Korea is bustling with winter festivals

Activities and festivals mainly take place in Gangwon-do and Gyeonggi-do provinces. Some typical festivals include:

Yangpyeong Trout Fishing Festival – Gyeonggi-do: Visitors to the festival can experience many exciting programs including trout fishing on ice, playing folk games, sledding, etc. After catching the trout, they can be processed right at a nearby restaurant. The festival lasts until February 26, 2016.

Ice and Snow Festival in Alpensia - Gangwondo: considered one of the world's top winter festivals, held at Alpensia Resort - one of the venues for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Visitors will enjoy beautiful sculptures made from ice and snow on a large scale such as the Colosseum, Tiananmen, Tajmahal, etc. until February 28, 2016.

Jeju Fire Festival: takes place from March 3 to March 6, 2016, this is an annual festival held at the beginning of the year to pray for health and a good harvest for the new year. This is one of the festivals with many unique side events that help visitors participate in playing folk games or enjoy the beautiful natural landscapes of Jeju Island.

In late March and early April, in the warm spring, when Korea is covered in pink cherry blossoms, if you come to Korea at this time, you will be able to admire the beautiful scenery of cherry blossoms blooming on both sides of the road. Some typical festivals include the cherry blossom festival in Yeouido (Seoul), the cherry blossom festival in Jinhae (near Busan),... Especially, if you come to the cherry blossom festival in Gyeongju City, you can participate in the "Cherry Blossom Marathon" taking place on April 9, 2016. Currently, TST Tourist Company has opened this unique product for sale, visitors will have the opportunity to participate in an annual, famous, interesting sports activity and receive attractive rewards from the organizers.

For incentive travel groups, starting from January 1, 2016, KTO applies a new support policy. Groups of 10-49 guests are supported with gifts; groups of 50-499 guests are supported with gifts and can choose 1 of 3 additional contents including: welcoming activities when the group arrives at the airport in Korea, or tickets to art performances or tickets to tourist attractions, the total gift value is equivalent to 15,000 won/person. As for groups of 500 guests or more, in addition to the support equivalent to 15,000 won/person mentioned above, groups can also receive other support after agreement. Korea is always considered one of the best incentive travel destinations and KTO always strives to maintain and promote this type of tourism.

According to information from the Korea Tourism Organization in Vietnam, starting from February 1, 2016, KTO will have a change in senior personnel. Mr. Jung Chang Wook has officially taken office as Chief Representative of KTO in Vietnam, continuing to act as a bridge between Vietnam and Korea, promoting and developing Korean tourism in the Vietnamese market. Before taking up his position in the Vietnamese market, Mr. Jung Chang Wook worked at KTO's representative office in Hong Kong (1999-2002), London (2009-2012) and held the position of Director of the Convention Department at the Korea Tourism Organization. Along with this change, KTO in Vietnam will have many attractive promotional activities, supporting travel companies and tourists with new experiences in Korea.

The Thanh