[HanCinema's Digest] Travel Bug Bites

Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul offers visitors a stunning window on underwater life, hear why Korea's "Skygarden" succeed where others failed, an American student lists ten things that surprised them while travelling South Korea, and 10 Magazine has ten suggestions for English-speaking 'cosmetic tourists'.

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"10 things that surprised me about South Korea"

Visiting a new country for the first time is always an exciting experience. What will the people be like? Will I be able to find my way around? What places should I visit and what foods should I look out for? The prepared traveller will have asked, and tried to answer, these and many other important questions to try and get the most out of their trip, but what makes the adventure really special is when things surprise you. In this post on The Korea Times, an American student lists the ten things that surprised them the most about South Korea and its people. "The hundreds of videos I've watched, multiple books I've read, and information I've gathered about Korea still did not prepare me for what I experienced during my ten day trip".

...READ ON THE KOREA TIMES US

"An urban underwater adventure"

"Aquariums are windows into this vast, mostly unexplored world", writes Park Hyun-koo. At the Lotte World Aquarium in Seoul, "visitors can see organism from diverse aquatic habitats including sturgeons, sharks, and pirarucu, one of the largest freshwater fish that can grow up to 5 meters in length". Click on through to The Korean Herald for a dozen stunning pictures from the capital's most frequented aquarium, and consider exploring it yourself next time you're in town...

...READ ON THE KOREA HERALD

"A garden bridge that works: how Seoul succeeded where London failed"

Rowan Moore, an award-winning architecture critic in the UK, examines the success of South Korea's "Skygarden" in comparison to a similar project in the UK. "The Skygarden aims to regenerate and connect places near the main railway station that have been fragmented by roads and railway tracks". The walkway was officially opened by the mayor of Seoul, Park Won-soon, early this year and cost around $53.7 million. "The Skygarden promises to be among the more convincing of all the many High Line wannabes in the world", writes Rowan. Have you strolled through Seoul's Skygarden, yet? Does your home country have something similar that works? Let us know in the comment section below...

...READ ON THE GUARDIAN

"10 PLASTIC SURGERY CLINICS IN SEOUL THAT SPEAK ENGLISH"

As 10 Magazine writer Albert Kim notes, South Korea is well known as the "Land of K-Pop, K-Dramas and kimchi", but it's "cheap and advanced" plastic surgery also generates a lot of pull for the country in terms of tourism. According to research presented here, most Korean celebrities have gone under the knife, and 20% of Korean women say they've had some procedure for their appearance; cosmetic surgery for men is also on the rise. In this post, Albert lists ten plastic surgery clinics in Seoul that offer their services in English: "If you're considering plastic surgery or simply want a consultation, we've compiled a guide of the best plastic surgery clinics in Seoul for foreigners".

...READ ON 10 MAGAZINE