SEOUL, Oct. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean duty-free shops are still smarting from China’s retaliation against Seoul over the deployment of a U.S. defense shield here with their profitability worsening despite rising sales, industry sources said Sunday. In mid-March, China banned the sale of group tours to Seoul in retaliation against the installation of [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreigners on medical tours to South Korea are generally satisfied with the services they receive but feel inconvenienced the most by the language barrier, a survey showed Tuesday. The Korea Tourism Organization canvassed 2,152 medical tourists who visited South Korea last year and found that they gave an average [...]
SEJONG, Oct. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – More than 10 million South Koreans swiped their credit cards in foreign countries in 2016 on a sharp rise in overseas travelers, a report showed Monday. A total of 10.79 million people made overseas purchases worth 16.35 trillion won through credit cards in 2016, up from 9.19 million a [...]
JEJU, Sept. 29 (Korea Bizwire) – The Jeju government is holding a contest to look for a new name to replace what has been known as Baojian Street for the last few years, in response to the declining number of Chinese tourists to the island. The latest move by the Jeju government comes amid a drastic [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — For many tech-savvy youngsters who are eager to share unique photo spots with their social media friends, Samcheong-dong in central Seoul is a must-go place. And for those who wish to simply enjoy a different atmosphere, the place also offers a rare experience of going back in time. Located [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — About 100 years after the death of King Gojong, the penultimate ruler of Korea’s last kingdom of Joseon, his royal residence, Deoksu Palace, provides a rare scenic retreat for modern Koreans at the very bustling heart of the capital Seoul. A 1.1-kilometer stone-paved path along the stone wall that [...]
YEONGDONG, Sept. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – Both the Korean Wine Festival and Yeongdong Nangye Traditional Music Festival have brought international recognition to Yeongdong County, showing the world just how far a successful event could go, local government officials said on Tuesday. According to an official from the Yeongdong County government, the annual wine and traditional music [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is set to hold a number of festivals in an all-out effort to boost the country’s tourism industry, which has been hit hard by Beijing’s economic retaliation over South Korea’s deployment of a politically-charged THAAD missile defense system. At a press conference held on Tuesday, [...]
PYEONGCHANG, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — When former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge announced PyeongChang as the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics six years ago, the small alpine county was an unfamiliar name to almost all people living outside of South Korea. Though already famous in the country for the outstanding [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Middle Eastern tourists accounted for more than 20 percent of big-spending foreign visitors to South Korea last year with their per-capita spending reaching over US$16,000, a poll showed Thursday. The survey on the top 1 percent high-spending foreign tourists, taken by the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, showed that [...]