South Koreans are friendlier to Western tourists?

Results of a survey conducted by the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute show that South Koreans are more hospitable towards Western tourists compared to their Asian counterparts. Visitors from 16 countries took a survey during the first half of 2009. Of the 5,822 participants, tourists from Western countries gave Koreans high points for hospitality while tourists from Asian countries gave them a lower rating. Malaysian tourists: Rooster (left) and Orchid en route to Namsan The Germans (79.7%) and French (77.9%) think South Koreans are friendly, followed by the British (77.1%), Americans (73%) and Australians (71.4%). Meanwhile, tourists from Asia gave a lower rating: Taiwan (32.8%), Thailand (48.9%), Japan (48.6%) and Hong Kong/Singapore (44.5%). This suggests that Koreans are selective when it comes to showing hospitality.I believe this happens in Malaysia too. Friends have lamented how Malaysians can be all smiley and kind towards the Mat Salleh (white guys) but show a long face towards fellow Malaysians/ Asians. Sigh. For health and vitality: Don’t forget to eat fruits even ina foreign land. Rooster buys oranges. Nonetheless, when the K-popped! Trio were in Seoul last November, we didn’t run into any particularly rude person…. Maybe there was that street food ajumma who

(More)…

Our visit to 63 Building

If you are a tourist, like us, be sure to grab one of those guide maps to help you navigate around the building All of a sudden I have the urge to blog about our travels. So here’s an entry on 63 Building in Yeouido Island, Seoul. We visited Yeouido on a cloudy Sunday morning last autumn. K-popped! Trio took the subway from the heart of Seoul (Jongno-3-ga stop) to Yeouido. First we attended service at the biggest church in the world, Yeouido Full Gospel Church. Here in Yeuido is where most of the broadcasting stations are located. The MBC, SBS and KBS buildings are all in this area. After church, we walked along the tree-lined sidewalk taking in the beautiful autumn scenery and visited Noryangjin Fish Market and 63 Building (63 빌딩). We opted to take a cab for the short journey to 63 Building because it started to drizzle. Cabs in Korea all have very sophisticated gadgets, like what you see in this one…equipped with GPRS & Tmoney payment sytem. Daehan Life Insurance 63 Building is more well known as just 63 Building. The skyscraper which stands 249 meters (817 feet) high is the 3rd tallest building in

(More)…

Former President Roh Moo-hyun dies

Former South Korean President, Roh Moo-hyun (pic left), died after falling off a ravine while hiking near his home this morning (May 23, 2009). It is believed that 62-year-old Mr. Roh committed suicide. The final year of Roh’s administration was tainted with scandals of corruption, which are still under investigation today. Thus, it is suspected that that’s the reason for his untimely death. You can read more about his work and life at the BBC news site. This piece of news has found its way on to K-popped! because when the Trio were in Seoul last November, we were brought to President Roh’s favourite sam gye tang restaurant Tosokchon. I was surprised upon recognising his name in the headlines as I’m not at all a follower of global politics. Rest in peace Mr. Roh Moo-hyun. Thank you for your good taste in sam gye tang. Source: CNN & BBC

Missha’s M Perfect Cover BB Cream

It’s May – springtime. One Saturday morning, while nibbling on her fresh salad, Orchid reminds me to write about fashion and all-things girly since you know, “Girls wanna doll themselves up and such during spring.” I nod in understanding as I wolf down my sinful plate of nasi lemak sotong (rice cooked in coconut cream with spicy cuttlefish chilli on the side). And so, here is my contribution to spring time beauty. It is on a product that is on every Korean woman’s (and most men’s too) vanity table – the BB Cream. On September 17 last year, I wrote about Skin Food’s Aloe Sun BB Cream. That was the first ever BB Cream I’d purchased and thought it was great. Now, I beg to differ as I’ve been using another brand’s BB Cream since Nov 2008. Best seller: Missha’s hottest selling item Meet Missha’s M Perfect Cover BB Cream (MPCBBC) a.k.a 미샤 M 퍼펙트 커버 비비 크림. I got mine while in Seoul last year. The Missha beauty store at the corner of the street we frequented had a one-day only 20% sale so we took the opportunity to stock up on some beauty products. The 50ml tube of

(More)…

Shopping for Korean Celebrity Merchandise

Fancy drinking from a Rain mug? Check outthe other choices you have in the background…mugs of your favourite Korean star One evening, when we were walking along the streets of Myeongdong in Seoul, we came across a shop selling Korean celebrities’ merchandise. From CDs to calendars to mugs, the store had all sorts of paraphernalia of your favourite stars! I remember seeing lots of Bae Yong-joon, Hyun Bin, Super Junior, Won Bin, DBSK…etc. But be careful, everything in this shop is shockingly overpriced! I can’t believe i walked away with a set of Rain post-it pads for RM20 though! In retrospect, i should have brought a Rain mug back instead. Ah then i could drink from a Bi mug everyday! This is the street in Myeongdong where we found the shop Check out the packaging for this post-it pad set of Korean star Rain (Jung Ji-hoon) The little booklet unfolds to reveal four different types of post-it pads.Each with a Rain stamp at the bottom.It makes a great gift. Lots more to explore in the store… More stories of our trip to Seoul

Dongdaemun Market

SIGHTS OF SEOUL Dongdaemun Gate is also known as the Great Eastern Gate.The historical gate was built in the Joseon Dynasty. We still have so much to share from our trip to Korea. On Pepero Day last year, K-popped! Trio ventured to Dongdaemun in Seoul. Dongdaemun means “Great East Gate” and it was so named because it was a major eastern gate in the wall that surrounded Seoul way back in the Joseon Dynasty. Dongdaemun is a.k.a. Heunginhimun (Gate of Rising Benevolence). We were there at Dongdaemun one sunny autumn morning. Besides being a major landmark in Central Seoul, Dongdaemun Market is also located here. You will find large wholesale market for shoes and textile in this area. The wholesale shoe market is a huge attraction at Dongdaemun Market On one side of Dongdaemun Station is a long row of shoe shops. Shoes ranging from women’s pumps and stilettos, men’s leather shoes, sport shoes to bright pink furry boots can be found here. The shoes are mostly made in Korea or China and are not the branded kind you find in high end department stores. Price is reasonable and could be a steal if you have good bargaining skills. We

(More)…

Buying CDs in Seoul

Rain’s first album Bad Guy is difficult to find here in Malaysia Being a Rain enthusiast, i wanted to own every single album he released (okay, the major ones). So prior to my trip to Seoul last November, i purposed in my heart to look for Rain’s first album Bad Guy. It is possible to buy one of his more recent albums from the music stores here in Malaysia. But i could not find the very first album anywhere! Here’s a look at our (Liz and Orchid’s) Rain CDs. Yes! We made our collection complete by buying Rainism (5th album) and Bad Guy (1st album) in Seoul. Our Rain Albums – clockwise from bottom left:It’s Raining, Bad Guy, Rainism, Running Away From the Sun,Rain’s World Special Edition, Rain’s World We bought Rainism at one of Seoul’s largest and most popular bookstore. It is called Kyobo Book Center or Kyobo Moongo (Korean; 교보문고) and it is located in Kyobo Building at No. 1, Jong-ro 1 Street, Seoul. You can find most of the latest releases in this store and also a wide range of Korean music. We were so excited to see such a wide selection of Korean music at the

(More)…

Korean Hair Products

Hey hey hey, how’s everyone doing after the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year)? What did you do over the New Year holidays? It is customary to visit relatives and vice versa (it’s the only time of the year when uninvited relatives come over to our home one after another). I was happily taking a break and did not log onto the Internet for a good three days! Spent most of my free time reading the TWILIGHT series by Stephenie Meyer (and loved it by the way!). So what did you do over the new years? Well, i’m back now, and Liz is glued to the tv watching a Rain special on Channel [V]‘s Video Scope! During our trip to Seoul in November ’08, i brought back Korean hair products from Skin Food. I figured, since Koreans have such nice hair – most of them have a good head of thick black hair no? — their hair products must be worth checking out. Skin Food’s Applemango Volume Essence Mistand Oriental Scalp Tonic I got the Applemango Volume Essence Mist and Oriental Scalp Tonic. The former is to give my fine hair more volume. You spray the hair mist on dry

(More)…

Fly to the Sky celebrates 10th anniversary

Birthday boys: Brian Joo (left) and Hwanhee blow out the candleson their anniversary/ birthday cake Whoa, they’ve been in the entertainment industry for 10 years already? They are early bloomers, I tell ya. On Jan 10, Fly to the Sky duo Brian Joo and Hwanhee celebrated their 10th anniversary. They debuted in 1999. The pair held a party-cum-fan meeting at the Grand Hilton Seoul Hotel at 6.30pm. In addition to that, the pair also celebrated their birthdays with their fans! Brian turned 28 on Jan 10 while Hwanhee will turn 27 on Jan 17. A decade together: ‘Yes, yes, we still love and respect eachother after all these years….’ Cake cutting:‘…but that doesn’t mean I can’t sever the head on thatMini-Me doll of yours, Brian! Bwah ha ha ha ha.’ During the party, the pair announced that they were in the midst of completing their 8th album. The long player is set to hit stores at the end of Jan. You know, while in Seoul last November, we bought Fly to the Sky’s Recollection album…and I absolutely lurve it. The entire album is in both my MP3 players! I’ve always enjoyed Hwanhee’s strong vocals and needless to say, my fav

(More)…

Lotte World

Sure, we were in Seoul last year (November 2008), but we’re not done blogging about it yet! During our trip, the Trio reserved a full day for fun at Lotte World to get in touch with our inner child. Gee, I haven’t been to an amusement park in over a decade. The last time the 3 of us went to one together was Pesta Port Dickson back when some of you reading this blog were still crawling around in your diapers and drooling all over the place. If you know Pesta PD way back then, you’d remember what crap it was. Adventure Land in Lotte World. Orchid planning which rides we should go on first. Lotte World is divided into two sections – Adventure Land (an indoor park) and Magic Island (an outdoor park). Start your fun in Adventure Land and make your way to Magic Island then come back to Adventure Land by 9pm to catch the laser light show before leaving Lotte World. Traditional dances and other performances at the open theater in Adventure Land. Liz in Rooster on the carousel.Hmm, looks like we’re the only unaccompanied minors on this ride. ;p One thing I noticed in Seoul

(More)…

© 2012 k-popped.com
credit