Korea Observer

Seoul has announced the winners of its Facebook contest  Seoul Campaign (Seoul, My ______). "The winners of the Seoul trip, LG Tapbooks, LifeGrams were selected by the sum of Shares and Likes. The winners of the Photobooks were selected at random," according to Seoul's Facebook page.  It added, " If you find your name on the list below, please send a message with your full name, phone number, and address to HiSeoul Facebook.  Winners can be cancelled if you don't send your personal information for prize delivery and shipping  by March 27th."

Here is a big surprise ONLY for our Indonesia fans of Seoul!!!  Seoul is going to give away 30 tickets for the MBLAQ concert in Indonesia.

Experience the Chuseok holiday in Seoul this year! Just make a video of you and your friend cooking up a Korean dish and upload it onto our YouTube channel. You may be one of the five lucky teams to be selected to win a 'Delicious Seoul Story' trip to Seoul that includes airfare, hotel accommodation, a gourmet food tour, and classes with master Korean chefs! Entry Period Submissions must be entered between  12:00 Korean Standard Time (KST) on July 2, 2012 and 17:00 Korean Standard Time (KST) on August 10, 2012. Eligibility Only non-Korean citizens residing outside of South Korea can enter. Winners Announcement Winners will be contacted individually via e-mail and will also be announced on the website ( http://welcome.visitseoul.net)   on August 17, 2012 Korean Standard Time.  * The dates for the "Delicious SEOUL story" trip are set for September 17, 2012 - September 21, 2012 and cannot be changed.  If a winning team is unavailable for...

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will be giving away signed copies of Xiah Junsu's "Tarantallegra" album.  Joining the contest is easy.  Xiah Junsu's "Tarantallegra" album (Photo courtesy of Seoul, Korea Facebook page)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Some 10 Filipinos in South Korea have qualified as regional finalists in the DZMM World Caravan Global Pinoy Singing Idol contest. According to Fe Kim, a Filipino married to a Korean and president of the Filipino Korean Spouses Association, 21 Filipinos in Korea joined the elimination round last month held at the conference hall of the Philippine Embassy in Itaewon, Seoul. The 10 regional finalists of the Global Pinoy Singing Idol contest at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul (Photos courtesy of Jack Rusl )

Seoul Grand Park is holding its festival of festivals, the Rose Festival, from Friday May 25 to Sunday July 1, 2012 at its Theme Garden, which is located right beside the Seoul Zoo. Korea’s largest rose festival kicks off at the same time the park begins to open until 10PM every night.

For me, Seoul is VIBRANT.  It is a city that is rapidly changing with technological advancement. This modernization is complemented with the preservation of Seoul's rich cultural and historical heritage and warmth from the people of Seoul. (Jonathan Hicap)  You can also view this photo at   http://twitter. com /Jonah_writer/status/207126504507838467/photo/1/large

Seoul Metropolitan Government will hold a Free Speech Corner every Saturday from 12:00 to 16:00. Using the ‘Let me talk!’ stage in Cheonggye Plaza, Seoul citizens or foreigners visiting Seoul will be able to speak publicly about events , their impressions of Seoul, or any other topic. (Photo courtesy of http://english.seoul.go.kr)