Konjiam Ski Resort (photo by ENRICO AFRICA JOSE)

"In five to 10 years, we will have a package tour of North and South Korea, including Pyongyang.”

Short but full of hope, this statement came from our tour guide Kris Shin as she shepherded us for four days into South Korea’s ski resorts, mountain villages, a theme park called Everland  and other tourist attractions. It sent shivers down my spine as I imagined the people of the Korean Peninsula caught in what was believed to be a “proxy war” between two superpowers 59 years ago. It was a heartfelt wish spoken aloud.

But today, renewal and hope are the key words for Korea’s upbeat tourism industry and tour operators are giving it a second, even a third look. Korean Air, the world’s largest and critically acclaimed commercial airline cargo operator recently organized a familiarization tour of Korea’s most charming region: Gyeonggi-do province.  It was my second time in Korea, my first in Gyeonggi-do, and it won’t be my last.

Where the past, present, and future come together

Geographically, Gyeonggi-do surrounds Seoul and is the center and economic hub of South Korea. It is home to Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage and a masterpiece of the Joseon Dynasty. Aside from its cultural heritage, Gyeonggi-do has become the center of Hallyu (the Korean Wave) as it has been a favorite filming location for many well-known Korean TV dramas and movies, including Dae Jang Geum, JSA, My Sassy Girl, Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, and King and the Clown.

Arriving at 5:02 a.m. at Incheon International Airport, we went straight to Petite France, a quaint French culture village in Gapyeong County that is devoted to Antoine Marie Roger de Saint Exupery’s The Little Prince, a book of my childhood. In Petite France, we sat on 70-year-old chairs, listened to the smooth and soothing sound of a 110-year-old grand orgel, walked into a 200-year-old French house, looked at the Maestro’s office which was where they filmed portions of the TV drama Beethoven Virus, and ate present-day waffles while the autumn skies released flurries!

Next stop: Naminara Republic

Situated 63 kilometers from Seoul in the middle of the Han River, Nami Island, the main filming location of the hit Korean drama Winter Sonata, looks like a leaf floating gracefully on top of Cheongpyeong Lake. The island was named after General Nami, a brave figure in Korean history who courageously fought many battles and died at the young age of 26. Ferries that look like Moby Dick transport visitors to the island of romance and relaxation every 10-20 minutes.

We had our first taste of (artificial) snow at Konjiam Resort in Gwangju which has the largest ski slopes in the area (11 double-width slopes for beginners), 476 condominium rooms, a spa, golf course and other subsidiary facilities. The next day, we tried another ski resort – the Yangji Pine Resort, an all-season recreational complex located in the stunning landscapes of the Dokjosan Mountains. Here, we saw rooms that feature ondol, the traditional Korean heating system on the floor.

Kimchi is Korea!

On our second day, we learned it was going to be a very cold day at -7˚C. And so we thought, if ondol was to the floor, kimchi would do for our soul! So off we went to Pungmi Foods Co., Ltd., a kimchi factory that has been in the business for 23 years! Its lady president, the lovely Yoo Jung Im, even gave us delegates the chance to don traditional hanbok for picture-taking. As our guide Kris repeatedly told us: “Memory disappears but a picture is forever.” We saw first hand the art of kimchi-making, tried it ourselves, and developed a taste for the spicy, crunchy and healthy side dish.

The li-ger in Everland

While Gyeonggi-do is home to large corporations such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai-Kia Motors Group, it also has popular theme parks such as Everland (named 4th most popular theme park by Forbes in 2005), Gwacheon Seoul Land, Tiger World, and Aiin’s World. In Everland, the top honchos of the travel and tours industry became children again as they tried out 41 attractions and rides, including Safari World, the only safari complex in the world that features a new breed of liger – an animal born out of a father lion and a mother tiger. We topped this fun day off with a kalbi dinner at a local restaurant and stayed the night at the Ibis Ambassador in Suwon, the provincial capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do.

E.S.P., S.S.S. and 10 Layers of make-up

For us to enjoy our trip 200 -300 percent, yes, our tour guide incessantly taught us E.S.P. and S.S.S. Of course, the initials were far from what we know of as Extra Sensory Perception and Social Security System. In Korea, E.S.P. stands for Eating, Shopping and Picture-Taking, while S.S.S. is short for (again) Shopping, Sleeping and sho pien which, roughly translated, means going to the toilet.

But going to the toilet was far from our minds as we started our third day in Gyenggi-do with a beauty class at the Face Shop academy. We’ve always marveled at the pore-less and porcelain-like skin of Koreans and so we discovered that they spend hours of putting on layers and layers of skin products. Shopping is a must-include in your itinerary, especially the ginseng duty free, the Dongwha Duty Free and Meongdong. Lunch for us was the stamina-restoring ginseng chicken soup which is a distant relative of our chicken arroz caldo.

We all tried our hands at ice-carving at the Ice Gallery and rewarded ourselves with a buffet dinner! After-dinner entertainment was at the Nanta show where knives and other kitchen utensils are transformed into musical instruments in the hands of the five lead performers. We finally get to spend the night in Seoul, at the Novotel Ambassador Gangnam.

Amethyst, Gimpo, and Incheon

Korea is sparkling as its motto says but none more radiant than the amethyst pieces shown to us at the Jeil Amethyst Co. You thought shopping ended the previous day? Wrong. On our way to Gimpo Airport to visit Korean Air’s head office, we ended up snapping up great finds at the amethyst factory and the Korean Food & Souvenir Supermarket. At Korean Air, we saw chopped up B-777s and 747s that were being used for flight training. To beef up its fleet, Korean Air acquired 10 A-380s, believed to be the biggest modern aircraft in the world.

Incheon International Airport is Korea’s Gateway to Northeast Asia. It was voted the Best Airport Worldwide for four straight years and World’s Best Airport for 2009 by Skytrax. But Incheon’s humble airport assistant manager In-Kie Na said they are not interested in being No. 1. “Our priority is to give happiness and satisfactory service to our customers.”

Travel agents speak

Norma Cacho, president of North Star International Travel, Inc. said Korea is perfect for packaging for gourmet cum shopping tours as well as adventure tours for young travelers. For her part, Cheryll Anne Trivino of Travel Saver (Phils.) said the four-day experience that we just went through would be perfect for a group of 16 traveling Pinoys who are Korean telenovela addicts.

For Prudent Choice’s Jane Coyiuto Cuyegkeng, Marsman Drysdale’s Tita Incognito, Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s Melma Sayson, Mylene Monzon of Karilagan International Travel & Tours, Uni Orient’s Beth Tan, Turnavigators’ Chat Jetomo, Las Palmas’ Rey Amado, Instone’s Maricon Bitagon, Fiesta Tours’ Willy de la Cruz, Reli Tours’ Dos Lirio and Rakso Air’s Jusin Park, Korea is the destination for: 1) Korean telenovela addicts; 2) theme parks akin to the best in other parts of the world; 3) skiing experience that is closer to home (just 3 ½ hours travel); 4) honeymoon; and (our tour guide was right) 5) eating, shopping, and picture-taking or E.S.P.!

It’s the onset of winter in Korea and we found this to be the best time to explore gigantic theme parks the whole day without sweating, to eat spicy food, and to go shopping and skiing. What are you waiting for? Aja! (Let’s go!)

(Korean Air flies to Incheon twice a day and to Busan four times a week. For reservations, please call 789-3700.)