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Hotel Lobby

By Kang Seung-wooGrand Walkerhill Seoul introduces mobile concierge service Walkerhill Hotels and Resorts has adopted a mobile concierge service at the Grand Walkerhill Seoul that has been in use at the Vista Walkerhill Seoul since 2017.According to the hotel, guests can take advantage of the service with their own mobile devices and it helps them order room service and give information on its amenities and promotions Plus, it is available outside the hotel, so guests can request services before returning to the property.Kolon Hotel and Resort searching for PR ambassadors Kolon Hotel and Resort is recruiting people to promote their three properties online.According to the operator, it plans to pick five for each property, whose job will be to review them on their own social media platforms after visiting and experiencing the facilities and services there.Kolon-owned properties are the Kolon Hotel and the Mauna Ocean Resort, both of which are in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, and the Kolon Seacloud Hotel in Busan. Those who want to act as PR ambassadors can apply on the Kolon Ho

Mar 14, 2019By Kang Seung-woo

Seven Korean tourists injured in Vietnam bus accident

A tourist bus is overturned after an accident in Phan Thiet, Vietnam, Saturday. YonhapA tourist bus veered off course and overturned in the southern Vietnamese city of Phan Thiet, killing its Vietnamese driver and injuring seven South Korean passengers, according to Seoul's foreign ministry and reports Sunday.The 30-passenger bus suddenly lost balance and fell some 6 meters down a hill at around 1:13 p.m. on Saturday. Two suffered broken or dislocated bones, while five others suffered lacerations and bruises."Immediately after being informed of the accident, we sent a consul and other staffers to the scene to check the situation and offer support in terms of communication with the medical staff there," the foreign ministry here said in a statement. "We plan to offer necessary consular assistance until their safe return home," it added.Reports said the Vietnamese driver, who also served as a tour guide, was transported to a hospital but died. (Yonhap)

Mar 10, 2019

Seven Korean tourists injured in Vietnam bus accident

Fried chicken at franchises more sugary, salty

By Kim RahnSeasoned chicken / Getty images bankIf you feel sweet and spicy chicken at chicken franchises has become more savory than before, you may be right, as it contains more sugar and sodium than three years ago, a study showed, Friday.The Seoul Research Institute of Public Health and Environment, along with Consumers Korea, found the increased level of sugars and sodium in their study on four chicken menu items from six franchise chains between August and September. The items tested were regular fried chicken, soy sauce chicken, cheese chicken and yangnyeom chicken (or chicken with sweet and spicy sauce), from fried chicken chains BBQ, BHC, NeNe, Kyochon, Goobne and Pelicana.According to the study which compared the levels with those of a 2015 study by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the content of sugar in sweet and spicy sauce chicken grew from 6.2 grams to 8.6 grams per 100 grams of chicken, and that of sodium, from 402.7 milligrams to 516 milligrams per 100 grams.The sugar levels of the sweet and spicy sauce chicken was 17.2 times that of regular fried chicken. A pers

Mar 8, 2019By Kim Rahn

Fried chicken at franchises more sugary, salty

Hotel Lobby

By Kang Seung-wooInterContinental Seoul COEX features Muslim-friendly menusAsian Live at the InterContinental Seoul COEX presents the Muslim-friendly menu in celebration of Muslim New Year's Day or Nauryz in March. Since receiving the Muslim-Friendly restaurant certification from the Korea Tourist Organization, Asian Live has put many halal dishes on the table.The menus featured include quinoa salad, avocado pakora, fried chicken served with yogurt, pan-seared salmon served with lemon butter sauce, lamb and vegetable kebab, lobster and scallop curry ―are all served in a grand eight-course meal.The promotion will be available through the end of this month. Le Meridien Seoul offers St. Patrick's Day promotionThe Le Meridien Seoul is set to present a three-day promotion to celebrate St. Patrick's Day from March 15 to 17.At its outdoor Park Bar, guests can enjoy Irish lamb stew, corned beef, Irish beef sandwich and Irish cupcake, while the indoor lounge and bar Latitude 37 serves Irish dry stout Guinness-added Irish stew and “hanwoo” burger with green beer along with Irish ma

Mar 7, 2019By Kang Seung-woo

Legacy of Ahn Chang-ho, KNA revisited

Rosedale Cemetery in L.A. is where 21 Korean immigrants honored for independence activists are buried. / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-haiBy Park Jin-haiThe independence movement in the United States went hand in hand with the history of Korean immigrants to America. In December 1902, when Korea's sovereignty was threatened by Imperial Japan, many Koreans looking for safety and to fulfill their dreams departed Incheon Port to set foot on Hawaii. Most of them worked at sugar cane plantations and there were some ginseng salesmen who followed their Chinese partners. But, among the earliest groups of those early immigrants to the United States were also reform-minded young people eager to make their home country a stronger, modern and democratic nation. Phillip Jaisohn and Ahn Chang-ho were two of those ambitious people. Philip Jaisohn, also known by his Korean name Seo Jae-pil, was the first Korean to become a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1890, five years after he arrived in San Francisco. After becoming a medical doctor in 1893, following graduation from a medical school in the United S

Mar 7, 2019By Park Jin-hai

'Japan has more than Sapporo, Osaka for Koreans'

Shiretoko National Park in eastern Hokkaido, Japan / gettyimagesbankJNTO Seoul chief suggests fresh destinations for Koreans tourists By Kang Seung-wooWhen it comes to household names of Japanese tourist destinations, Sapporo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo may come to mind for the average Korean. Takanari Yamada, executive director of Japan National Tourism Organization's Seoul officeHowever, Takanari Yamada, executive director of the Japan National Tourism Organization's (JNTO) Seoul office, says they are only a fraction of the sightseeing spots in his country that he believes is full of attractive yet unknown destinations that are sure to entice Korean travelers.“Most Koreans tend to travel to only well-known places such as Osaka, Sapporo, Kyushu and Tokyo. For people who have already visited Japan many times, I would recommend eastern Hokkaido,” the 48-year-old said in an interview with The Korea Times. Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan's main islands, is already one of the most popular travel destinations for Koreans thanks to its capital, Sapporo. However, he regretted

Mar 7, 2019By Kang Seung-woo

'Japan has more than Sapporo, Osaka for Koreans'

Japanese tourism to Korea rises 33% despite diplomatic tension

The number of Japanese visitors to Korea has increased over the past three months. YonhapDespite deteriorating relations between Seoul and Tokyo, the number of Japanese visitors to South Korea increased by nearly 33 percent over three recent months, government data showed Tuesday.The Ministry of Justice said a total of 773,000 Japanese nationals entered South Korea between last November and January this year, marking year-on-year growth of 32.9 percent.Japanese nationals posted the biggest increase rate among visitors from major countries, it noted.Chinese arrivals increased 28.5 percent to 1.27 million in the same period, the ministry said, noting Chinese accounted for 33 percent of all foreign visitors during the three months.Visitors from Taiwan rose 15 percent to 271,000 in the period, it said.According to the ministry, 81.7 percent of foreign visitors said tourism was the purpose of their entry into South Korea, up by 21.9 percentage points from a year earlier.Seoul-Tokyo relations have recently chilled due to a military spat involving Japanese military aircraft's menacing low-a

Mar 5, 2019

Japanese tourism to Korea rises 33% despite diplomatic tension

Korean food goes mainstream in LA

Customers of House of Galbi have Korean BBQ during the lunch hour in Encino, L.A., on Feb. 27. / Korea Times photo by Park Jin-haiBy Park Jin-haiLos Angeles, Calif. ― At the Line Hotel, one of the trendiest hotels in Korea Town in Los Angeles, a white couple orders a steak that is served with sauce made from blackish doenjang. They amusingly talk about the spellings of the Korean word.A group of young Latinos place bottled soju on the cash counter in the market that looks like it has almost every Korean item including puffed rice snacks that street venders usually sell in Korea. In the area, spas look more like Korean-style public jjimjilbang bathhouses, not luxury beauty services. Walking in the neighborhood near Wilshire/Vermont subway station, one can even see a Korean-language no-smoking sign. A young woman in her car passing by shouts the name of her favorite BTS member “Jimin” in jubilation when she sees an electronic display that bears the photo of the K-pop superstar band on the wall of a tall building. Centering on young Americans, Los Angeles is increasingl

Mar 4, 2019By Park Jin-hai

Ahn becomes 1st female GM at Marriot brands here

Ahn Hyun-jung, the new general manager of the Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel / Courtesy of Sheraton Seoul D Cube City HotelBy Kim Jae-heunAhn Hyun-jung was named the new general manager of The Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel, operated by the Marriott International, Monday. She has been working as an hotelier for 25 years, and is the first female general manager at a five-star hotel here.Ahn became interested in the hotel business when she first experienced luxury accommodation as a volunteer during the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988. After the world sporting event, Ahn went to Switzerland to study hotel management at a university there and started her work as an hotelier. She started from the bottom greeting guests at the front desk and managing the housekeeping team at a Swiss hotel.When she returned home in May 1992, Ahn joined the sales team at the country's oldest hotel, the Westin Chosun Hotel in central Seoul. From there, she built her career mainly in sales and marketing. She achieved a remarkable accomplishment by introducing the very first designer flower shop by Britain's J

Mar 1, 2019By Kim Jae-heun

Ahn becomes 1st female GM at Marriot brands here

Faster immigration screening for Koreans traveling to Prague

Korean tourists pass through an automated immigration clearance system at Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague. / Courtesy of Embassy of Korean Embassy to the Czech RepublicBy Kim Hyun-binKorean tourists to the Czech Republic will be able to pass more quickly and efficiently through immigration as they were included in the automated clearance system in place at Vaclav Havel Airport in Prague, Friday, amid a rising number visiting the European country. Korea is the only non-European country able to use the “e-gate system.”Under the program, Koreans over the age 15 can use one of the three e-gates set up at the airport.The e-gate procedure consists of passport scanning and facial recognition and is expected to drastically reduce waiting times. Each year, around 420,000 Koreans are expected to benefit from the system.In order to enable the e-gate procedure for Korean travelers, the two countries had been in negotiations since 2014.Last year, the number of Korean tourists to the Czech Republic was the eighth-highest at 416,000, following 417,000 in 2017 and 325,000 in 2016.Since Oc

Mar 1, 2019By Kim Hyun-bin

Travel & Food

Travel & Food

Hotel Lobby

Seven Korean tourists injured in Vietnam bus accident

Fried chicken at franchises more sugary, salty

Hotel Lobby

Legacy of Ahn Chang-ho, KNA revisited

'Japan has more than Sapporo, Osaka for Koreans'

Japanese tourism to Korea rises 33% despite diplomatic tension

Korean food goes mainstream in LA

Ahn becomes 1st female GM at Marriot brands here

Faster immigration screening for Koreans traveling to Prague

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