Seoul(Dongdaemun-gu)

The Blue Dragon Film Awards draws all Korean stars to the red carpet. Hosted by Korea's Sports Chosun newspaper, the Blue Dragon Film Awards Show started in 1963 with the goal of raising the quality of Korean movies and further developing Korea's movie industry. The Blue Dragon has now established itself as the Grand Prix of Korean movie cinema and is the undisputed authority in the field.The selection among the movies released in the previous year is made based on the number of votes cast by Netizens and the opinions of movie experts. Then the final winner is selected by a nine-member jury recommended by the Executive Committee. Awards Program: The Blue Dragon Film Awards considers only blockbusters and popular movies of high artistic value released during the previous year. During the award period, about 40 movies that have made to the final list are screened to the public for free.After the screening of each selection, the awards ceremony opens in full swing. The categories are Best Film, Best Director, Best New Director, Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best New Actor, Best New Actress, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Best Art Direction, Technical Award, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Lighting, each recognizing those who have contributed to the development of Korean movies.Other interesting categories are the Most Popular awarded to the star that received the most Netizen votes and the Most Popular Film awarded to the movie with the highest viewership throughout the previous year. A week prior to the award ceremony, the previous year's award recipients gather for a handprint event to immortalize their Blue Dragon award. Festival Highlights: Since this is an awards ceremony, guessing which movie will be the winner and comparing your guess with the official results is one way to enjoy the ceremony. This is also a chance to see all of Korea's most popular stars in one place, so a camera is a must. The shows by popular artists during the award ceremony also add to the entertainment.


Gyeongsangnam-do(Tongyeong-si)

E-MART Tongyeong carries more than 40,000 items. This discount retail store recently introduced a tax refund service for the increasing number of foreign customers, as Tongyeong has become a famous tourist destination. The store offers a call service for shopping assistances.


Gyeongsangbuk-do(Andong-si)

'Gudamjeongsa House is located in the river front where you can see Nakdonggang River Gudamseupji (marsh) and is surrounded by a low mountain -- a cozy historic house where you can look up the sky. Originally, the house was a residence of the Andong Branch of the descendants of Gwangsan Kim’s Clan. Note, however, that Gwon Ohchun, head of a Korean traditional culture center, has acquired and remodeled and opened it in May 2010 for the public to experience this old family hanok house. It’s a quiet place where you can enjoy the nature of the Andong area. Its "ㅁ"-shaped structure with a courtyard is preserved as its original Hanok structure, but the tiled roof and rectangular stone below the stylobate were newly built. Each connected floor offers access to each room. While preserving the original features of hanok, some elements outside the hanok are new to the house such as the wall between the courtyard of the Anchae and the courtyard of the Sarangchae and a tall gate. The grassy courtyard is decorated with garden rocks and bonsai trees. Gudamjeongsa House's structure has a specific feature of having the courtyard, Anchae, Bakkatchae, and backyard all connected in a neat hill. The Bakkatchae has a patio type with high maru (wood floor), where guests can enjoy the scenery and a relaxing time, whereas the Anchae has a main room (Anbang) that used to be a family living space. The Anmadang in between the buildings is a square shape with empty ceiling, which helps circulate air and enhance the light access in the space. The courtyard, Anchae, and Anmadang situated inside the ㅁ-shaped structure form a triple composition of natural, artificial, and artificial-natural spaces. In general, the hanok house doesn’t have a courtyard covered with grass because it makes the house damp, but this house has one since the rectangular stone below the stylobate has elevated the house. Due to its characteristics as a hanok building, i.e., well-ventilated in summer since it has many doors and windows, Gudamjeongsa House has no air conditioner; in winter, however, the rooms are heated by putting wood on the furnace and guests can experience the heated floor of the room with the Korean-style heating system (ondol). Gudamjeongsa House provides traditional Korean dining that includes pickled wild greens of Siberian ginseng, mulberry leaves, and dandelion, grilled Andong mackerel, and side dishes without using artificial seasonings, prepared by the owner and loved by guests.


Busan(Busanjin-gu)

Sutbul Galbi Imjingak is specialized in charcoal grilled meat, such as saenggalbi (marinated Korean beef ribs), saeng cheongyeopsal (also, hangjeongsal; pork neck), saengsamgyeopsal (Korean pork belly) and dwaeji galbi (pork ribs). Opened in 1995, the restaurant is comprised of 15 various sized rooms throughout the first and second floors that can accommodate up to 230 seats. Seating is arranged in private booth-style rooms. Some popular dishes are Korean pork neck and pork belly. They also offer a lunch menu with things like kimchi-jjigae, doenjang-jjigae, sogogi-gukbap, and more. Individual special menus are available to order for customers in groups.


Jeollanam-do(Haenam-gun)

'Haemaru Healing Forest is a guesthouse situated at the foot of Duryunsan Mountain, Haenam in front of Wondo Beach and surrounded by a cypress grove. The mountain, cypress grove, and beach are all visible from the main floored hall room. For this reason, many of the guests who stayed here say that the picturesque view seems to change day by day. The town where the guesthouse is located is specially designed as a 'hanok village,' consisting mostly of traditional Korean houses of Jeollanam-do. It is also widely known as 'Haenam Kimchi Village' because of their famous cabbages, which are grown in the natural environment and are used to make kimchi. Specifically, there are three villages in this area: 'Green Experience Village,' 'Farm Stay Village,' and 'Resort Village.' There is a public swimming pool in the area managed by the villagers and is very popular among visitors, with ticket sales reaching KRW 100,000,000 a year. One of the advantages of staying at this guesthouse is that it’s within a one-hour ride to a number of popular nature destinations such as Wando Cheongsando Island, Gangjin Dasan Chodang, Jangheung Cheongwansan Mountain, Woodland, and Yeongam Wolchunsan Mountain. Haenam is known as one of the best regions of Korea for enjoying the famous Jeolla-do cuisine, so visitors to Haenam are advised to try the local food. The villagers built these traditional Korean guesthouses so that their visitors can have a day of relaxation in nature, away from their hectic city life. With this mind, they used natural pinewood and red clay from Gangwon-do to build authentic traditional Korean houses and utilized traditional Korean tiles from Goryeong. The name 'Haemaru Healing Forest' was given by the owner of the guesthouse, with the subtitle 'A place where you can tell your story.' The guesthouse buildings are in 'ㄱ' shape. The main building, called 'anchae' in Korean, has floor area of 72m², which is big enough for up to 25 people. There are two rooms, a large living room, and a kitchen in this building. The rooms are furnished with sofa, television, air conditioner, refrigerator, and table just like an ordinary home so that guests can feel at home during their stay. The 'bakkatchae,' or 'detached house,' is a single room with capacity of 6 and is furnished with air conditioner and bathroom. The guesthouse is owned by a couple who still work in Seoul and need to travel back and forth between Seoul and Haenam frequently. They're both nature lovers, so their most favorite place in the house is the kitchen garden where they cultivate their own organic lettuce, perilla leaves, and chili peppers. The kitchen garden is open to guests who want to try the homegrown organic vegetables. Various experience programs are offered here as well, such as yunnori, dadeumi, jwibulnori, and kimchi making. Jwibulnori is a traditional Korean game played on the eve of Daeboreum or First Full Moon Day, where people burn dry grass on the ridges of rice paddies and fields and others spin cans of flames attached to the end of a stick or a sling. For safety reasons, this game is played with the consent and participation of the villagers, so be sure to ask the owner of the guesthouse when the game is played. It’s free for groups of more than 10 people. As for the kimchi-making class, it is offered by the guesthouse owner's younger brother and sister-in-law who live and run a kimchi factory in the village. They will teach you how to make kimchi, step-by-step, start to end. The kimchi-making class is a paid program, so be sure to ask the guesthouse owner how much and when the class is held.


Daegu(Dalseo-gu)

Keimyung Art Center covers an area of 10,000 square meters with three upper floors and two basement floors. It is equipped with 1,954 seats and cutting-edge stage facilities for hosting diverse genres of performance arts like operas, musicals, concerts, plays, and dance. Since its opening in October 2008, the center has been greatly contributing in facilitating communication with a broad audience and increasing cultural opportunities for Daegu citizens. The center also arranges various social restoration and educational programs.


Seoul(Seocho-gu)

Hosted by the National Gugak Center, the regular recital program showcases music and dance performances from 4 different themes. The “Court Music Orchestra” performs the royal ancestral ritual and music played in Jongmyo Shrine, the “Contemporary Gugak Orchestra” plays the best of Korean traditional music, the “Dance Theater, Jeongjae with Commentaries” performs the story of the last Crown Prince of the Joseon Era, and the “Folk Music Group” harmonizes across a variety of genres. The Gugak Center aims to promote public interest in traditional Korean music as well as offering continuous support towards the success of this valued cultural heritage by hosting regular performances.


Busan(Nam-gu)

Munhwa Ssambap serves up delicious ssambap (leaf wraps and rice) at reasonable prices.