SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — China’s abrupt suspension of short-term visa services for South Koreans has dashed long-term recovery hopes for the country’s travel industry, industry insiders said Tuesday, amid likely cancellations of trips to the neighboring country due to the measure. The Chinese Embassy in Seoul made public the decision in a post [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Travel demand over the Lunar New Year holiday season has been concentrated on Southeast Asia and Japan, a South Korean travel agency said Monday. Hana Tour analyzed the list of package tour reservations for Jan. 20-24, which showed that some 15,000 people made flight reservations during that period, an increase of 7,015 percent [...]
INCHEON, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — A cruise ship from overseas will enter Incheon Port for the first time in three years and five months following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a South Korean port operator said Sunday. The Incheon Port Authority announced that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises’ MS Europa 2 will enter Incheon Port’s Cruise [...]
HWACHEON, Jan. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — A world-renowned annual ice fishing festival kicked off in the Gangwon Province county of Hwacheon on Saturday, after a two-year pause due to COVID-19. The 2023 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival will continue for 23 days through Jan. 29 in the remote mountain town close to the inter-Korean border and [...]
HWACHEON Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A world-renowned ice fishing festival is to kick off in the Gangwon Province county of Hwacheon, northeast of Seoul, on Saturday, after a two-year pause due to COVID-19. The 2023 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival will continue for 23 days through Jan. 29 in Hwacheon, a remote mountain town close to [...]
SEOGWIPO, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — The 24th Seogwipo Winter Sea International Swimming Festival was held on Sunday at Jungmun Saekdal Beach in the city of Seogwipo on Jeju Island. The festival returned after three-year hiatus resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Hundreds of residents, tourists and foreigners gathered together on the sandy beach and jumped [...]
HWACHEON, Jan. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — An “indoor square of ice sculptures” opened on Saturday in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province with a week remaining before the opening of the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, one of the most popular winter festivals in South Korea. In January this year, nearly 20,000 fishing holes were pierced through the ice [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will resume its annual bell-tolling ceremony to celebrate New Year’s Eve after two years of suspension due to COVID-19. The ceremony hosted by the Seoul metropolitan government will take place at 11:30 p.m. Saturday at Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul with about 100,000 people attending. Cho Gue-sung, [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Travel demand to Japan has exploded in South Korea amid a weak yen and Japan’s easing of virus restrictions, industry data showed Friday. Japan resumed visa-free entry of international travelers in early October, after two years of strict border control to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Japanese [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — Six out of 10 South Koreans visit natural spaces such as parks and forests more than once a month, a survey showed Wednesday. According to a survey of 7,294 Koreans over 20 years of age conducted by the National Institute of Ecology and Seoul National University, 36 percent of [...]