Sunday, March 25, 2012

Korean Culture and Information Service Review

KOCIS was inaugurated as the Overseas Information Center under the Ministry of Culture and Information in 1971 to introduce Korean culture to the world and uplift the national image of Korea.

Compared to the past, when armaments and economic power were valued, the importance of "soft power" - scientific technology, cultural exchanges, international solidarity, and so on - is growing. The core of soft power is culture. KOCIS has introduced Korea to the world and the importance of its role as a means of consolidating ties with neighboring countries, using cultural exchange as an intermediary, has grown.

Korea has successfully and simultaneously achieved internationally-recognized economic growth and democratization, and transformed itself from a country receiving international aid from developed countries, to one giving it.

The modern wave of Korean popular culture known as "Hallyu" has been spreading throughout the world, and people of many different nations have come to embrace various aspects of it. KOCIS has shared Korea's accumulated knowledge in the areas of economic growth and scientific technology, as well as its highly developed culture, with the people of the world. As a strong advocate for Korea, KOCIS has been pursuing ways to communicate Korean art and culture and Korean peoples' warm and sincere hearts with the citizens of the world. To that end, 41 resident officers working at 36 locations (including cultural centers) in 31 countries have been working to build a kind of "Korea premium" brand. As Korea's electronic doorway to the world, Korea.net strives to carefully answer the various questions and requests from our readers and visitors, and to stimulate their further curiosity.

3-4 Fl., Fnc, Kolon Corp, 15, Hyojaro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Tel : 82-2-3981-800 , Fax : 82-2-3981-882

Health care in Korea Review

Health care in Korea is inexpensive and effective.  If you're planning on getting sick, or having a a few surgical adjustments, do so while visiting over here.

As a foreign teacher/worker in Korea, health insurance will be compulsory with your employer paying 50% of the monthly premium.  This insurance has proven to be a life saver on several occasions for me.  Once I was hospitalized after a motorcycle accident my hospital fees was surprisingly low until I realised that the medical insurance had covered almost 80% of the bill.  It will also significantly lower your bill when going to doctors or dentists.

Doctors can almost always speak English fairly well and will even be familiar with fancy medical terms that you yourself might not even now.  This is because many of them have been educated in Western countries and had to study from English textbooks.  So when going to the doctor, communication is one thing you don't have to worry about.

Doctors often set up their own practices or work at hospitals.  Small hospitals can be found on every street corner.  For specialized conditions or for something more serious than the common cold you might need to go to a large hospital.  These usually have a variety of specialists and are generally more expensive than their smaller counterparts.

Korea

KTO News Review

The “Korea Always Welcomes You” campaign is a joint initiative between the KTO and Visit Korea Year to create a safer and more pleasant environment for tourism in Korea. In addition to providing travel safety tips such as “How to use the 1330 TT Call Center” and “How to tell Call vans from Jumbo Taxi,” the campaign aims to engage local citizens in accomplishing its mission.

The ‘1330 TT Call Center’ is a 24-hour tourist information hotline that offers useful tips for travel in Korea as well as interpretation services. In an emergency situation, the Call Center may be used to reach the National Police Agency (112).

When it comes to transportation, there are several different options to choose from. Call vans and jumbo taxis are a couple of them. Call vans are used for transporting only passengers with large freight or luggage, whereas jumbo taxis are for transporting passengers with or without luggage. Call vans are prohibited from carrying taxi installations (e.g. roof sign, meter, etc.) or transporting passengers without luggage. Call van fares are self-regulated (i.e. negotiable), whereas jumbo taxi fares are metered.

Jung-gu, Seoul, Korea 100-180
02-7299-600

The War Memorial of Korea Review

It's a great location to go see what brought this great nation from it's humble beginnings to the powerhouse it is today. First the good. It's not expensive and most weekends it's absolutely free. Tours are offered in English and other languages ... if they can get volunteers. The Koreans sincerely appreciated the UN help for the defense of their country and they will tell you that repeatedly. The museum is laid out on the timeline pre-war to post-war with a display of current weaponary the Korean Army uses today. Now the bad, there really isn't any downside to the museum. It's located between 3 different metro lines, the US base, and the Korean Army HQ. I-Park mall is about a 10 minute walk or you can go to Itaewon 10 minutes the other direction.

Impressive and moving wall of names of fallen soldiers from every country that fought to defend South Korea in the Korean War. Nice lifesized dioramas of Vietnam and Korean War era involvements; left me hungry for more on the Korean War. The mueum has a broad scope of Korean wartime history, from ancient times to present. If you want Korean culture, the most interesting and informative is the Folk Museum; Korean history is in the equally fantastic National Museum; and there are specialty museums (all free) about King Sejong, the proponent of the Hangul alphabet, and about Admiral Yi, who thrashed Japanese invaders with his turtle boats. The war memorial is huge and has a mix of displays for all ages.

1-8, Yongsan-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 140-021, South Korea
02-709-3139

Zen Zen Barbecue Review

Wow! Zen Zen is a great place to find your Kalbi fix.  The only place that could have topped this was my friends late mother who used to cook for us back in the 90's.  May her soul rest in peace.  But back to the food!  The Kalbi is very delicious and the way the waitress cooks it for you just barely charred makes all the taste better.  The Kimchi is lacking the spice, to me it is just a tickle, nothing to fan your mouth about.  Dumplings are decent.  Everything else is fair compared to the Kalbi!  The staff is great, environment as well is a nice touch.  Highly recommend this to anyone who is trying Korean food for the first time, you will not be disappointed.  Yeah their maybe better ones in Queens, but if your in NJ why bother going to somewhere that is always packed and plus the traffic?

Holy cow, Batman! This place is the best. Never have I ever eaten a whole plate of yumyum beef and then asked for more when someone else was paying for it. (Okay, so it was my brother. Perks in being the younger Asian brother) We had chadolbegi and yumyum kogi and boy, was it yumyum yum yum. I could probably just say that in the entire review and people would get the point. YUM. Waitresses are excellent too. A bit on the older side but super friendly.

356 Bergen Blvd
Fairview, NJ 07022
(201) 840-1820