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Millennium Seoul Hilton Millennium Seoul Hilton’s French restaurant, Seasons, offers a promotion during the month of January featuring oysters, presented by executive chef Park Hyo-nam. The dishes include fresh oysters on a half shell with lemon, oyster rockerfeller with spinach and fried oyster with tartar sauce. Each a la carte course is priced at 28,000 won. For more information, call 02-317-3060. Sheraton Incheon Sheraton Incheon Hotel, located in the Songdo International City, offers an Italian brunch on Sundays between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at BENE, the Italian restaurant in the hotel. The brunch includes a variety of choices for antipasti and salad, one among four main dishes of steak, lamb, sea bass or king prawn, and one among pasta, pizza or risottos, along with a sweet dessert bar. A complimentary glass of Italian sweet wine is also served. Priced at 55,000 won, and an additional 10,000 won for unlimited wine, this special brunch offer is a great way to spend a Sunday. For more information, call 032-835-1716. JW Marriott Chefs at JW M

Jan 6, 2011

Cocktail creations: tips for the party host

By Ines Min Whether you’re partial to the simplicity of a gin and tonic, or ready to be bowled over by a string of Long Island iced teas, the cocktail has found a place in the casually lounging hands of men and women everywhere. Though the New Year has officially begun and parties are winding down, these classic mixes of the smoothest liquor and punch of flavors are always the perfect accessories to any gathering — whether it’s at a neighborhood cafe or the luxurious setting of a sky-view bar. “You can tell a bit what people like after a while,” Cho Min-ji, a senior bartender at Pierre’s Bar in Lotte Hotel, Sogong-dong, downtown Seoul, recently told The Korea Times. “But in the case of cocktails, people will tell you what they want first.” And for those who know what they like, Pierre’s signature drink is a DIY cocktail, which allows the customer to mix and match their own flavors and proportions. Served on a rectangular dish, three glasses are provided: one for juice, one for alcohol and one for the ice. The distinguishing characteristic is in the last part, t

Jan 6, 2011

Germany to celebrate 200th anniversary of the birth of Franz Liszt in 2011

By Lee Hyo-sik The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) will hold a range of events next year to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of the world-famous composer, pianist and conductor Franz Liszt. By commemorating 200 years since his birth, the board plans to promote its cultural heritage and draw tourists from around the world. Liszt is one of the musical greats of the 19th century. He spent many years touring Europe, during which he forged special relationships with many German towns and regions. He performed in Dresden on numerous occasions, wowing audiences with his virtuosity. In 2011, the Dresden State Orchestra of Saxony, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Dresden Music Festival and the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden will be honoring Liszt with countless concerts at venues such as the Church of Our Lady and the Semper Opera House (www.dresden.de). Liszt was also immensely successful in Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg as well as in Weimar. His years spent in Weimar were his most prolific. Besides composing, he worked as a conductor and taugh

Dec 30, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Emirates Airlines promotes Dubai Shopping Festival

By Lee Hyo-sik Emirates Airlines has teamed up with beach and city hotels in Dubai to offer a free-night’s stay during the 15th annual Dubai Shopping Festival, which will kick off on Jan. 20, 2011 and last through Feb. 20, 2011. Travelers can book a four-night stay and only pay for three. Launched in 1996, the month-long shopping festival attracts visitors from around the world. ``Emirates participates in the festival as part of our ongoing mission to support Dubai as the ultimate tourist destination. Tourists can find every major brand in the world in Dubai, which has approximately 14 million square feet of shopping space in its malls, including the worlds’ largest shopping centre _ the Dubai Mall,’’ said S.J. Lee, the country manager of Emirates Airlines in Korea. On top of shopping, Lee said the choice of restaurants is also impressive, stressing the airline’s tour packages are designed to help make a stay in Dubai more affordable. Tourists can enjoy tax-free shopping, as well as discounts of up to 50 percent on a wide variety of items during the shopping festival. Du

Dec 30, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Hotels hold year-end charity events

By Kim Rahn With many organizations, companies and individuals dispensing charity to the poor and needy during the chilly winter season, hotels are no exception. Hotels here are actively holding charity events for fundraising or their employees do volunteer work. Imperial Palace Hotel and the IP Boutique Hotel are holding a painting charity event. Artist Noh Jun, famous as a sculptor of cartoonish characters, drew sketches of his characters. The sketches have been placed in the lobbies of the hotels, and guests can paint on the sketches by purchasing paint there. Some 10 paint colors are available, with each priced at 10,000 won. The paintings, when completed, will be auctioned, and the earnings from the auction and the paint sales will be donated to charity groups. Some of Noh’s works that characterized dogs, cats, snails and otters, including Air Haedaru, Merry Flo Christmas and Space Flo, will also be exhibited in the lobbies. More information about the donation through painting is available at 02-3440-8000 for the Imperial Palace Hotel and at 02-3702-8000 fo

Dec 30, 2010By Kim Rahn

Hotel lobby

Hilton Namhae The Hilton Namhae Golf & Spa Resort launches “Playful Winter Family Package.” Package guests can have a one night stay in a Deluxe Suite, free rental service for Playstation and game titles, pizza room service or pizza at restaurant Breeze, Hilton breakfasts and free access to the spa. The package is available from Jan. 2 to Feb. 28 at 339,000 won for two people plus tax and service charges. A variety of kids activities is also presented, including chocolate making class on Saturdays in January and pizza cooking class in February. For more information, call 055-860-0100. Grand Hyatt For birthday children, Grand Hyatt Seoul offers “Birthdays on Ice” package on its ice rink throughout the winter. The package includes exclusive use of JJ’s outdoor gazebo with full party decorations, a buffet menu especially designed for children, ice rink admission and skate rental, a snowman birthday cake and a toy birthday gift. Two types of package are priced at 65,000 won and 75,000 won each per child excluding tax and service charge. At least 10 children are

Dec 30, 2010

Warm up with seawater spa, deer meat

By Roger Dix GAMPO, North Gyeongsang Provicne – Now that the weather is getting colder with the winds making people’s skin red and dry, many folks are heading for the saunas and health spas around the country. Along the east coast beside route 31 about five kilometers south of the town of Gampo, a small town but with a large busy fishing port that lies between Ulsan and Pohang, is a new well-being business establishment right on the beach. That place, The Yangnam Sea & Spring Water Onchun Land, offers its windswept, wind-chilled customers an opportunity to get out of the cold and relax in its sauna/bath-house pools of seawater that is pumped in, filtered, heated, and mixed with spring water, and a chance to keep the body fit in order to fight the cold in the establishment’s physical fitness health center that maintains running machines, dumbbells as well as weight-lifting apparatus. Also in the establishment are a jjimjilbang, a light menu restaurant, coffee shop, ladies’ beauty salon, and a barber shop in the men’s sauna area. Along with all of that there’s a snack bar n

Dec 23, 2010

Hotel lobby

Millennium Seoul Hilton Three restaurants at Millennium Seoul Hilton are each offering special menus to celebrate the New Year. Japanese restaurant Genji features Osechi Ryori, traditional Japanese New Year food served in special boxes. Osechi meals use ingredients that are believed to bring health and prosperity. The dinners are priced at 100,000 won and 150,000 won, and are available from Jan. 1 to Jan. 8. Italian restaurant Il Ponte proudly presents the Nuovo Anno (New Year) meal from Dec. 31 to Jan. 3, priced at 115,000 won. Mediterranean restaurant Cilantro hosts a New Year’s Day brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 1 at 68,000 won for adults and 31,200 won for children. For more information, call Genji on 02-317-3240, Il Ponte on 02-317-3270 or Cilantro on 02-317-3062. Park Hyatt Seoul For couples seeking to make romantic memories, Park Hyatt Seoul presents the unforgettable “Romance Package.” Besides a one-night stay and private in-room breakfast, the package includes a “Namu Bath Soak” in a spa-inspired bathroom. Named “Best Place to Get Na

Dec 23, 2010

Nanobreaks new tourism trend in S. Korea

By Lee Hyo-sik For many Koreans, travel means usually taking more than a week off from work once or twice a year and flying to one of the Southeast Asian countries with family members or friends. But a growing number of Koreans have and will take short-term trips multiple times throughout the year to their hometown or to foreign destinations amid an increasingly hectic modern lifestyle, according to Hotels.com, the world’s leading hotel booking website with a network of 130,000 hotels worldwide. The site said ``nanobreaks,’’ a newly coined term referring to a trip to a nearby country on short breaks or extended weekends, will become one of the new travel trends for Korea in 2011. ``In Korea, considerable growth in the number of independent travelers and the online hotel reservation market is expected to continue in 2011, as various social networking services such as blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr are making it easier for people to share stories about their travels,’’ said Peter Yoshihara, marketing director for Hotels.com in Korea and Japan. Conditions a

Dec 23, 2010By Lee Hyo-sik

Geumo Island ㅡ Koreas Santorini

By Park Si-soo Geumo Island, South Jeolla Province ㅡ Santorini in Greece has attracted millions of travelers worldwide with spectacular ocean views from a cluster of modest white and blue cottages nestled on a waterfront cliff. Another awe-inspiring scene from the island may be the sun going down over the Mediterranean, a blazing palette of reds and oranges. In this regard, Geumo Island, one of the 317 islands of Yeosu City in South Jeolla Province, is surely a comparable “Santorini” in South Korea that offers the two exquisite natural beauties to visitors. The crystal blue Pacific Ocean endlessly undulating out beyond fences erected alongside the edge of cliffs projects a sense of rural peace. Things interrupting the bucolic tranquility were only the sound of the engines and horns from fishing trawlers in waters off the island. Walking through an ecology trail paved alongside the fences provides thrilling chances to meet untouched nature and a feeling that “I’m escaping from the hustle and bustle of daily life.” The lack of awareness of the island’s existence is

Dec 23, 2010
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