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Charm of canal cruise in Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s canals are more than 100 kilometers long, and listed as one of World Heritages by UNESCO. /  Courtesy of www.iamsterdam.comBy Kim Se-jeongAMSTERDAM ― Cruising has gained popularity among travelers over the years. It offers travelers with a perspective that’s different from a walking tour. A traveler can get a broader picture of the place he or she is visiting in a short amount of time. All the necessary services are there, from food to lodging, to accommodate the traveler’s needs.Cruising through canals in Amsterdam has unique charms that attract torrents of visitors who visit the city every year.The canals define the city’s landscape and are all over the city and are interconnected. They are more than 100 kilometers long, with almost 1,500 bridges and 90 islands. In 2010, the UNESCO recognized the canals as one of its World Heritages.The Dutch King’s Day in April is when canals are filled with boats and people. They are an integral part of the city’s history. They were built in line with the city’s expansion i

Jun 25, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Charm of canal cruise in Amsterdam

Caribbean Bay, Lotte Water Park offer new thrill rides

Mega Storm is a new attraction at Caribbean Bay in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The 355-meter-long slide has three sharp drops and sudden rises. / Courtesy of Caribbean BayBy Kim RahnSummer has begun, and as fears of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome are subsiding, people are looking forward to doing fun activities in the water.The Caribbean Bay, a water park next to Everland theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has opened a new attraction, Mega Storm. The supersized water slide is the park’s first new attraction in four years since its last renovation in 2011.On Mega Storm, guests go down the slide in a circular tube starting from a boarding deck 37 meters above the ground. During the 355-meter, one-minute slide, they experience multiple thrills, including three sharp drops and rises, until finally, they nosedive into an 18-meter-wide funnel-shaped structure called Tornado for a gravity-free experience.While ordinary water slides use water pressure to gain momentum in an ascending section, Mega Storm uses a magnetic field with special materials on the slide and the t

Jun 25, 2015By Kim Rahn
Caribbean Bay, Lotte Water Park offer new thrill rides

Art, science and shamanism

In Beak Jung-ki’s latest work “Pray for Rain,” the Vaseline petroleum jelly fills the cracked earth on the wall of Doosan Gallery in central Seoul. / Courtesy of Doosan GalleryBeak Jung-ki employs scientific methods to broaden perspectiveThis is the 12th in a series of interviews with notable artists recommended by the Korean Artist Project, an online platform promoting Korean art. ― ED.By Kwon Mee-yooA painting of an apricot blossom hangs in Doosan Gallery in downtown Seoul. When examined closely, a transmitter is seen connected to the painting. The painting uses conductive ink, meaning it works as an antenna, and its radio waves are picked up by a radio inside the gallery.Beak Jung-ki's artwork "Homeopathic Magic: Blossom” is part of his solo exhibit “Mind Walk” at Doosan Gallery, running through July 4."The apricot blossom symbolizes nobility and positive energy,” Beak said in an interview with The Korea Times. “Good energy is received by the radio, which delivers it into the gallery. It is a kind of sound therapy."Beak Jung-ki&rsquo

Jun 25, 2015
Art, science and shamanism

Hanok: liberation from high rises

Yongchuljeong,” a pavilion in Eunpyeong History Hanok Museum in Seoul. A growing number of people are learning how to build traditional “hanok” themselves. /  Courtesy of Eunpyeong History Hanok Museum By Chung Ah-young“Hanok” or traditional Korean houses, which have been regarded as outdated and inconvenient, are making a comeback as posh and sought-after living spaces.As the paradigm of residential architecture has shifted from high-rise apartments and Western-style houses to the eco-friendly ones, people’s perception of traditional carpentry, which is required for building hanok, has also changed.Hanok are built with natural materials such as stone, wood and clay, instead of cement, glass and rebar, and lets in more sunlight and air.Originally, the hanok consisted of several separate buildings, including the “anchae” (main building) for women, which was located further from the main gate, and the “sarangchae” for men, studying and receiving the guests, which was usually located nearer the gate.In modern times, t

Jun 18, 2015
Hanok: liberation from high rises

HOTEL LOBBY

 The Paris Grill at the Grand Hyatt Seoul is offering a summer wine dinner until June 30.A featured list of wines includes Chateau Ste. Michelle Eroica Riesling, Domaine Serene Evenstad Reserve Pinot Noir and Anderew Will Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, which were made either in the state of Oregon or Washington in the United States.The chef has created a course menu that matches the selected wine ― deep fried asparagus, asparagus cream soup, asparagus risotto, beef steak and asparagus croquettes.The summer wine dinner is available until June 30 and the restaurant opens between 6 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. The dinner costs 166,000 won per person, excluding tax. For more information and reservations, call (02)799-8161/2 or visit seoul.grand.hyattrestaurants.kr.  The Café @ JW at JW Marriott Hotel Seoul presents a selection of Indian dishes in June to celebrate the arrival of new chef Vivekananda Saha from JW Marriott Hotel Whitefield in Bangalore, India. The promotion will run until June 26.The menus include deep-friend dumplings with yogurt salad, onion salad with roast

Jun 18, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
HOTEL LOBBY

Chef helps Conrad Seoul's grill become city's best

Tomahawk, one of the most popular items on the menu at 37 Grill & Bar, is a rib fillet attached to a 30-centimeter-long rib bone./ Courtesy of Conrad SeoulBy Kim Se-jeong Conrad Seoul’s 37 Grill & Bar was having an identity crisis. Despite its name, the restaurant had very few grilled items on the menu, and the management decided to address this issue by finding a new head chef.After a long search, they found David Mitford.Mitford said “master griller” was too big of a title for him, but his rich culinary experience in grilling and cooking at hotel restaurant begs to differ.The England native has been a chef since 1988 and a grilling expert for more than a decade. He said he learned about grilling meats in the early 2000 in the United States. “I really began to understand grilling there.”Between 1999 and 2003, he worked for the Little Nell Hotel in Aspen, Colo, and the Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch in Avon, Colo, where he did a lot of grilling with different kinds of meats, including elk, deer and home-made sausages.“I also ate a lot of

Jun 18, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Chef helps Conrad Seoul's grill become city's best

Park Hyatt Seoul cafe serves immune-boosting drinks amid MERS outbreak

Jujube ade is one of the four flavors offered by Park Hyatt Seoul. / Courtesy of Park Hyatt SeoulAmid the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, immune system boosters are on everyone’s minds. Park Hyatt Seoul’s café offers great-tasting beverages that not only keep you cool but also boosts your energy and immune system.The café, The Lounge, offers four such drinks ― jujube, quince, ginger and raspberry. Each drink is made with sugar-marinated fruit chunks mixed with water and a couple of ice cubes and garnish.Jujube, also known as red date, is known for its high levels of vitamins A, B6 and C and minerals, calcium, iron, magnesium and manganese. The fruit and seeds are used in traditional medicine and are believed to alleviate stress. It has also been shown to relieve constipation.Quince also contains a significant amount of vitamin C, along with vitamin B6, calcium, iron and potassium. It is used for medicinal purposes in many parts of the world, especially in the East. In the sub-continental Indo-Pakistan region, for example, its seed

Jun 18, 2015By Kim Se-jeong
Park Hyatt Seoul cafe serves immune-boosting drinks amid MERS outbreak

Lufthansa sees potential of Korean market

Christopher Zimmer, Lufthansa’s general manager for KoreaGerman carrier introduces A380 superjumbo jet for Incheon-Frankfurt routeBy Kim RahnWhen an airline adopts the A380, a double-decker that is the biggest existing type of aircraft, for a specific route it means that the demand for the route has been large and will continue to grow.That is exactly what Lufthansa German Airlines is doing for the Korean market: the German carrier started operating an A380 for its Incheon-Frankfurt route on May 22, the first European airline to fly the large aircraft between Europe and Korea.Christopher Zimmer, the carrier’s general manager for Korea, said that he expects the larger capacity will meet corresponding demand soon, as the Korean market keeps growing. Before the A380, the airline operated a B747-8, which had 386 seats ― the capacity of the new plane is 31 percent more.“It’s always difficult to match the right capacity with demand. But we are quite confident, because the market in Korea has been proven to be very stable,” Zimmer said in an interview with

Jun 11, 2015By Kim Rahn
Lufthansa sees potential of Korean market

Korea Racing Authority boosts horse riding industry

oung members of the horse riding club by the Korea Racing Authority get on horses at the LetsRun Park Seoul, Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province. / Courtesy of Korea Racing AuthorityBy Baek Byung-yeulHorses and people have been inseparable for thousands of years before modern modes of transportation were invented less than a century ago.For Koreans, horses have long been a symbol of power and an important means of transportation.Nowadays, horses are not only valued for transportation but for sport and companionship and their importance is ever growing.Recognizing this, the government revealed its plan to boost the horse riding industry in 2013 by building more horse riding courses, up to 500 by 2017, according to data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.Still, there is a pessimistic view that horse riding is regarded as an exclusive hobby of the affluent, but the government expects that some 2 million people will enjoy horse riding by 2017, up from the current 700,000 per year.This will mean that total sales from the horse riding industry will reach 3.6 trillion w

Jun 11, 2015
Korea Racing Authority boosts horse riding industry

Hotels roll out summer packages

JW Marriott Hotel Seoul offers a scuba diving session at the hotel’s swimming pool for summer package guests./ Courtesy of JW Marriott Hotel SeoulBy Kim Se-jeong Are you ready for summer? Hotels seem to be.What follows are a sampling of some interesting hotel summer packages.JW Marriott Hotel Seoul is offering three summer packages.The Absolutely Cool package includes a one-night stay in a superior room with a choice of room services between beer, friend chicken wings and bingsu (shaved ice with toppings). The package costs 239,000 won, with tax and service charge not included.The Sparkling Cool package includes one-night stay in a superior room, a bottom of sparkling wine and a gift of two pop color flute glasses. The package costs 259,000 won.The Extremely Cool package includes a one-night stay in a superior room with a scuba diving session at the hotel’s pool. The session will be for two hours, with the help of a professional diver. Those who do not like scuba diving may get a facial treatment. The package costs 356,000 won, with tax and service charge not include

Jun 4, 2015
Hotels roll out summer packages
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