Korea's Got Talent spread around the internet this week with the heart-rending, inspiring video clip of Sung-bong Choi, who ran away from an orphanage and grew up on the streets, and found happiness in singing... Certainly captured everyone's hearts, and if you haven't watched it yet, you must, if just to know what everyone's talking about!
Rapt as everyone was with Sung-bong, you may have missed the news that Hollywood star Richard Gere will be in South Korea later this month to visit Buddist temples. To make it up to him, I'm posting a slightly younger version in my photo below... Stay tuned for An Officer and a Monk!
Definitely one of the top links I posted on Facebook was the amazing time-lapse video of Seoul by Oh Choong Young: absolutely captivating, although I couldn't get Arirang (the backing music) out of my head all evening so I'm not going to watch it again now. But you've never seen Seoul look quite as good as this...
If you're planning for summer, you'll want to know the opening dates for Korea's major beaches - see link below. Of course you can visit before then, and they'll be beautiful and quieter - they just won't have as many facilities open.
Please Look After Mother - this tribute to motherhood, a novel by Shin Kyung-sook released in English in April, is selling like wildfire and giving many Westerners a first taste of Korean literature:
Further to the recent news of the new Airbus A380 services taking off with Korean Air, I've been looking into how this luxurious service can also claim to be environmentally friendly.
It turns out it has unprecendented environmental performance, being cleaner, quieter and smarter:
Less noise - one of the quietest long-range aircraft in the world
Less fuel burn and emissions - low fuel consumption
Fewer movements - due to capacity, transports more people, so more passengers can be flown in and out with each take-off and landing, minimising air traffic.
What better way to fly into the top airport in the world, Seoul Incheon?!
Once again, please let me know of anything happening in South Korea that might be of interest to those who are considering travelling there. Record numbers of Asian tourists are travelling to South Korea, and it's increasingly being added to UK travellers' 'must-see' lists - why?
- Last year South Korea hosted the G20 Summit and was Design Capital of the World
- Time magazine marvelled at how South Korea had reinvented itself as a global leader
- Conde Nast Traveler called the capital Seoul a 'hot destination'
- Financial Times said Korean food was the next big thing 'about to go global'
But for me the main reason to go is that visitors are invariably surprised by the country's beautiful countryside and friendly people. Experience an Asia which is exciting and authentic.
That's it from me this week - happy weekending!
Jen
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