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Business traveler's guide to surviving a Korean drinking session

Christopher Cha — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:00:57 +0000

by Christopher Cha

In Korea, it's said that the success of your business roughly correlates to how well you can drink ... and how respectful you are to your companions while downing bomb shots by the bucketful.

Most companies in Korea have hoesik (literally, dinner with coworkers; figuratively, official eating/drinking fests involving multiple rounds at multiple venues) at least once a month and sometimes every week.

For the foreign business traveler, using your foreignness as an excuse to bow out will get you only so far.

Rules of the game

"Drinking etiquette is the first thing you teach foreign guests," says Bryan Do, a Korean-American director at the Korean branch of a U.S. company.

"It was shocking when I first arrived in Korea. My boss was a graduate of Korea University [renowned known for its hardy drinking culture] and at my first hoesik, we started out with everyone filling a beer glass with soju, and downing it on the spot. That was just the beginning."

Gallery: The unseen face of Pyongyang

Frances Cha — Tue, 22 May 2012 02:59:33 +0000

by Frances Cha

What could be more fascinating and ironic than a detailed tourist guide you’ll never use -- a guide to the world’s most secretive and neurotic state? Drawing from his multiple trips to North Korea and his perspective in his field of expertise, German architect Philip Meuser has put together a two-volume “guide” to Pyongyang titled “Architectural and Cultural Guide Pyongyang" (Dom Publishers). The guide was published in English and German in March and will be published in Korean in June by Damdi Publishers. Showing it like it is “I didn’t want to criticize politics or society by publishing this book, but rather show the city as it is,” said Meuser in an interview with Harper’s Bazaar Korea. “But that led naturally to exposing the city’s dictatorial rule, intellectual poverty and loss of creativity.” The first volume is abundant with images of various venues and vistas in Pyongyang, including those of the subway, the city square, monuments, residential areas, stadiums and hotels. The second is composed of Meuser’s first-person critical account of traveling throughout the city and essays by various contributors. Valuable images Differing from other books on North Korea, the images in the book are not propaganda photographs, but were taken from Russian and U.S. archives. Meuser also collected travel photographs from others who had visited the country. “The most important fact about this book is that all the images and content have not been censored in any way, and are completely independent,” said Meuser. Also on CNNGo: DMZ: Road trip to the world's most heavily armed border But why publish a guidebook to a place that most people will never visit? “I wanted it to be an awakening for people in the outside world, and also wanted to provide strange material for the travel news articles on North Korea.” (He was quite astute about that point, judging from the fact that this article is going up at all). The allure for every type of traveler For the most part, as USA TODAY Travel pointed out in their review, the guide is primarily geared toward "armchair travelers" who will love the fascinating look at "this very strange and isolated capital city." But for an increasing number of travelers, North Korea holds an appeal unmatched by other destinations. "One of the main reasons I travel is to see lifestyles that are different from my own, and North Korea is about as different as it gets, despite the fact they're also Korean," said Soon Ho Lee, 31, a partner at a hedge fund in Hong Kong who plans to travel to North Korea in the near future. "I want to visit soon mainly because there's a limited window of how long the North Korean regime in its current format will last. Within 20 years or less we will see dramatic changes to, if not the complete extinction of, North Korea as we know it today. I'd like to see it -- or at least a sterilized version of it -- before everything changes," said Lee. Also on CNNGo: The happiest place in North Korea

10 best Korean restaurants in Seoul

Alex Jung — Thu, 17 May 2012 16:22:58 +0000

by Alex Jung

'Best of' lists are controversial, unscientific, inherently subjective and are guaranteed to result in bellyaching. But they are good for precisely this reason: they get us talking about food.

In order to compile our own list, we spoke with a number of certified “foodies” – people who obsess about food about as much as we do. One of those people is Jun Kyung-woo, the co-author of best-selling book Dining in Seoul.

“The first question is: how do you define Korean food?” says Jun. “Is it the ingredients? Is it Korean because it exists in Korea? Is it what Korean people actually eat?”

Indeed, the constantly shifting topography of Korean cuisine now includes dishes like pizza topped with fried shrimp and sweet potatoes and Chinese food like jjajjangmyun (black bean noodles). Respectively, they are branded “Italian” and “Chinese” food, but are so heavily Koreanized that they would be unfamiliar to native inhabitants of those countries.

“Korean food has deep roots,” says Jun. There is a long, dynamic history that includes a certain ingredients and flavors like soy, garlic, red pepper and techniques like salting, pickling, and braising. So while an outlandish pizza might be an entirely Korean product, for this list, we are looking at food that has a long genealogy on the Korean peninsula.

That being said, our conception of Korean food isn’t narrow. We value the bowl of naengmyun from the restaurant that has operated for over three decades as much as the artfully constructed plates that filters Korean flavors through molecular gastronomy.

There is an astounding breadth to Korean cuisine. We’d like to think that this is a start.

Happy Rose Day, with love from Seoul

Mon, 14 May 2012 04:52:04 +0000

Korean florists are so greedy.

Not content with the thousands of truckloads of carnations they sold last week for Parents Day, and more for Teachers Day tomorrow, May 14 has also unofficially been deemed a flower-giving day -- Rose Day, to be precise.

Men and women carrying bouquets of roses can be spotted all over Korea, and "Rose Day" has been the most searched-for term on search engines in Korea all morning.

Non-florists are taking advantage of the marketing opportunity, as well.

Piaget Korea is giving away real Yves Piaget roses (the rose peony was renamed the Yves Piaget rose in 1982) with any purchase from its jewelery brand's Rose Collection.

Super cars and avatars: Seoul's mind-blowing future technology museum

Frances Cha — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:03:29 +0000

by Frances Cha

This week, as part of a mentor fellowship program, I had the opportunity to visit T.um, the technology museum run by SK Telecom in Jung-gu in Seoul.

It may have been because "Back to the Future" was my favorite movie growing up and I’ve always loved science fiction (to the horror of my lit professors in college), but I was so taken with the tour, I went back the next day and asked if I could have a longer one.

And then even that felt too short.

As Korea is the most wired country in the world, and SK Telecom (with 26.6 million subscribers) is in charge of a significant part of that wiring, the company is understandably aggressive about developing technologies across various platforms. They launched T.um to showcase their latest efforts.

The museum far exceeded my expectations -- especially as I'd thought I was going on a boring corporate tour -- and provided a fascinating look at life and technology in the future.

Comical, creepy or kind of cool? A night in the countryside at 7 wacko Korean pensions

Violet Kim — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:00:03 +0000

by Violet Kim

In English the word "pension" refers to the fixed stipend given to retirees. It's not the most exciting word out there.

The Korean "pension," however, has nothing to do with retirement plans.

They are essentially rented cottages or bungalows -- with fully equipped kitchens, no boozy neighbor streaking down the hall (this can happen in the best of hotels) and a woodsy or watery vacation location. Oh, and they come with a lighter price tag, too.

These crucial differences give pensions plenty of leeway to become as fanciful, self-indulgent or crazy as they please.

And some pensions are crazier than others.

British Airways heads back to Seoul after 14 years

CNNGo Staff — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:53:22 +0000

by CNNGo Staff

After more than a decade, British Airways (BA) will start flying to Korea again this December, with six nonstop flights a week between Incheon and Heathrow.

Tickets began selling May 3.

The airline's last direct flight to the peninsula was in 1998, when the Asian financial crisis hit Korea. Hard. Hard enough to knock BA out of Korean airspace for a while.

Korean Air and Asiana were the only airlines that provided nonstop service from Korea to the United Kingdom.

"But over the last 14, nearly 15 years Korea has demonstrated blinding progress, economically, climbing to the top in several rankings," said Kyoyoung Song, sales manager at BA's Korean office. South Korea's GDP ranked 15th from the top as of 2010, according to data from the World Bank.

iReport: My favorite Korean food

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:00:44 +0000

Fermented. Spicy. Stewed.

Descriptions of Korean food may actually be its worst marketing enemy abroad, but as millions of foodies and travelers can attest, the more terrible it sounds, the tastier the dish -- in Korea, anyway.

That's why we asked readers in a CNNGo iReport assignment to submit photos of their favorite Korean dishes.

This gallery showcases the ones that made us blow off that 11 a.m. meeting and head to lunch early.

Also on CNNGo: Seoul's independent coffee culture

AirAsia Expedia CEO: Asians are spontaneous, smartphone-savvy, social travelers

Frances Cha — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:43:36 +0000

by Frances Cha

Daniel Lynn, CEO of AirAsia Expedia Expedia Korea launched in July 2011 with little fanfare. The online travel booking site is still building its brand awareness in Korea.

While Koreans tend to favor schizophrenically detailed and stylized websites updated every second, Expedia's Korean site is stark and frills-free.

But with a rapidly growing business out of a Seoul-based Korean office, Daniel Lynn, CEO of AirAsia Expedia believes Korea is the hottest new market for the multi-billion dollar company.

Currently, the Korean site offers hotel services and AirAsia flight options, following the launch of the Expedia AirAsia joint venture last year.

Korea is the eighth launch in Asia for Expedia. The company's international bookings accounted for 39 percent of worldwide bookings in 2011. Last week, the company reported total gross bookings of US$8.42 billion and international revenue of US$325 million for the first quarter of 2012.

The New iPad Contest

Wed, 02 May 2012 08:13:01 +0000

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Citibank Korea globalizes all ATMs ... spending money in Korea now even easier

CNNGo staff — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:59:00 +0000

by CNNGo staff

Banking in Korea just got more convenient for foreign travelers who bank with Citibank.

First time travelers to the country are often bewildered by how difficult it is to find an ATM that accepts their foreign card for cash withdrawals, as most local ATMs don't accept them and “global ATMs” can be found only at a few select locations throughout the country.

Due to a steady and large influx of inbound travelers to Korea, and the forecast of millions of visitors expected to arrive for the Yeosu World Expo opening on May 12, Citibank Korea has decided to globalize every ATM at all of its 220 branches in the country.

Previously, about 10 percent of Citibank ATMs in the country had been globalized.

Korea Exchange Bank, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank are the only other local banks offering globalized ATMs, albeit at limited locations. Citibank is the first in Korea to globalize all of its ATMs.

10 reasons travelers can't keep away from Jeju Island

Jennifer Barclay — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 01:00:00 +0000

by Jennifer Barclay

Just off the coast of South Korea, Jeju Island pulls in vacationers and honeymooners by the thousands.

April to June is prime time for school trips. "You get a lot of students on field trips from April to June," says Kim Mi-ryang, of the Korea Tourist Organization's Jeju branch.

But there is plenty of space for all. With half a million people spread over an area that's three times as big as Seoul, there’s a lazy feel to the place.

Even if you haven't just gotten married, a vacation here sure can feel like it.

Regular direct flights to and from international cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, Beijing and Shanghai (as well as South Korea's domestic airports) and liberal visa requirements also make getting here a snap.

Jessica Alba's whirlwind tour of Seoul

CNNGo staff — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 07:30:53 +0000

by CNNGo staff

Hundreds of fans mobbed Incheon Airport today when Jessica Alba flew out of Seoul after a whirlwind five-day visit to Korea with husband Cash Warren and daughters Honor and Haven.

The star of "Sin City" and "Fantastic Four" was in town for a -- relatively -- low-key family trip which was booked through Cosmojin Tour, which specializes in VIP tours of Korea. Other patrons have included Woody Allen, Cindy Crawford and YouTube co-founder Steve Chen.

Korean media and blogs started humming once they realized Alba was in country when she began tweeting photos at Seoul landmarks.

In addition to enjoying a couples' massage at the Hilton Hotel’s Swiss Perfection Spa, Alba was photographed at the hottest Seoul club of the moment -- Octagon at the Hilltop Hotel -- last Saturday night. We hope the babysitter got a fat tip.

After clubbing, she then headed to a pojangmacha to celebrate her forthcoming 31st birthday with soju and and fruit.

Harnessing K-Pop for tourism

Frances Cha — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:39:46 +0000

by Frances Cha

As K-Pop lures more and more foreign travelers to Korea, the government and local entertainment companies are jumping on the bandwagon.

SM Entertainment, one of the country’s largest entertainment companies with acts such as Girls Generation and Super Junior under its label, announced last week that it had acquired BT&I, one of the largest travel agencies in Korea, as a move to increase its global content offerings.

“We’re looking to expand K-Pop’s business model to include dining, fashion, accommodation and exhibitions by building on BT&I’s original tourism, leisure and travel business,” said SM Entertainment CEO Kim Young-min in a press statement.

According to the company’s website and local news reports, BT&I is one of the top 10 travel management companies in Korea and an official partner of the world’s top corporate travel group HRG. Corporate travel clients include Bosch, BMW, HSBC and Gucci.

The first step

This isn’t SM’s first foray into the travel business.

Gallery: A year in the life of a travel photographer

Frances Cha — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 17:00:00 +0000

by Frances Cha

Seoul-based travel photographer Julie Mayfeng, 29, has one of the coolest jobs in the world -- taking pictures for Monocle, the United Kingdom-based lifestyle magazine that covers everything from politics and business to fashion and travel.

At Monocle's fifth anniversary party in Seoul last year, Mayfeng would interrupt conversations by pointing her camera and shooting quickly -- without a flash in what was a very dark bar -- then resume merrily talking and laughing while barely missing a beat.

The photos she took that night turned out to be stunning.

Mayfeng manages to infuse voice and style into the most seemingly bland of scenes, and it's astonishing to see what she captures at her favorite shooting spots.

After seeing those photos, we knew we needed to talk.

Flights rerouted as North Korea prepares to launch rocket

Hiufu Wong — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 05:16:35 +0000

by Hiufu Wong

More than 20 commercial airline flights will be rerouted to avoid North Korea's rocket launch expected sometime between April 12 and April 16.

The North Korean launch is meant to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the country's late founder, Kim Il-Sung, according to North Korean authorities.

The secretive state announced the launch in March, emphasizing that the rocket's debris will not affect neighboring countries, and saying that its accompanying satellite is intended for peaceful purposes, according to North Korea's state news agency.

North Korea claims that the Kwangmyongsong-3 (Shining Star) satellite, carried by the rocket Unha-3, will be used to collect data on forests and natural resources.

But the United States and other nations fear the launch may be a pretext for a ballistic missile test, which would potentially violate U.N. resolutions created after a similar launch in April 2009.

8 secret acupoints to cure travel ills

Toffler Niemuth — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 18:00:00 +0000

by Toffler Niemuth

After stowing the passport and busting out the phone, it’s straight to the airport pharmacy for some long-haul fliers, who slam all sorts of pills, tonics and remedies to alleviate aches and ills.

But there's another choice -- acupressure.

Acupressure is the practice of pressing or massaging certain points on the body said to stimulate self-curative abilities.

For each of the points descibed below, you may need to press or rub the point in 20- to 30-second intervals for up to 10 minutes before the effect is felt. You may also need to use it repeatedly throughout the day.

Play around to find what works best.

Food map: Eat your way around Korea

Violet Kim — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 01:00:20 +0000

by Violet Kim

Think of it as a delicious treasure map. They say it takes a village to raise a child.

But in Korea it takes the legacies of a region to create a legendary dish.

Ancient royal lunches, former fertilizers, dishes that look too pretty (or too hideous) to eat -- these regional South Korean delicacies have been local favorites for years.

Now, they offer the savvy traveler an alternative to mediocre franchise fare.

1. Seolleongtang (설렁탕), Seoul

Seoul has been incorporating regional dishes into its local menu for as long as it's been a center of culture and commerce in Korea.