K-Culture Takes the Spotlight: Yim Si-wan and PUNCH to Headline Korea Travel Fair 2025

Hi Huneybees,

Get ready, Singapore! Korea Travel Fair 2025: Your Gateway to K-Culture is returning to Plaza Singapura from 16 - 18 May 2025 (Friday to Sunday), and this year, all eyes are on two special guests: K-drama star Yim Si-wan and popular OST singer PUNCH.

Organised by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), this year’s fair also marks a special occasion - 50 years of diplomatic friendship between Korea and Singapore. But it’s the star-studded lineup that’s got fans buzzing.

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Meet Your Hallyu Idols Up Close

The Opening Ceremony on 17 May will be the can’t-miss moment of the weekend.

PUNCH, known for her soulful voice on countless K-drama soundtracks, will take the stage to perform live, bringing beloved drama scenes to life through her music.

Following that, Yim Si-wan, who was celebrated for roles in Misaeng, Run On, and Boyhood, will host an intimate Celebrity Travel Talk. Expect insider stories from his hometown of Busan, his favourite Korean destinations, and a sneak peek into his upcoming role in Squid Game Season 3, premiering this June.

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Beyond the Celebrities – Discover the Best of Korea

While the celebrities are a major draw, the fair offers a full weekend of cultural discovery, travel deals, and immersive activities across two areas -  Plaza Singapura’s Main Atrium and The Alley.

Here’s what else to look forward to:

• Over 20 booths featuring travel deals from Jeju, Busan, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeollanam-do, and major travel agencies like ASA Holidays, Chan Brothers, EU Holidays, and more. All bookings made during Korea Travel Fair 2025 will be entitled to one gift redemption.
  *Additional online promotions, including offers from airlines, travel agents, and OTAs, can be found at: tripzilla.sg/korea.

• Interactive K-beauty and K-fashion workshops with brands like INNISFREE, BEAUTY PLAY, and JUNGSAEMMOOL.

• Fun activities like DIY crafts, digital games, travel quizzes, and themed zones to explore different facets of Korean culture.

• The Passport Challenge, where completing fun tasks across the fair wins you a curated blind box gift. Those who complete all five tasks can redeem a specially curated blind box gift. Daily lucky draws will also be held. 
  *Full programme schedule available here. 

• Daily lucky draws with amazing prizes, including luggage, dining vouchers, and even return flight tickets to Korea for two.

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Focus on Southern Korea: From Jeju to Jeollanam-do

This year’s spotlight is on Korea’s stunning southern regions:

• Jeju Island and Busan, both favourites among Singaporean travellers.

• Gyeongsangnam-do, home to peaceful mountain temples and scenic port towns.

• Jeollanam-do, known for its lush landscapes, green tea fields, and rich food culture.

Whether you’re planning your first trip or looking for hidden gems, this is the perfect chance to explore it all in one place.

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Celebrate 50 Years of Friendship Through Culture and Travel

Alongside the celebrity appearances, the Opening Ceremony also includes a special performance by the National Gugak Centre, fusing Korean traditional music with familiar Singaporean melodies, and an energetic showcase by JUMP! Comic Martial Arts.

Korea Travel Fair 2025 promises to bring the very best of K-Culture under one roof - from K-beauty and K-fashion to K-food, K-heritage, and the global K-wave.

Korea Travel Fair 2025: Your Gateway to K-Culture
📍 Plaza Singapura
📅 16–18 May 2025 (Fri–Sun)
🕥 10:30 AM – 9:00 PM

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to connect with Korea’s top stars and culture all in one place.
For more info on Korea Travel Fair, see website here.

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Secret's Out : Jay Park & Traveloka To Join AXN's "Asia's Got Talent" Family

Hi Huneybees,

The record-breaking series - Asia’s Got Talent - returns to AXN in October this year with 10 episodes comprising five judges’ auditions, three semi-finals, the finale and the results show where the winner will be revealed, and awarded a cash prize of USD 100,000 from Traveloka. 

Yup, Traveloka - Southeast Asia’s leading app for all hotel and flight needs, has joined in as the new presenting sponsor of the program. With this sponsor on board, one winner with the most vote from audience will receive a major prize from the sponsor - the Traveloka Awards!

Mr Christian Suwarna, Traveloka Senior Vice President of Business Development with Asia's Got Talent Season 2 Judges - David Foster, Anggun and Jay Park

The selection criteria for the Traveloka award will be based on the uniqueness of the participant’s talent and their connection story with family and friends. For each week, during the first five episodes, two acts will be highlighted and their stories will be published online. At the end of episode five, the audience will cast their vote for the most inspiring act.

“Traveloka is excited to partner with ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ where we see a mutual partnership value between Traveloka and the show. Every day, millions of people would open the Traveloka App as the first step of making their travel dreams come true. It offers a user-friendly booking experience and a wide range of flight and accommodation options at great prices, all to assist travelers in reaching any destination they want seamlessly. As the leading app for all hotel and flight needs in Southeast Asia, we are excited to empower the region’s talent as well as their journey to success with the support of their families and friends” --- Christian Suwarna, Traveloka Senior Vice President Business Development.

On top of the new sponsorship by Traveloka, there are a few surprises just like the addition of Tyra Banks as the host on America's Got Talent.

As a starter, the hosts this season are Alan Wong (Actor/Model/Host) and Justin Bratton (TV Host/Actor/Film-maker). They are both great personalities, embodying charisma and being best buddies, I bet this duo will bring fun to the stage hosting.

Another change to this season show is that we will be seeing just 3 judges instead for 4.
While this may sound like we are gonna see less judges drama with the exit of Melanie C and Vanness Wu, leaving David Foster and Anggun as the 2 remaining judges from the first season, I bet the new judge addition of Jay Park will more than fill up that void and bring in more Hallyu flavour to the show.

Jay, an award-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and savvy entrepreneur, CEO and founder of two successful record labels, will take the coveted hot seat alongside the show’s returning judges, the 16-time Grammy Award-winning music producer David Foster and internationally acclaimed singer and World Music Award winner Anggun. Together, they will be judging hundreds of acts from 17 countries across the region.

At the press con, we were also treated to an act by The Cazaubon Sisters (duet by young Singaporean sisters Ariane, aged 12, and Anne-Sophie Cazaubon, aged 10). They are one of the impressive acts during the recent auditions in Singapore and were invited to sing at the media conference, as a sneak peep into what we could expect on the reality show.

Both of them are currently singing with the Singapore Children's Choir and had started singing at the tender age of two, aspiring to be world-class singers since then. I can't wait to see what the the girls will bring on stage soon!

Apart from Traveloka, Great Eastern Life, the market leader in the conventional life insurance business and the largest life insurer in Malaysia by asset size will be the partner sponsor together with Marina Bay Sands, Asia’s leading business, leisure and entertainment destination, as the official venue partner of Asia’s Got Talent.

“The first season of Asia’s Got Talent was one of the biggest productions in the world. The series unveiled a host of talent from across the region and fast became a fan favourite with AXN viewers. Season Two is set to be even bigger and better.” --- Ganesh Rajaram, General Manager, EVP Sales Asia, FremantleMedia International

So be sure to tune in this October and support your favourite act! 

I can't wait for the show to be aired!

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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Hallyu Night With Singtel Cast & Kelly Poon

Hi Huneybees,

If 'W', 'DOTS', 'Doctors' sounds familiar to you, 'High Five' Hallyu Fan! Catching these korean drama same time as Korea with subtitles might sound impossible, but now with Singtel's latest app, it is possible!

 

And since it was Hallyu Night last Thursday, Singtel had us over at Barber Shop Timbre to enjoy some Korean foodfare, drinks, fun and games together with OPPO and an introduction to Cast. 

I was definitely 'high' on the company, Running Man inspired games and photo booths with Korean Stars' cardboard print outs; I even broke my little rule and enjoyed a glass of beer chugging! =)

Our homegrown singer - Kelly Poon was there to perform 'Always' from the popular "Descendants of the Sun" and her own song '爱无力'. I was hoping to hear her Mandarin version of the DOTS song, but anyhoo, don't she sound amazing?!

Ok, back to Cast.

As I've previously shared http://huneyzworld.blogspot.sg/2016/08/5-things-i-like-about-singtels-cast-app.html. Cast is a new mobile app where you can catch the latest dramas, movies and variety shows for on-the-go entertainment. And it is not just korean programmes, there are Asian Hits and Kids Shows too!

You can enjoy uninterrupted streaming of the videos in full HD episodes using Singtel's extensive 4G network or WiFi connection, or you can also download them for your own viewing anytime, anywhere. At S$4.90 per month for each pack, the idea of endless updated programmes will definitely sound appealing to you.

The Hallyu Pack contains popular Korean broadcast channels such as ONE, Oh!K and KBS World as well as all-time favourite variety shows such as Running Man, Infinite Challenge and Return of Superman. But my favourite is the Viu Premium, which I've been using to binge watch "W".

You might be familiar with the free access Viu where you can watch extensive Korean and Japanese programs from SBS, KBS, MBC, CJ E&M and Fuji TV. But what sets the premium subscription apart is that you have priority viewing of the programs (in full HD) as fast as 8 hours after the native telecast with unlimited downloads (depending on your phone's capacity and videos will be stored for 7 days only). 

There's also the Asian Hits, where you can catch popular hit movies and drama series from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China in their original languages; and Kids Pack, you get endless cartoons for the children to enjoy too!

So, if you're interested to subscribe to Cast, you can do so via My Singtel app and also download Cast from the App Store (for Apple iOS devices) or Google Play Store (for Android devices). For more information on Cast, visit www.cast.sg.

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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5 Things I Like About Singtel's Cast App

Hi Huneybees,

It has already been 2 weeks since Singtel launched Cast, I've been on it everyday, 24/7. Nope, not that my leg needed casting, Cast is in fact Singapore's first OTT video portal app, a new way for us to enjoy movies, drama, variety shows and kids' edutainment on-the-go.

Why do I love it so much? Here's why...

1) Fuss Free Streaming Anytime Anywhere

All you need is your Singtel 4G data plan or your Wi-Fi, open the Cast app and select the show that you want to watch. Easy as A,B, C, totally convenient for our busy lifestyle!

2) Full HD Quality Shows

The shows are all in the best HD quality for your comfort viewing, there is no pixelated video, nor do you need to squint to watch out for any details.

3) Pick Up Where You Left

You might be watching the movies or drama series whilst travelling to work or on the way home. But when it reaches your stop, you have to pause too. Or what if your phone runs out of battery and you got cut off? Well, the best part of Cast is that all you have to do is click back the movie or drama you were watching, you will hop right back to exactly where you stopped and continue watching!

4) Endless Amount of Programs

You can choose shows from 4 categories – Kids, Asian Hits, Hallyu and also Viu premium.

Under the Kids Pack, parents can simply save time searching for clips online and let their children enjoy live streaming shows under Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. They can watch cartoons like Spongebob SquarePants, Ni Hao Kai Lan, iCarly, Dora The Explorer, PAW Patrol, Little Charmers, etc.

Asian Hits Pack encompasses popular hit movies and drama series from Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China in their original languages. There's shows like Taste of Love (唯一继承者), Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe(九层妖塔), Running Man China IV(奔跑吧！兄弟 IV) and also the hit series - The Legend of S (蜀山战纪之剑侠传奇). And if you are like me, who likes to watch shows in their original voices, you will enjoy as much as me too!

As the name suggests, Hallyu Pack is for the K-Drama fans.With the Korean wave sweeping up our shores wave after wave, our appetite for Korean dramas are getting bigger and bigger, so why not a full pack of non-stop Korean entertainment for you?! You can catch all time favourite Running Man as well as Swallow the Sun, etc. And from 21 July onwards, you can also catch W-Two Worlds and Yeah, That's The Way It Is!

Lastly, there's the Viu Premium Service. You might be familiar with the free access Viu where you can watch extensive Korean and Japanese programs from SBS, KBS, MBC, CJ E&M and Fuji TV. You can navigate around the app in English or Chinese and also watch them with either English or Chinese subtitles.

But what sets the premium subscription is that you have priority viewing of the programs (in full HD) as fast as 8 hours after the native telecast with unlimited downloads (depending on your phone's capacity and videos will be stored for 7 days only) and also uninterrupted viewing with limited ads (only a short ad before each episode). You can catch up Uncontrollably Fond, Doctors, W and Lucky Romance almost same day as Korea!!

5) Watch Now, Pay Later

Each program pack is priced at S$4.90/month and you can opt for a special 1GB data add-on (as per each pack) for just an additional S$3/month. Yup, that means if you subscribe to 2 packs, you can get 2 GB add-on for additional S$6/month. All these while post paying their your monthly Singtel bill. Great yeah?

Singtel customers can subscribe to Cast via My Singtel app and download Cast from the App Store for Apple iOS devices and Google Play Store for Android devices. For more information on Cast, visit www.cast.sg.

Don’t forget to stay tuned to my blog / like my blog’s Facebook page / follow me @huney_84 on Twitter & Instagram  for the latest updates!

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