Imperial Palace Boutique Hotel’s Cafe Amiga offers the “3+1 Lunch Buffet Promotion” through Feb. 29 for guests to celebrate the New Year at reasonable prices. The promotion offers a buffet for one for 9,900 won for any party of four dining in for the lunch buffet held from noon through 2:30 p.m. Guests are also welcome to make a special request to open the garden terrace for their private gather...

Accor Ambassador Hotel has recently signed agreements to open three additional franchises in Korea. Scheduled to open late February, Mercure Ambassador Gangnam is conveniently located next to Yeoksam Station on Line 2. The hotel will offer 288 comfortable guestrooms with a restaurant and bar, five meeting rooms and a spa to meet demands from business travelers as well as tourists. Ibis Ambassad...

Tourism Malaysia Seoul and Shilla Duty Free Shop invite customers to their “Kota Kinabalu Travel Event” through Jan. 5. The two organizations are featuring this joint year-end event to offer tourists in Korea exquisite travel and shopping experiences. Anyone who purchases items totaling $500 or more at one of the four Shilla Duty Free Shops ― downtown Seoul, Incheon International Airport, Gimpo ...

To encourage families to travel around the country, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is holding various promotion events through January. Korea Tourism Organization website (www.visitkorea.co.kr) has suggestions on the best places to visit during the cold season, such as hot springs, winter sports destinations and traditional Korean houses with flat stone floor heating systems. Also introduc...

Sales of KR-PASS, a railway pass exclusively for foreigners, increased by 158 percent this year, according to Korail. The KR-PASS service grants overseas tourists unlimited access to all of its trains ― including the KTX ― for one to 10 days based on the service users’ choice. Up to 12,617 purchased the pass from January through November. Korail believes the number of service users has been su...

Grand Hyatt Seoul is preparing New Year’s Eve fireworks for lovers and families who want to count down the final moments of 2011 and welcome 2012 in a special way. The event will start off at 6 p.m. on Dec. 13 at the hotel’s famous ice rink, with guests enjoying free outdoor skating. With a snack buffet, skating demonstrations by the Junior Korean National Skating team, dance performances, a va...

The buffet restaurant The Square at Novotel Ambassador Gangnam presents a special promotion for guests born in the Year of Dragon. From Jan. 1 through the end of the month, the restaurant will offer a complimentary buffet for guests born in 1952, while a 50 percent discount will be offered to all guests born in the Year of Dragon ― limited to one guest per table with four or more guests. The Sq...

Renaissance Seoul Hotel’s Korean Restaurant Sabiru is offering an exclusive Korean dinner course starting Dec. 1. Developed by chef Lee Sang-hoon, the grand prize winner in World Korean Food Competition and Festival 2009, the course showcases a selection of creative Korean dishes that foreign diners can enjoy while also keeping the taste that makes Korean cuisine so special. Using fresh ingredi...

Unlimited aromatic teas and delicious desserts will be served at the Afternoon Tea Buffet of the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, during weekends with Christmas cakes from different countries available from Dec. 23-25. The Afternoon Tea Buffet offers mini sandwiches, scones with jam and whipping cream, almond cake and cherry pie as well as Korean traditional sweets such as tteok and sujeongg...

Hawaiian Airlines will change its nonstop Incheon-Honolulu flight schedule starting Jan. 5 to accommodate the growing demand for travel to Hawaii from Korean honeymooners. Under the new schedule, Hawaiian Airlines’ HA460 will depart Incheon every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 10:15 p.m. and will arrive at Honolulu International Airport at 11 a.m. on the same day. The return flight bo...