Seoul - The Soul of Korea

The South Korean capital and megacity of Seoul is booming in the tourists’ good books. Voted as the best tourist spot by the Chinese, Thai and Japanese, this mega city is leading in the developed world.

With about 25 million people in its metropolitan area, it is the world’s second most populous metropolis. Flights to Seoul now land at the Incheon International Airport, a major take over from the former Gimpo International Airport, which now serves majorly for the domestic flights. Incheon has become the eighth busiest airport on the globe in terms of handling international passengers.

In January, Gangwon-do organizes a fascinating winter event. It combines ice with sports at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, to create new sport activities such as soccer on snow, trout-fishing in the ice and trout-luring. For true ice-enthusiasts, there is skiing and ice-sledding too. Cheap tickets to Seoul’s Ice Festival aren’t that easy to lay hands on, one must book well in advance, for this fest is booming.

Korea’s famous bull fights have their own special arena and date. In the month of March, the Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival is the true sports attraction. Here no bulls are killed, but there is pure pleasure and amazement as the animals fight for their win.

The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival colors the city with hundreds of vivid shades, naturally. This attraction comes from the various species of butterflies flying across the canola blossoms in the month of April. A large number of visitors are keen on this amazing site, so cheap flights to Seoul during this peak season become a fight.

The authentic Damyang Bamboo Festival in May features consumable products made simply from the plantations’ remains of bamboo. The locals gather to celebrate their produce and relish the rich eateries and liquor.

September is a festive month for the Seoul locals. There is an international Mask Festival held at Andong, annually to promote the Korean mask dance traditions and other cultural performances.

Then there is a ginseng festival to taste some of the city’s expensive ginseng produce, and to tour around the plantations to learn how to pluck the plant and prepare mouth-watering cuisines.

Also, the Mushroom Festival for the wild son- mushrooms is a unique event of its own. The very rarely seen mushrooms are called diamonds of the forest.  People enjoy exploring the city’s wild growth.

For sea food lovers, the Salted Seafood Festival is the place to be! Held at Nonsan-si, this event is the largest in Korea. The marketplace is filled with fresh varieties of fish, where visitors can come and prepare their own salted delights. It takes place in October.

Around the same time, the Lantern Festival is held at Namgang river side, where hundreds of lightened lanterns illuminate the water. The view is breathtakingly beautiful! Cheap tickets for the public arena entry and stalls are an add-on to this spectacular fest.

At the end of the year, a line of premier events spot the Korean calendar. There is the Jeju Orange festival to celebrate the production of tangerines in the region. Also, a fest celebrates the traditional soyabean dishes in Paju.