2018.10.31 Travel Calendar
At the Mindung Mountain Eulalia (Silver grass) Festival, visitors can embark on a relatively easy hike through the middle of a seemingly endless field of silver grass. The mountain is not too steep, creating the perfect backdrop for those who want to take pictures of themselves in the middle of a shimmering sea of grass. [YONHAP]
To Nov. 4
Jeongseon County, Gangwon
Mount Mindung, located in Jeongseon County, Gangwon, is covered in about 660,000 square meters (163 acres) of silver grass known in Korean as eulalia. The gentle-slopes are easy to climb and at 1,100 meters (3,608 feet) high, the nine-kilometer trail takes about four hours to complete. About 30 minutes before you get to the top, you will find yourself walking through a flood of silver grass although the mountaintop, just as the mountain’s name Mindung, which means without trees in Korean, suggests. It is said that people used to set the mountain on fire every year to access the wild edible vegetables that grew there, which created a space for the vast field of silver grass to grow there.
For more information, call (033) 591-9141 or 1544-9053
To Nov. 4
Hwadam Botanic Garden
Before the botanic garden in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, about 40 minutes outside of Seoul, wraps its Garden Fall Foliage Festival on Nov. 4, it is giving out gifts to people who post photos of themselves in the garden’s forest. Under a slogan that translates to “Hwadam Botanic Garden, Meeting Fall Foliage From All Over the World,” the festival will choose 28 winners among those who post pictures on Instagram. Photos posted between Oct. 29 and Nov. 4 will be considered valid entries. One winner will get an LG Pocket Photo, which works as both camera and photo printer, and two runners-up will get a Bluetooth speaker. The next best photo takers will get a collection of goods made by the forest, and the final 20 winners will get a drink from Starbucks. The winners will be announced on Nov. 7.
The 1.3 million-square-meter botanic garden is home to 400 different types of trees that change colors every fall, including trees from Japan, China and Norway. The garden is popular for its diversity and offers a dynamic fall experience to visitors before the winter arrives.
For more information, call (031) 8026-6666, or go to www.hwadamsup.com. To enter your photo into the contest, go to @hwadamsup on Instagram.
Seoul Kimchi Festival
Nov. 2-4
Seoul Square
Six thousand people and 165 tons of cabbage will stand in front of Seoul City Hall this weekend in celebration of the city’s annual kimchi-making event. For 3 days, the 5th annual Seoul Kimchi Festival will gather citizens of all ages together under the theme of “Sharing the Warmth, on the Day of Seoul’s Kimchi-making.”
Visitors can enjoy everything about “Kimchi-making culture,” known as kimjang in Korean, which has been registered as part of Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Seoul city government developed the festival to recover the traditional values of Korean people, infused in the “Kimjang culture of cooperation and sharing within the community.”
This year, the Seoul Council on Social Welfare is working with private companies to prepare the ingredients for kimchi-making in time for the festival.
One hundred and sixty-five tons of kimchi will be made at this year’s event, an increase from the 120 tons made in 2017 and the 60 tons in 2016. The Seoul Food Bank will deliver all of the kimchi made during the festival to the tables of people living in low income neighborhoods throughout the city.
On the last day of the festival, organizers will attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by hosting the largest number of people in a single place making kimchi together. A total of 3,000 people will join in on this challenge to break the record of 2,635 people set in 2013.
As part of the attempt to make a world record, the festival will install entry and exit gates where 70 professional supervisors and assistant referees representing the Guinness Book of World Records will stand. The record will go through an approval process at the headquarters of the Guinness Book in the United Kingdom. A final decision will be made in the first half of next year.
For more details, call the Office of Seoul Kimchi Festival at (02) 337-9897 or visit the official website www.seoulkimchifestival.com.
Horror Halloween THE Virus
To Nov. 4
Lotte World Adventure, Songpa District, southern Seoul
The Lotte World Adventure theme park offers a chance for people of all ages to get the most out of Halloween. Friendly pumpkins and cute ghosts can be enjoyed by young visitors during the day. But once the sun goes down, the park turns into a horrifying sight for adults looking for a thrill.
The musicals “Dracula’s Love” and “Roti’s Halloween Party Parade” are some of the scheduled child-friendly events available during the day, but once the clock strikes 6 p.m., the Magic Island, Lotte World’s outdoor park, will be flooded with bloody zombies looking for people to eat - or take a pictures with if they are feeling friendly.
Some of the rides, including the Gyro Drop, will offer a VR option, which adds scenes of zombies to the already stomach-dropping experience.
There are about four shops throughout the park where visitors can dress up in costumes to create the ultimate Halloween experience. The park also offers makeup services to help visitors achieve a dramatic look for the night. For more information, visit adventure.lotteworld.com or call 1661-2000.
Ongoing
Los Angeles, the United States
The Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board has launched a travel campaign with actor Daniel Henney to inspire Koreans to visit the city featured in the movie “La La Land.” Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board Chief Marketing Officer Don Skeoch said that working with Henney, one of the most popular actors in Korea, could encourage Koreans to visit many of the city’s best tourism spots.
The tourism board plans to offer promotions through social media, as well as travel packages that will appeal to Koreans.
In the campaign released earlier this month, Henney is seen visiting world-famous theme park Universal Studios Hollywood, the Petersen Automotive Museum where car fanatics can check out classic vehicles, as well as Dodger’s Stadium where Korean player Ryu Hyun-jin pitches for the LA Dodgers. He also suggests Park’s BBQ, a popular Korean barbecue joint. More promotional information about traveling to Los Angeles is available at kr.discoverlosangeles.com or facebook.com/DiscoverLosAngelesKorea.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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