SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Annual year-end bell-ringing ceremonies have been canceled across the nation for the second year in a row amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Friday. The country’s most popular bell-ringing ceremony, which used to be held on New Year’s Eve at Bosingak Pavilion in central Seoul, has been called [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Fears over the omicron coronavirus variant are dashing hopes for the resumption of overseas travel, forcing many to cancel or postpone travel plans, including honeymoons, only a month after the country’s “living with COVID-19″ policy revived expectations for a return to normal. South Korea confirmed five omicron infections a [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — The first tourists from Singapore since the start of the coronavirus pandemic arrived Monday in South Korea under a bilateral travel bubble agreement. A travel bubble refers to a quarantine-free travel partnership between two or more cities or countries with similar levels of COVID-19 cases. The tourists landed at [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Seven peace-themed hiking trails along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas will open to the public at the end of next week, the government said Thursday. Of them, two trails in Paju, north of Seoul, and Goseong of Gangwon Province, will reopen while the five others in [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of travel agencies in South Korea has declined nearly 6 percent over the past two years in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed Tuesday. There were 21,231 tour agencies in Asia’s fourth-largest economy as of end-September, down 6.1 percent from two years earlier, according [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea kicked off its annual nationwide shopping event Monday in the latest effort to boost private spending amid the prolonged pandemic. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said 2,053 companies will offer big bargains both online and in stores during the Korea Sale Festa — the Korean [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Nighttime sightseeing at Gyeongbok Palace, one of four royal palaces in central Seoul, will open Thursday, offering visitors a special experience of walking among the brightly lit palace buildings on cool autumn nights. The Cultural Heritage Administration said Tuesday the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) will open [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — As the smash-hit Korean-language drama series “Squid Game” continues to sweep the globe, foreign viewers are gaining interest in the southern resort island of Jeju, which is mentioned only once in the series. A Google Trends worldwide search for Jeju Island delivered a full interest score of 100 between [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — A video featuring football star Son Heung-min promoting South Korea as a tourist destination will be unveiled this week, the culture ministry said Sunday. The 80-second video with Son of Tottenham Hotspur is aimed at allowing viewers to feel South Korea’s unique and attractive features so as to draw [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea and Singapore agreed Friday to exempt or ease vaccinated travelers from mandatory quarantine upon arrival, in a major step to help revitalize people-to-people exchanges between the two sides in the midst of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, according to related ministries here Friday. Under the measure, effective from [...]