hotel in Alviso, a northern district of San Jose, according to San Jose-based newspaper Mercury News. The hotel will be branded as Shilla Stay, a business hotel branch of Hotel Shilla. The city is developing the area as an entertainment district and the hotel would be located next to a Topgolf golfing entertainment complex.The location has seen growing demand for hotel rooms because tech firms in Silicon Valley are expanding their operations. “Demand for hotel rooms still outweighs the current supply in that area,” a local

Jan 4, 2019By Baek Byung-yeul
Hotel Shilla to open new hotel in Silicon Valley in 2022

Winter festivals returning to wow visitors

Visitors look around snow sculptures at the Mount Taebaek Snow Festival in 2017. / YonhapBy Kang Seung-wooLong-awaited winter festivals are arriving, with even some having already come, to help those who never think about going outside into the sweeping cold engage in and enjoy outdoor activities. They range from catching fish in icy water to viewing impressive ice sculptures to sledding to of course eating a variety of food coming from each region.Below are recommended winter festivals that have emerged as the nation's leading ones.Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, scheduled to kick off on Saturday and run until Jan. 27, is regarded around the world as one of Korea's most famous seasonal festivals, if not the most. Sancheoneo is mountain trout in Korean.Launched in 2003, the fish festival has attracted more than 1.5 million visitors annually, including 110,000 foreigners, to the remote mountainous county in Gangwon Province that is a few kilometers south of the border with North Korea. It was even selected as one of the seven Winter Wonders of th

Jan 3, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Winter festivals returning to wow visitors

Hotel Lobby

By Kang Seung-wooKensington Jeju readied for Lunar New Year packageThe Kensington Jeju Hotel is offering a promotion for those who want to enjoy their Lunar New Year holidays on the southern resort island of Jeju. The Holiday in Jeju package is available from Feb. 1 to 6 as the nation is scheduled to begin a five-day holiday on Feb. 2.The promotion also allows two adults and one child to eat for free at its Jeju traditional restaurant, while a wine selection party is also available for two people. Online booking additionally gives a 30,000 won ($27) discount per day. Gyeongwonjae Ambassador's Sura picked among top 3 restaurants by foreigners Sura, a Korean restaurant at the Gyeongwonjae Ambassador Incheon in Songdo, was selected as one of the top three restaurants that foreign nationals want to visit. The Visit Korea Committee conducted a two-week poll from Nov. 30 asking which restaurants foreigners wanted to visit among 73 dining facilities at local hotels. Sura, meaning “royal cuisine” in Korean, provides meals ranging from a la carte to full course. “Sura is the

Jan 3, 2019By Kang Seung-woo
Hotel Lobby

COEX Aquarium aims to become must-visit attraction for foreigners

The COEX Aquarium shows off a variety of marine creatures, including sharks. / Courtesy of COEX AquariumBy Kang Seung-wooWhen Yang Su-yong, a career-long specialist in the hospitality sector, took the helm of COEX Aquarium in June last year, his new industry was a “red ocean,” where hard-fought competitions were unavoidable to lure more people from the nation's aging population. COEX Aquarium CEO Yang Su-yongIn order to escape the “bloody” market, the 54-year-old came up with the idea of turning his attention to the growing number of foreign nationals visiting Korea. “While exploring ways to rebound the firm's declining revenue, I came up with the idea of attracting foreign tourists coming to Korea,” the CEO said in an interview with The Korea Times. According to the government, more than 14 million foreigners visited Korea this year as of November. “To this end, I instructed staff to place English first on every signboard in the aquarium. Also, various performances were held in English and employees at each booth and the ticket office were

Dec 27, 2018By Kang Seung-woo
COEX Aquarium aims to become must-visit attraction for foreigners

Hotel Lobby

By Kang Seung-wooGrand Ambassador Seoul honored for customer-focused managementThe Grand Ambassador Seoul Associated with Pullman has successfully retained its Consumer Centered Management (CCM) certificate from the Fair Trade Commission (FTC).The certification is the system assessing whether all activities of a company are based on consumer-centered principles and continuously improving its management. The certificate is given twice a year. In 2016, the Grand Ambassador Seoul became the nation's first hotel to obtain the certificate.To truly listen to customers, the Grand Ambassador Seoul has launched the “voice of customer” campaign, while running a customer relations management system. Westin Chosun to broadcast orchestra concert The Westin Chosun Seoul will broadcast the New Year's concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on Jan. 1. Guests can enjoy the performance by the symphony orchestras at 7:15 p.m., after having dinner at the property's on-site restaurants. Plus, the hotel invites Cha Jin-yeob, a modern choreographer, to help guests understand and enjoy the

Dec 27, 2018By Kang Seung-woo
Hotel Lobby

Bodies of missing Korean tourists found in Thailand

Rescue workers search the area where the Korean tourist went missing. Screegrab of the NationThe bodies of two South Korean tourists have been discovered in Thailand after they went missing while crossing a river at a golf course earlier this week, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.A Thai rescue team found one body Wednesday night and another the following day. They fell into the river on the way back to their hotel after playing golf in Phitsanulok, central Thailand, on Tuesday."The bodies were found swiftly through active cooperation by related authorities including South Korea's embassy in Thailand and local police," the ministry said.The Thai government formed the rescue team consisting of 150 people, including police officers and civilian rescue experts. (Yonhap)

Dec 27, 2018
Bodies of missing Korean tourists found in Thailand

KTO stepping up fight against discrimination against foreign tourists

By Kang Seung-wooThe nation's state-run tourism promotion agency signed an agreement with the nation's human rights watchdog, Monday, in its efforts to protect the human rights of foreign tourists visiting Korea.A foreign tourist does sightseeing near Gwanghwamun Station in Seoul, Monday. / YonhapThe agreement mainly features cooperation between the Korea Tourism Organization's (KTO) Korea Travel Hotline and the National Human Rights Commission's (NHRC) Counseling and Mediation Center on taking care of racial discrimination and other human rights violations that inbound travelers experience during their trips. It is also aimed at helping KTO employees develop their knowledge of human rights.The signing came as the nation has hailed a growing number of foreign tourists coming to Korea. As of the end of November, more than 14 million foreigners have visited Korea this year. “There have been a few reports about discrimination and they include Spanish tourists who were denied entry to a restaurant and a Vietnamese visitor who was barred from a club,” a KTO official said.Accor

Dec 24, 2018By Kang Seung-woo
KTO stepping up fight against discrimination against foreign tourists

Raw octopus most alluring Korean food for foreigners

By Kim RahnSliced raw octopusForeign tourists to Korea most want to try “sannakji,” or sliced raw octopus, a survey showed Monday.The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) announced the survey result conducted of 944 followers of the organization's foreign-language social media channels in late November. Participants were asked to choose which of Korea's lesser-known dishes they'd most like to eat.In the survey, 26 percent picked sannakji, which is a popular dish in Korea but may come as a shock to those unfamiliar with food that's still moving. In recent years it has become a kind of challenge for foreign tourists to try the dish during their visits to Korea.Another 14.6 percent picked “ganjang gejang” (crab marinated in soy sauce), followed by 14.2 percent choosing “sundae” (Korean blood sausage), 10.3 percent wanting “hongeo” (fermented stingray), 7.7 percent for “yukhoe” (raw beef) and 6.7 percent “cheonggukjang” (fast fermented soybean paste, usually eaten as a stew).“These foods are exotic and unfamiliar t

Dec 24, 2018By Kim Rahn
Raw octopus most alluring Korean food for foreigners

INTERVIEW Grand Hilton Seoul eyes MICE sector

By Kang Seung-wooIn the Korean hospitality industry, where more and more new hotels are arriving, the 30-year-old Grand Hilton Seoul is regarded as a little bit “old-fashioned” ― a characteristic making the property seem less competitive.Bernhard Brender, general manager of the Grand Hilton SeoulHowever, Bernhard Brender, the property's general manager from Germany, is shrugging off the label, saying his hotel still has some selling points against rivals.“I would like to change the words old-fashioned to heritage. Maybe the word heritage suites our hotel better, I believe,” Brender said in an interview with The Korea Times, Monday. The 73-year-old lifetime hotelier said the location might be a little less convenient compared to other hotels in center of Seoul, but the Grand Hilton does have several points which bring people to stay there.“The hotel industry is rapidly growing these days especially in Seoul as new hotels are being built. However, since each hotel has different target guests and attractive points and maybe what other new hotels aim for wil

Dec 20, 2018By Kang Seung-woo
[INTERVIEW] Grand Hilton Seoul eyes MICE sector
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