Namsan Park climbs the slope of Mt. Namsan, on which N Seoul Tower, a city landmark, offers an unobstructed panoramic view of the city. Below it are the octagonal pavilion Palgakjeong, a botanical garden, Namsan Public Library, Patriot Ahn Choong Kun Memorial Hall, and convenience facilities. Meandering paths and jogging courses through lush trees make this a perfect spot to unwind at the end of the day.

For an easy ascent of Mt. Namsan, visitors can take the cable car from the foot of the mountain or they may prefer taking the steps leading past Namsan Botanical Garden to Palgakjeong Pavilion all the way up to N Seoul Tower.

The tower accomodates the Global Village Folk Museum, a 3D theater and Pulhyanggi Restaurant, which features mountain vegetable dishes accompanied by traditional arts performances. The tower also has a fine nightscape.

The northern end of Mt. Namsan is dotted with cultural facilities. Korea House offers traditional cuisine and traditional performing arts programs in an elegant ambience. Namsangol Hanok Village has a cluster of traditional houses that were relocated and refurbished some years ago. The National Theater’s opera and dance companies provide colorful repertoire all year round, and for those interested in learning about the traditional Korea tea ceremony, cookery, and etiquette, then they visit Yejiwon.

For people majoring in ICT in the University of the Philippines, Ateneo, or La Salle, this is the best thing that could ever happen to your academic career. Study ICT-related fields in the beautiful campus of Daejeon University located in the Science Capital of South Korea, Daejeon City. This scholarship is all expense paid so you really don’t have to worry about shelling dollars when you’re already there. A cherry on top is a 300USD monthly stipend. And you can always work part-time to augment your monthly “income”.

ASEAN-ROK Scholarship Poster

I know, I know. I posted this one late. Good thing is ASEAN-ROK offers this scholarship yearly. Application will be on December 2009.

From the Itaewon Intersection, this special tourism zone stretches all the way past the Hamilton Hotel to Hannam0dong. It is honeycombed with about 2,000 shops as well as jazz bars, night clubs, and ethnic restaurants. This district is popular to foreign residents and tourists alike. In the core area around the Hamilton Hotel clusters 1,000 shops that sell leather goods, shoes, bags, clothes, and tourist souvenirs. The sidewalk is fringed with about 400 roadside stalls attracting sohppers with accessories, hats, T-shirts, electronic gadgets, and more. Itaewon is the area most densely packed with diverse ethnic restaurants–Italian, Swiss, German, Mexian, Indian, Pakistani, Thai, etc. Itaewon comes alive at night when the lights go out in the business districts. Roadside stalls shift to hunderds of carts serving drinks and snacks. With many karaoke and fancy disco clubs, Itaewon ablazes with activity throughout the night.

Korea’s lively entertainment scene successfully blends traditional culture with the ever-increasing influences from foreign countries. There are my choices from night clubs to classical concerts to casinos. Popular places for a night out chill are Myeong-dong, Itaewon, and Apgujeong-dong districts.

Itaewon (???)

Itaewon is one of the most popular shopping districts in Seoul, particularly among foreigners. The densely packed shops in the area sell leather clothes, T-shirts, suits, watches, bags, shoes, and accessories.

Transportation: Itaewon Station, Line 6

Gangnam Station Area (?????)

There are many pubs, cafes, nightclubs, restaurants, cinemas, fashion shops, department stores, and bookstores offering lots to do in an area filled with entertainment.

Transportation: Exit 6 or 7 of Gangnam Station, Line 2

Apgujeong-dong (????)

Consisting of numerous American-style clothing stores, cafes, nightclubs, and restaurants, Apgujeong-dong is known to be Seoul’s most fashionable and expensive area.

Transportation: Exit 2 of Apgujeong Station, Line 3

The literal meaning of Daehangno is “university street” because until the mid-1970’s, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences of Seoul National University campus was located in the current Marronnier Park site. Daehangno is the cradle of Korean performing arts, the off-Broadway of Korea. Small theaters, galleries, cafes, folk taverns, and restaurants sprawl across Marronnier Park. Various outdoor sculpture and painting exhibitions and performing arts are offered on makeshift stages on the street. About 40 theaters and several museums attract throngs of young people. Amid these heart-pounding streets is poised a serene compound called Ihwajang, which was once the manor of the first Korean president, Syngman Rhee. It is now renovated as a museum. Neraby are Jongmyo Royal Ancestral Shrine and Changgyeong Palace. A busy road cuts between Changgyeong Palace and Jongmyo Royal Ancestral Shrine but there is a pedestrian bridge connecting the two attractions. There is also Changdeok Palace with its beautiful rear garden, Huwon (or Biwon, “Secret Garden”). Jongmyo and Changdeok Palace are registered on UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage list. Another nearby historical spot is Sung Kyun Kwan, the Confucian university that was founded in 1398 at the start of the Joseon Dynasty.

*Transportation: Daehangno Station, Line 4

Just a few minutes from Seoul’s ancient Namdaemun Gate is an open-air market of the same name. It is close to the downtown area and deluxe hotels boasting the very best selection of merchandise in the nation. The market’s history traces back to the Joseon Dynasty and since then has become the main transactional place of daily products between urban and rural areas in Korea.

Namdaemun Market is also the nation’s wholesale center and virtually anything you want can be found here: clothing, shoes, housewares, foodstuff, flowers, tools, wigs, glasses, accessories of every kind, gift items, sporting goods, construction materials, electric appliances, furniture, etc. Having long been perceived as a traditional open-air market, it is changing its image with new, modern shopping centers such as Mesa.

*Location: Saekdal-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jejudo

*Transportation:Exit 5 of Hoehyeon Station, Line 4

*Contact details: 02-752-1913

Namdaemun Fashion Town

*Transportation: Exit 5 of Hoehyeong Station, Line 4

Mesa (??)

*Transportation: Exit 5 of Hoehyeong Station, Line 4

*Contact information: 02-2128-5000 ext. 0; Open from 10:00am-5:00pm (closed on Sundays)

Conveniently connected to Seoul Express Bus Terminal, Central City is a multipurpose leisure complex. It encompasses a wide range of the latest facilities including the JW Marriott Hotel, a convention center, fitness clubs, Cinus-central theaters, Central Automall, a bookstore and a variety of restaurants and fast food stalls.

*Transportation: Express Bus Terminal Station Line 3 (exit 2) or Line 7 (exit 3)

Seoul and other major Korean cities offer a wide variety of shopping opportunitiessuch as arcades, department stores, and duty-free shops. However, if you really want to experience the vivid lifestyle of Koreans, why not visit the local markets around the country? They feature the local regions’ specialty products. Major department stores are open from 10:30-19:30, including Sundays, while smaller shops tend to be open from mid-morning till late evening every day of the week. 24-hour convenience stores are dotted throughout the cities. At midnight, Namdaemun and Dongdaemun markets in Seoul serve as all-night wholesale districts and you can find many great deals.

It has been over 50 years since the Korean war broke out, and the drawing of the 155-mile cease-fire line from the East Sea to the Yellow Sea. This line, called the 38th parallel, creates the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), symbolizing both war and peace, division and unification. Today, it is a haven for rare animals and plants in one of the few places where nature remains undisturbed.

Recently, UNESCO has honored the Gangneung Danoje Festival as one of the UNESCO Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity following Jongmyojerye and Jeryeak (royal ancestral ceremony and music) and pansori (Korean narrative solo songs). Korea is now home to seven World Cultural Heritages, four World Documentary Heritages and Three World Intangible Heritages, and hopes that even more will be acknowledged as valuable proof of human achievement and historical treasures that must be passed on to future generations.

Korea’s oldest celebrated folk festival, the Gangneung Danoje Festival will take place on June 8th (May 5th of the Lunar Calendar year) at the Dano Cultural Center and the Namdaecheon River region, with the holiday season beginning on June 4th lasting through until June 11th.