Last October 25 to 25, Korean Travel Mart was held at the activity center of Glorietta. I was able to attend the said event on the first day.

The said activity was organized by the Korean Tourism Organization - Manila. It offered a lot of activities, freebies and performance to its visitors.

First stop, KPOP channel on Cable Link (available in the Philippines). I forgot what the exact channel is but it is something between 30 to 39 on HD. I am so sorry about that. If you are a Cable Link subscriber just call their hotline to add this Kpop channel on your list.

The PKCI (Philippine Kpop Convention Inc) was also present in the said event. PKCI. They were giving free-stubs for the fan signing of NOM. 

If you want to be updated on the latest happening in the Kpop World here in the Philippines be sure to follow PKCI on their facebook and other SNS accounts. 

PCKI Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/philkpopcomm

The Painters: Hero booth was just next to PKCI.

There was also a free photo booth but I failed to take some pictures. :)

Now, this was one of the things that I love during the festival,... HANBOK!!! :) I've been wanting to try hanbok for along time and tada~~~ I got try it for free. The events offered free trial of Hanbok for their visitors courtesy of Hanbok Palace Philippines. 

With my delulu friend :)

If you want to rent or buy costumes, you can visit Hanbok Palace Philippines' facebook page or you may call them at 0948-242-1169. They are actually based on Laguna, but they can ship the item/s for you if you are from Manila. As far as I remember the staff in their both said that they can also do meet - up. She also mentioned the the lowest rate for the rental would be Php600.

I went there during last time and I was really hungry when I arrived, good thing there was Chef Mimi. 

Chef Mimi taught her visitors how to make delicious Kimbap. 

The best part,, I got to try this Kimbap for free. This part saved my stomach from crying too much. :) The Kimbap was really delicious.

Now, let's go to the KTO-Manila booth,

These visitors were lining up to get their freebies from KTO. By liking the SNS page of KTO-Manila, they got free posters from KTO-Manila. I was able get mine also. :) 

There were travel agencies and airline companies present in the event. They offer great travel and tour packages to Korea this Autumn and Winter. Anyone who booked their tour in the event, received a special gift from KTO-Manila. 

 So, if you are planning a trip to Korea anytime soon, make sure to visit these travel agencies to know the latest promo and pick the best tour package that will suit your needs and of course your budget. :)

One of the performances that I enjoy the most was from The Painters: Hero. The Painters: Hero is an innovative art performance that stages the mind-blowing skills of love drawing with incredible visual effects filled with a witty blend of mime, dance and comedy right before your eyes. Rather than a finding satisfaction from a complete artwork, The Painters:Hero embodies and shares the joy and awe-inspiring journey of creating works of an art with the audience.

The Painters:Hero has been performing in major cities including Tokyo, Singapore, Hongkong, Shanghai, Beijing, Bangkok and Hollywood and it has been praised as a one-of-a-kind show.

Here are some video clips of their performances :)

Now for the Kpop fans, KTO has invited NOM (No Other Man), a Korean Boy group,  for a special performance. Here's NOM singing Pusong Bato.. Yes, you heard it right.. Pusong Bato, which is an OPM song.

For the last part, we had Chef Mimi again, This time, it was bibimbap.Yey! My favorite!! :)

Thank you for reading! :) 

Seoul has had a bustling industry of coffee shops, tea shops and cafes in recent years, and now another trend that is setting a new standard is the theme cafe. Relaxing in a cafe often involves sipping coffee and endless chatting, and the uniquely themed cafes take the experience to a new level. These thematic dining establishments show their creativity not just through stimulating the taste buds, but through all the other senses as well.

Here's our list of theme cafes, coffee shops, dessert shops and restaurants that are worth a visit in the areas of Hongdae, Itaewon and Gangnam!

AIR CAFE (비행기카페)

Air Cafe is an airplane theme brunch restaurant where you can feel the excitement and anticipation of going overseas. Seating is divided into ”economy” seats for parties of two and ”business” seats for larger parties. Also, customers wanting to get the feeling of traveling abroad or even those planning a trip abroad can browse the many travel brochures and books available in the restaurant.

Address: 2F, 42 Dongmak-ro 7-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

HOHO MYOLL (호호미욜)

Stroll down to Hoho Myoll to get a sense of the bohemian lifestyle of a nomadic traveler. The first thing that stands out is the classic Volkswagen Type 2 van parked inside the store. This adds immensely to the vintage, hippie-esque interior, and will make you want to hop into the driver’s seat and get out of town for a road trip.

The name of the coffee shop comes from the name of the owner’s cat, who is there to greet customers in the store. Hoho Myoll also offers educational programs, such as latte art and coffee blending, although only in Korean.

Address: 50 Wausan-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

SOMETHING OUT (썸띵아웃)

Something Out is a camping theme coffee shop that also sells camping supplies. Its carefully-designed interior is changed for each season, and is continuously updated to reflect realistic camping trends. On sunny days, you can enjoy coffee and camping meals on the terrace.

Address: 4-13 Donggyo-ro 39-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

NEEDLE STORY(바늘이야기)

Needle Story is a yarn store with a theme coffee shop upstairs where you can get drinks and desserts! The place is decorated with a display section, a learning section and a book section where you can get books to help you learn how to knit. There are a mutiple locations in Seoul, of which this Ehwa branch is the biggest!

Address: 162 Sinchon-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul

GET& SHOW CAFE (겟앤쇼 카페)

Get & Show Cafe is a Lego theme dessert cafe, one of the branches by Bricks Korea. Families with young children or lego lovers should add this coffee shop to your list of must-see places in Seoul.

The shop is easy to spot, as the giant Lego man above the door and giant Lego characters in the display window make it hard to miss. Inside the store, customers get to browse a vast collection of Lego merchandise, including castles and houses adorned with various Lego characters. This makes the experience a lot more fun.

The shop is also an official Lego retailer, so customers can not only browse but take home their own limited edition Lego sets to put together at home.

Address: 2F, 27 Dongmak-ro 3-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

ANDO (안도 카페)

Ando is a calm, relaxing coffee shop located in the heart of Itaewon. It is decorated with antique furniture yet with a modern interior design. Not only do they serve coffee, but many of the furniture items have price tags on them, in which case you can actually purchase many of these vintage items. The shop is perfect for enjoying the sunny weather on a roof top terrace.

Address: 4F, 216 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

BLüTE (블뤼테 카페)

Meaning “flower” in German, this little dining establishment takes on its name with an interior full of bouquets and flowers, as well as orders served with a small bouquet for the table. Customers can really feel the uniqueness and authenticity of the shop, especially its delicious brunch and Gouda cheese sandwich, thanks to the owner’s 15 years of experience living in Germany.

Address: 51 Hannam-daero 20-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

BANANA TREE (바나나트리)

With a full-on banana concept, they say this cafe Was made popular by a member of the K-pop idol group U-Kiss. Inspired by New York City’s Magnolia Bakery, one of this establishment’s most popular items is their Somsom Latte, a latte with cotton candy-covered banana inside, as well as a banana tiramisu in the shape of a flower vase, enhancing the banana theme with its interior, drinks and food.

Address: 259 Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

MOM'S COOKIE (맘스쿠키)

Mom’s Cookie is known for delicious cookies made with environmentally-friendly products. The way the store works is simple: since the store itself is quite small, customers order their cookie set with decorations in advance, and then just go pick them up and decorate them yourself! The decoration sets include a cookie decorating instrument as well as chocolate and vanilla decorations. The sets come with cute packaging for you to put your cookies in once you’re finished decorating them. There is even an easy to read instruction manual for those who are unsure of their artistic cookie-decorating abilities. They also serve drinks at low prices to wash down the cookies later.

Address: 29 Seochojungang-ro 20-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul

ASSOULINE LOUNGE (애술린 라운지)

Art, fashion and design are this international publisher’s specialty. With locations in various countries, this branch in Sinsa-dong is its only location in Asia. Assouline Lounge is equipped with a kitchen as well, so you can enjoy French wines and meals as you browse the art display area and its sophisticated interior.

Address: 11 Dosan-daero 45-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Source: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/