Lifestyle - The Korea Times

Foreign tourists surprised by soaring food prices in Korea

Foreign tourists visit the popular shopping district of Myeong-dong in central Seoul on March 22. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunToey Suwat, a 45-year-old tourist from Thailand was surprised to find out how expensive dining out in Korea has become since her last visit three years ago.“I visited Korea before COVID-19 and so many restaurants here have increased food prices in three years. I remember fried chicken normally cost around 15,000 won back then and now it costs well over 20,000 won. I feel more reluctant to spend now,” Suwat said. A 34-year-old Taiwanese tourist called, En En Vorachit also echoed the same sentiments, saying that he cannot visit Korea without having to worry about money anymore.“Last time I came to Korea, a bottle of soju cost 3,000 won at restaurants. Now, it cost 5,000 won or more. Other food prices have increased so much too. I don't think I can visit Korea as many times as I would like to in the future,” Vorachit said. Menu shows burger prices attached to Burger King's restaurant in Seoul, March 8. YonhapAccording to the Korea Consu

May 4, 2023By Kim Jae-heun

Foreign tourists surprised by soaring food prices in Korea

Digital chefs to present gourmet food at Jeju's food festival

Chefs prepare food in this undated photo. Courtesy of Jeju Food & Wine Festival organizing committeeBy Kang Hyun-kyung Some 30 Korean and international chefs will arrive on the southern resort island of Jeju next week for the Jeju Food & Wine Festival (JFWF).During the 10-day event, they will team up with local gourmet restaurants and culinary school students to create new recipes with local ingredients. This year's JFWF will feature artificial intelligence-based technology to attract attention from tourists to the island's food and wine. Michelin star chefs Kim Hee-eun and Yoon Dae-hyun will be recreated in AI-based high-fidelity Metahuman to present their recipes in front of visitors. While the virtual characters present their food, the two real chefs will cook in the kitchen. Another Michelin star chef Joseph Lidgerwood and other renowned chefs will also join the festival. Chung Moon-sun, president of the JFWF organizing committee, called for support from tourists to make the JFWF become a flagship gourmet food and wine festival in East Asia. “Many international tour

May 4, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung

Digital chefs to present gourmet food at Jeju's food festival

INTERVIEW 'Storytelling is power for tourism growth': KTO chief

Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) President Kim Jang-sil poses at the entrance of HiKR Ground, a promotional hall at the KTO Seoul Center in central Seoul, April 27. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chulBy Lee Hae-rinFor Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) President Kim Jang-sil, 66, one of his first and strongest memories of yearning to travel abroad was evoked upon listening to a German folk song taught in a middle school music class.The song was “Die Lorelei,” composed by Friedrich Silcher and based on a poem of the same title by German poet Heinrich Heine. It is based on a legend of a beautiful golden siren who, after losing her love, sits atop a 132-meter-high steep rocky cliff on the banks of the Rhine River and lures sailors to their deaths.For Kim, who came from a humble family in the small southern seaside town of Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province during the postwar period, the story behind the German melody and lyrics made his heart pound and made such a strong impression that the location made the top of his must-see attractions list. He still recalls the song whenev

May 4, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

[INTERVIEW] 'Storytelling is power for tourism growth': KTO chief

INTERVIEW Governor serves Korean teas to world

South Gyeongsang Province Governor Park Wan-soo is ready to serve teas from Hadong to the world at the World Tea Expo 2023 Hadong. Courtesy of South Gyeongsang Provincial GovernmentSouth Gyeongsang banks on tea expo, South Sea tourism and spaceBy Ko Dong-hwanThe mind-calming hot aromas of steeped teas start brewing over the mountainous Korean county of Hadong in South Gyeongsang Province on Thursday. More eager than anyone to serve the choicest selection of the southern county to local visitors and tourists from across the world is its governor, Park Wan-soo.Running until June 3 at special pavilions and natural tea leaf farms across the county, the World Tea Expo 2023 Hadong is now ready to open with local lodgings and restaurants, shuttle buses and having sold more than the goal of 590,000 tickets already. Pre-event promotions across the country went well. Early last month, the county government exhibited at Gwanghwamun Square in downtown Seoul. On show was a periodic reenactment demonstrating the actual practice of a Korean king being served tea from the country's center of tea cul

May 3, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan

[INTERVIEW] Governor serves Korean teas to world

Hadong brews Korean tea for the world

Philippine Embassy develops okra kimchi recipe with Korean expert

Seen is the okra kimchi developed by the Philippine embassy in Korea and Korean kimchi producer Narichan. Courtesy of Aview KoreaBy Lee Hae-rinOne of the latest drinking games that have gone viral among young Koreans, the “kimchi game,” goes as follows: name a random vegetable, google the vegetable's name with kimchi and have a drink if there is a recipe for making the Korean traditional side dish with it. The game is meant to make everybody on the table laugh nonstop and get drunk in no time ― just like any other Korean drinking game ― because myriads of kimchi variations have been made by the world's curious minds.Philippine Ambassador to Korea Maria Theresa Dizon-De Vega, right, speaks about Filipino culinary culture to Korean reporters during a dinner event at the embassy residence in Seoul, April 11. Courtesy of Aview KoreaAmid recent surges in the global popularity of the traditional Korean side dish, the Philippine Embassy in Seoul took the challenge to create an authentic twist to the Korean traditional recipe with a Filipino superfood: fresh okra.Okra is a high-f

Apr 29, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Philippine Embassy develops okra kimchi recipe with Korean expert

Mohegan Inspire mega integrated resort to open in Incheon by year-end

The construction of Mohegan Inspire's arena is underway on Incheon's Yeongjong Island, Wednesday. The 15,000-seat indoor concert venue is a key feature of the mega property and will hold K-pop performances and sporting events. Courtesy of Inspire Entertainment Resort By Lee Hae-rinMohegan Inspire, set to become the largest integrated entertainment resort in Northeast Asia once all four phases are fully complete, is on track to open its doors by end of this year near Incheon International Airport, with the construction progress for its Phase 1 reaching 63 percent completion, Inspire Entertainment Resort said, Wednesday.Inspire Entertainment Resort, the Korean corporation of the U.S. Indigenous-run entertainment and gaming brand Mohegan, held a press conference at the integrated resort's construction site on Incheon's Yeongjong Island, near Incheon International Airport, to showcase the progress of the construction.“We're sitting on 4.3 million square meters of land, roughly the same size of Yeouido,” said Chen Si, the company's chief operating officer.Mohegan is an integra

Apr 26, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Mohegan Inspire mega integrated resort to open in Incheon by year-end

Korea declares area around Cheong Wa Dae as tourism landmark

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon, fourth from right, poses with other participants in a ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday, to launch a project to turn the former presidential office compound into a tourism landmark. Yonhap By Lee Hae-rinKorea declared Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential office and residence, as well as the neighboring area as the country's tourism landmark and announced 10 walking courses of diverse themes based on the region's historical and cultural assets, Wednesday.Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Bo-gyoon held a ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae with a dozen cultural figures from all walks of life in Korea. “Cheong Wa Dae is an attractive tourist site where the (country's) presidential history, arts and culture, nature and cultural heritage coexist,” the minister said, explaining that the venue features 600 art pieces and 50,000 trees, as well as the best lawn in the country. The ministry will work on adding the former presidential compound to world travelers' “bucket list of travel destinations,” with th

Apr 19, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Korea declares area around Cheong Wa Dae as tourism landmark

Travel abroad poised to boom from 2nd quarter

The international departure area of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport is crowded with travelers waiting to check in, March 20. NewsisBy Lee Hae-rinAs fear of the coronavirus eases, Korea is expected to see greater numbers of people traveling overseas, with the figure estimated to surpass 10 million in the second quarter. In the January-to-March period, 9 million Koreans traveled overseas, a 62 percent increase from the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Safety. The recovery is due largely to Koreans' growing demand for international travel after three years of restrictions.According to Korea's booking platform Interpark, the sales of international flight tickets booked on its website amounted to 161.3 billion won ($123 million) in March, which is a 281 percent jump from the previous month and a 48 percent increase from 108.8 billion won in March 2019.The top destinations among the booked flights included Japan at 35 percent, Vietnam at 13 percent, the Philippines at seven percent and Taiwan at six percent, the com

Apr 17, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Travel abroad poised to boom from 2nd quarter

Incheon International Airport to reinforce security inspection measures

Duty free zone at Incheon International Airport is crowded with outbound travelers, April 3, as the airport saw a 64 percent recovery in international passengers number from the pre-pandemic levels from 2019. NewsisBy Lee Hae-rinIncheon International Airport, the country's biggest and largest international air transport hub, plans to reinforce security inspection measures amid steep increases in passengers from a tourism rebound, Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) announced, Thursday.The measures come as the airport saw a series of security breaches this year, including two rounds of live ammunition found on a Korean Air plane that was about to take off from the airport bound for Manila last month. A knife also went unnoticed during security screening and was discovered with a Chinese passenger at the boarding gate, last Thursday, while two Kazakhstani nationals climbed over a fence near a runway and fled the airport, March 26, with one of them being captured in Daejeon two weeks later.The IIAC plans to enhance security measures in response to these incidents. The plan includ

Apr 13, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Incheon International Airport to reinforce security inspection measures

Gwangju sees increase in dark tourism

Yeungnam University students listen to the May 18 Foundation's education department director Park Jin-woo's explanation of the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy movement at May 18 National Cemetery in Gwangju, Saturday. NewsisVisitors seek to learn about May 18 uprising after apology of ex-dictator's grandsonBy Lee Hae-rinKorea's southwestern city of Gwangju is seeing a growing number of young visitors seeking to learn about the 1980 pro-democracy movement. This sudden increase in interest in the city and the historical event was triggered by the apology of former authoritarian leader Chun Doo-hwan's grandson Woo-won, educators said on Monday.According to the May 18 Democratic Uprising Archives, it has been receiving up to 400 visitors per day since the younger Chun visited Gwangju on March 31. The number is far larger than the daily average of 176 in March. In 2011, the archives were listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Program, an international initiative to safeguard the documentary heritage of universal value.Gwangju's May 18 National Cemetery, which holds the graves of 764 victims of

Apr 10, 2023By Lee Hae-rin

Travel & Food