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Tags: Korea Travel / Seoul / Asia Travel / Hair Cuts / → All Tags

Seoul May Be A Notoriously Expensive City, but Haircuts are Only $15

In South Korea, where vanity is not a sin but a lifestyle, it is not uncommon for people to go in for a weekly haircut in order to maintain a their preferred look. As a result, Seoul is one place where you are always guaranteed to score an awesome hairdo at a hip salon for under $15; it's a favorite economical sort of pampering.

Feeling adventurous, we tried out this trend in the chair at Leechard ProHair in the Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul, an area known for its high-heel hockers in the day and clubgoers at night.

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Tags: Exotic Cuisine / Korea Travel / Markets / → All Tags

Eating Toasted Octopus Chips At The Ssamziegil Market

Buried in the heart of Seoul's cultural village of Insadong is the striking postmodern structure of Ssamziegil Market, an open-air shopping plaza housing the best of both modern and traditional South Korea. It's a local haunt for the most part, meaning this complex boasts a rooftop tea house and garden instead of a Starbucks--although there are plenty other Starbucks in Seoul--and thrives on locally-grown, seasonal goods.

From the traditional pajon, a seafood pancake eaten during rainy weather, to toasted octopus chips to fish-shaped sweet bean pastries called bungeoppang, Ssamziegil offers a capsule of unique Korean flavors guaranteed to help you reach your gastronomic goals.

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Tags: Australia Travel / Korea Travel / Tiger Airways / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / → All Tags

Tiger Airlines Aggression: Works in Oz, Fails in South Korea

If you meet a tiger on the prowl it's bound to be pretty aggressive, and aggressive is a good word to describe low cost carrier Tiger Airways which just keeps on roarin'.

As if it wasn't enough to announce a million new mainland Australia routes last week, now Tiger's adding a bunch of extra flights between Melbourne and Tasmania; double the number of flights will now go to both Launceston and Hobart. The price of A$30 (US$25) is definitely a bargain.

The only place Tiger Airways is being slightly less aggressive is in Korea, where a deal with Incheon Airport to start a joint venture budget airline is now on hold. That's mainly because the local Korean budget airlines have bullied Incheon into giving up the idea. Seems tigers aren't always so brave.

Related Stories:
· Incheon Tiger Airways Postpone Budget Carrier Launch [AFP]
· Tiger Increases Flights Between Melbourne and Tasmania [Peanuts]
· Tiger Airways Adds a Ton of New Routes [Jaunted]

[Photo: Ian Fuller]

Tags: Food Travel / Fall Festivals / Festival Travel / Korea Travel / → All Tags

Food Festival Travel: Gwangju Kimchi Festival

Personally we always find that Korean pickled cabbage they call kimchi a bit too spicy, but since it's been named in a few lists of "top ten anti-cancer foods" we're trying to be open-minded. Presumably we'd be able to cure our aversion to it by visiting the Gwangju Kimchi Festival which takes place this year from October 15 to 19.

Gwanju, about three hours away from Seoul, is quite famous for kimchi and the festival does pretty much what you'd expect: Celebrates the dish in all its many forms. You can watch it being made, you can make it yourself, and you can eat a million varieties of it (give or take a few).

After four days of solid kimchi eating, you're either going to love it or hate it. But just be aware you're going to be around thousands of people who are also eating an overdose of cabbage.

Related Stories:
· Film, Arts and Cultural Festivals Draw Visitors to Korea [eTravel]
· South Korea Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: buck82]

Tags: Korean Air / Korea Travel / LCCs / Low Cost Carriers / Asia Travel / New Airlines / Jin Air / → All Tags

Korea Welcomes the Jeans-Wearing Genies of Jin Air

Flying around South Korea is about to get cheaper and a whole lot cooler, after the weekend's announcement that Jin Air will be the promised budget offshoot of Korean Air. Flights start on July 17, and major routes will include flights from Seoul to the southwest city of Busan, and on to the holiday capital of Jeju Island.

The powers that be were going to call the new airline Air Korea but they must've had a marketing consultant in, because they have a ton of good reasons for going with Jin Air instead. One: Jin can mean "truth" and "sincerity"--nice qualities for an airline. Two: Jin also means jeans, and that's what the flight staff will be wearing, plus T-shirt. Very hip.

And three: By extension, the airline's already calling the crew jini because it makes them sound like magical genies who can do everything.

Related Stories:
· Korean Air's Budget Arm Named Jin Air [Korea Times]
· Korean Air Gets Busy [Jaunted]
· South Korea Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Korea Times]

Tags: Korea Travel / Temples / Culture / Buddhist Monk / → All Tags

Learn the Monk's Life in South Korea

If you're looking for a soulful cultural experience in South Korea, you can now try staying in a temple with Buddhist monks. According to a recent Go World story, the temple stay program in Korea isn't a long-standing tradition. Quite the opposite: It just sprang up during the 2002 World Cup season when accommodation was in short supply, and grew from there.

These days there are 43 temples participating in the coordinated program and you can learn traditional crafts like making prayer-beads or lotus lanterns. You'll get fed a lot of mild-tasting vegetarian food, drink tea with monks and even meditate, all of which makes for a different kind of holiday, but probably a good contrast to bustling capital Seoul. And you never know when prayer-bead-making skills will come in handy in life.

Related Stories:
· Temple stays: Korea's Buddhist Retreat Centers [Go World]
· Temple stay Korea [Official Site]
· I Like My Korea Bubbly [Jaunted]

[Photo: Photocapy]