South Korea with Iris

What is Korea-style skincare? Which cosmetic brands to choose?  Korean cosmetics are becoming increasingly popular worldwide, with hundreds or even thousands of brands available in various stores globally. Many girls are embracing the multi-step skincare routine, and K-beauty trends are gradually taking over the world. However, with this surge in popularity comes a growing number of counterfeit products, low-quality items, and unreliable information about skincare and cosmetics. As a result, consumers find it increasingly challenging to choose the right, reliable, high-quality, and original products.  Unfortunately, a significant portion of people lack knowledge about skincare and struggle to select products tailored to their skin type. This can lead to suboptimal results or, in the worst-case scenario, skin issues such as breakouts, dryness, flakiness, disruption of the skin's hydrolipidic balance, and more. To avoid these problems and not waste money on ineffective or unsuitable

Today I invite you to the past! Let’s take a look at Korea a few years ago. The thing that I really like in Korea is how government and people respect and try to save their history. And they do it in a very unique and creative way. One of the examples is Donuimun Museum Village, which was officially opened in 2015 (If I am not mistaken). Short history Donuimun was the main gate of the west Hanyang city wall which was first built in 1396 but then was closed in 1413 because of the damage to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Then the gate was renamed New Saemun and the area inside it was called Saemunangol or Saemunan district. In 1915 during the Japanese rule, Donuimun was demolished in order to expand the road. From the 1960s individual houses were renovated into tutorial rooms and prestigious schools, so that area was associated with private education. But later these schools were moved to the Gangnam area. In the 1990s, many houses were transformed into restaurants. When most of the buildings we

Are you ready for an online tour? Today our destination is a well-known Buddhist temple Bongeunsa Temple. There are a few Buddhist temples with a men ‘Bongeunsa’ in Seoul. But the most famous one is the one which is located in the centre of Seoul, close to the business centre COEX. A little bit of history… The temple’s history sacrifices a very long history which starts from the Silla dynasty and continues today. The temple was built in 794 and it was called the Gyeongsonsa Temple. According to Samguksa (history of 3 states), the monk Yong-hwe was living near Mountain Yonghuk and was studying Buddhist sutras. He was the chief monk in the state of Silla. In addition, in the 38th book of Samguksa it is noted that among the seven main royal memorial monasteries (Sachuwang-sa (사천왕사), Bongseonsa (봉선사), Gameunsa (감은사), Bongdeoksa (봉덕사), Youngmosa(영모사), Youngheunsa (영흥사), Bongyeunsa(봉은사)) there is a temple of Bongyeunsa. During the reign of Silla, Buddhist temples played an important role. Th

Time flies and it is almost 2020. Everyone is busy with work, home stuff, and New Year preparations. People are staying in the lines to shops. Many stores sell a lot of beautiful and yummy things. Because everyone wants to buy gifts for their friends and family. In one word, Christmas is everywhere. However, in South Korea and in the most part of South-East Asia New Year atmosphere is a little bit different. December 25th and Lunar New Year are significant holidays in South Korea, but not December 31st. Lunar New Year changes from year to year according to the Lunar Calendar. Usually, it is mid of January or February. This year New Year in Korea will come on January 25. And Korea will rest for 4 days! Maybe you will think it is super short, especially if we compare winter holidays in Russia. But for Koreans having at least 1 extra vacation day means a lot. Korean New Year or Lunar New Year is called Seollal (설날). Many shops and public places are usually closed during the holidays. Seol

What does come to your mind when you hear the word Samsung? Digital and Electric stuff? Cell phones? TV? Notebook? Right. But, Samsung is also the founder of the largest amusement park in South Korea, which is called Everland. The park is located in Yeonin city and was built in 1976. Yeonin city is close to Seoul, about 50km from the centre of Seoul. It will take about 1–1,5hours to get there by bus. There are a few buses which go directly to Everland. There are 2 parks in Everland: water park Caribbean Bay and amusement park Everland. They are close to each other, just on opposite sides. And you can buy the tickets in front of the entrance. And you can decide whether to go one to one of them, or to both of them. So what about the ticket price? Adult ticket costs 54,000KRW or 54$. A youth ticket costs 46,000KRW or 46$. Tickets for kids cost 43,000KRW or 43$. Also, besides a one-day pass, there are evening tickets, which are about 9 dollars cheaper than regular tickets. The entrance wit