In Gangneung, Gangwon Province, coffee culture began with a row of vending machines facing the sea at Anmok Beach. Nearly two decades later, the city celebrates the drink with a five-day festival spread across its beaches, pine forests, harbor and neighborhoods. The 18th Gangneung Coffee Festival opened Wednesday and runs through Sunday along Gangneung Coffee Street and at sites throughout the city. Launched in 2009, the festival draws around 300,000 visitors a year and has grown out of the city

Autumn is the season for reading. Something about the cooler air, clear skies and longer evenings makes it an easy time to settle in with a book. Across the country, a handful of unique reading spaces offer a little more than the usual library or cafe might. These three pair books with a lotus pond view, an entire city built around publishing or a mountain trail looking over Seoul. Yeonhwajeong Library, Jeonju In the middle of the pond at Deokjin Park in Jeonju, sits a single-story hanok that do

Interest in all things Korean — from pop music to food and cosmetics — is extending to the country’s mountains, as tourists continue to add hiking to their Korea itineraries. Several national parks sit within a short walk of subway stations, not just in Seoul but also in Busan, Gwangju and Daegu, meaning hiking is one of the easiest ways to experience a slower side of Korea. The growing appeal is reflected in visitor numbers. According to the Korea National Park Service, 730,000 foreign visitors

To the west of Gyeongbokgung lies the neighborhood of Seochon. Along with Bukchon to the palace’s north, it is one of the few places in Seoul that still embodies the city’s old soul. Low-slung hanok rooftops, framed by Inwangsan, line its alleys. Tucked between them are a terrace bistro, a vintage photo booth, a niche perfumer, fashion flagships, a jewelry workshop and a cafe facing the palace wall. The neighborhood has long drawn artists. From the Joseon era to the modern period, poets, novelis

VALLETTA, Malta ― In the bustling streets and alleys of Valletta, throngs of tourists stroll between centuries-old buildings made of pale, golden limestone, often with sweeping views of the sapphire-blue Mediterranean in the background. Defensive walls line the rocky shores of Malta's peninsular capital, which stretches northward into the shimmering sea. On the southern side of the capital, towering stone walls rise above deep moats that separate the city from the rest of the island. Within thes

For nearly six decades, a stretch of mountain behind Cheong Wa Dae, Korea's presidential compound, remained off-limits to the public. Starting Saturday at 9 a.m., visitors will be able to explore the last restricted section of Bugaksan, a forested peak north of central Seoul, along a trail offering sweeping views of the city. The newly opened 1.32-kilometer route winds along the mountain's southwestern slopes in Cheongun-dong, Jongno-gu. From four newly built viewing areas, hikers can look out t

Daejeon has built its tourism identity around bread, and this weekend the city is asking visitors to take that appetite beyond a single festival ground. The 2026 Daejeon Bread Festival will take place Saturday and Sunday around Hanbit Tower at Expo Science Park, bringing 120 local bakeries, including the iconic Sungsimdang, to one site. Alongside the festival, the city has lined up tours, activities and travel packages designed to send visitors to other neighborhoods. According to Daejeon Metrop

A limited-edition tote bag from an overseas supermarket, a morning run through a city park and a night at a local jazz bar may reveal more about how Koreans plan to travel next year than the price of their plane tickets. Korean travelers are not planning to cut back in 2027. They are becoming more deliberate about how they spend their money, according to Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2027 report, unveiled Wednesday at Cotton Club, a jazz club in Yongsan, Seoul. In the travel app’s survey of 1,000 K

VALLETTA, Malta ― The time is ripe to employ new technologies for a "seamless travel" experience, said industry leaders attending last week's World Travel and Tourism Council Summit 2026 in Valletta, Malta. "We don't have to choose between security and seamless travel. We can have both," Gloria Guevara, chief executive officer of the WTTC and Mexico's former culture minister, said at the summit Thursday. "We want to create a world where travel is seamless, ... where countries unlock their full p

A former monastery on the Amalfi Coast, a minimalist resort in the Utah desert and a private island in the Maldives. For some of K-pop’s biggest stars, this year’s vacations came with price tags well into the millions of won a night. A 1,000-year-old tower in Ravello Blackpink’s Rose recently shared a set of vacation photos on Instagram with the caption “summer postie.” The images show the singer relaxing in casual clothes, playing the board game Rummikub with friends and sitting at a piano. The

VALLETTA, Malta ― Overcrowding, sustainability, and the politics of tourism took center stage at the World Travel and Tourism Council Summit 2026, with world leaders laying out challenges the industry faces. At the WTTC Summit 2026, ministers from Malta, Croatia, Egypt, South Africa and Turkey held a panel discussion. Chronic tourist overcrowding was one of the main topics of discussion. Croatia’s Tourism and Sport Minister Tonci Glavina said the eastern European country was shifting toward year

In the port city of Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, a bowl of jjamppong is as much a piece of local history as it is a meal. This weekend, the city is inviting visitors to taste its signature dish. The 2026 Gunsan Jjamppong Festival runs from Friday to Sunday at Baeknyeon Plaza in Jangmi-dong. The annual event aims to promote culinary tourism. Jjamppong, a spicy noodle soup made by stir-frying vegetables, seafood and meat before simmering them in broth, is one of the two pillars of Korean-Chinese

Visitors to two of Seoul's fall festivals can now pick up official city souvenirs without leaving the grounds, as the first "Seoul Goods" vending machines have opened for business. The Seoul Tourism Organization has installed the machines at Maeheon Citizen's Forest in Seocho-gu, the venue of the 2026 Seoul International Garden Show, and on Nodeul Island, which is hosting the 2026 Seoul Light Hangang Bitseom Festival. The machines will operate for the duration of each event. The garden show runs

SEONGJU, North Gyeongsang Province — Every window in the classroom is open. A group of visitors lies on yoga mats with their eyes closed as a cricket starts up outside, then a bird, then the steady drone of cicadas. A singing bowl rings once, and the room goes quiet. The exercise is the final stage of "Forest Sound Demon Hunters," a soundscape program set to run this fall at Gayasan National Park Nature Center. The center is one of 10 nature centers the Korea National Park Service runs nationwid

Cassia Sokcho rolls out autumn desserts for foliage season Persimmons, chestnuts and figs take center stage in a new seasonal dessert lineup at Cassia Sokcho in Gangwon Province, timed for peak foliage season at nearby Seoraksan. Starting Oct. 6, the hotel's fourth-floor cafe and bakery, Horizon, will offer the limited-edition menu. The Autumn Harmony afternoon tea set includes persimmon mousse, persimmon sago juice, mousse shaped like a pine mushroom, red wine-poached pear, marron glace, chestn