When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

American amusement parks and state fairs could learn a thing or two from the way South Korea has mastered hot dogs. They're available in every way, including spiral cut, wrapped in bacon, stewed in a curryish chili paste, and nearly tempura-ed with vegetables. Even some rice cakes, like Ddeokbooki, imitate hot dogs. Still, our personal favorite remains the infamous french fry-coated corn dog.

These deep-fried snacks usually figure into visitor's breathless descriptions of Seoul, a little like this: "The palaces! The shopping! And the ice cream cones...they were this tall. And and and the corn dogs were covered in french fries!!" ]]> JetSetCD 2011-12-09T12:10:14-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/6/10/84815/1179

Ho-ly crap. Have you seen what Korean Air has done with their very first Airbus A380? The superjumbo not only has the world's first flying mini duty-free shop (which already caused us to go bonkers), but there's also a full-fledged in-flight lounge. Yep, sofas and TV and boozy drinks and all.

Check out the A380 plan above, courtesy of Seatplans.com, to see the massive area they've dedicated to this chill space. Here is a photo, and here is another, of the actual thing. As you've probably already guessed, it'll only be open to those flying in Business and First Class, but the price of those seats also secures you early access to the duty-free shop and onboard bar. We're officially naming it a lifetime must-do-at-least-once experience. > ]]> JetSetCD 2011-06-10T12:52:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/4/15/35159/8952

Have you ever gone shopping in South Korea? It's an experience, to say the least. And when you combine one of the country's favorite pastimes with discounts on luxury items as you find in Duty-Free, pardon our French but shit gets real. Real awesome. And soon you'll be able to indulge in duty-free shopping over South Korea—and indeed most of the rest of the world—as Korean Air is installing the world's first in-flight duty-free shops onboard their Airbus A380s.

Korea is crazy for duty-free; indeed there are entire malls in Seoul where you need to have an international trip planned in order to make a purchase, which you then can't pick up until you're safely inside the airport and headed out of the country with the goods. And these malls and special duty-free store levels are gorgeous places where big brands create their own mini luxury environments, so why not translate this success to something that fits on a plane?]]> JetSetCD 2011-04-15T09:36:58-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2011/1/4/10291/94235

We knew that Korean Air’s first A380 was getting its final touches, and it now looks like the airline has been chatting with Airbus about exactly where they want all the seats to be installed. Maybe if we’re lucky they’ll even pay for massaging seats as long as they’re still working on figuring out all the different options and features.

While many airlines using the new super jumbos are busy jamming as many seats into the plane as possible, it looks like Korean Air is going to take a different approach. They’re planning to devote all the upstairs real estate on the double-decker plane to business class—or Prestige Class as they call it. Here, big spenders will enjoy fully lie-flat seats as well as a roomy 74 increase of seat pitch. There will even be some sort of partition thing between the seats so you don’t have to watch your neighbor’s choice of in-flight movie. ]]> kjb 2011-01-06T11:31:04-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/12/7/02147/8262

There is no airport we've been to thus far that has more focus on duty-free shopping than Seoul, South Korea's Incheon International. Not only is there what seems like mile after mile of top luxury brands offering their products in mini version of their regular store, but there's even malls in the center of Seoul where you can go to purchase duty-free items and later (even weeks later) pick them up at the airport. We have a friend in Seoul whose family will even take short international flights just for the purpose of getting duty-free deals. That's dedication.

Incheon Airport has proved itself to be such a moneymakers for big brands that Louis Vuitton who just do not do airport stores, has given in and will open their first airport location here. LVMH prez Bernard Arnault personally swing through the airport earlier this year to check out the prospects, and apparently all met with his approval. Although there's no opening date set, the airport is already taking about increasing flights to China just because of the demand the LV duty-free shop will create. ]]> JetSetCD 2010-12-07T08:33:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/11/15/11343/179

President Barack Obama has just had quite the whirlwind travel weekend, hopping and skipping from Japan to Singapore to China to South Korea in a matter of only a few days and yet he managed to fit in a few cultural stops in amongst all the flying and diplomatic handshakes. Most of the time, the sightseeing came with a required speech or a luncheon with a world leader, but still we're pretty jealous of all the places he got to go. We've listed the touristy places he visited below, just in case you'd like to take your own Obama Tour of Asia: ]]> JetSetCD 2010-11-16T12:04:35-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2010/10/29/112213/53
Our shot of a Republic of Korea soldier at the DMZ

So, we're sure you've heard about it already in the news, but there were actual shots fired between North and South Korea yesterday, and in the most hotly tense area: the demilitarized zone between the two countries. Aside from having some of the shadiest history (spy tunnels, tourists shot, etc), the DMZ remains one of the favorite tourist sites for visitors to South Korea.

In fact, an official USO tour departs from the American embassy in Seoul, and for around $40 per person, they'll take a busload up to visit the border and the famous Joint Security Area at Panmunjom. We've done it; it was great, but now with the escalation in tensions, is visiting the DMZ still safe? ]]> JetSetCD 2010-10-29T13:00:10-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/