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2017

Best time to visit South Korea - 2017

Seasons and Weather

South Korea’s climate is typically temperate with four distinct seasons. There is never a bad time to visit South Korea but travelers should time their visit according to what they want to see and do during their trip. The seasons in South Korea are divided into spring, summer, autumn and winter, each bringing with its own benefits and challenges.

Spring

During the spring, which falls between April and June, the country is painted pink by the abundant cherry blossoms that decorate South Korea’s green spaces. The weather during this season is the least likely to be inclement, making it one of the more popular, albeit crowded, times of the year to visit South Korea - expect mostly sunny days.

Summer

Summers in South Korea are generally warm but often see monsoon rains from July to August, making the whole country almost intolerably muggy. If you don’t want to find yourself perpetually damp then this time of the year is best avoided. By June the average temperature is 22°C with July and August experiencing the highest rainfall of the year.

Autumn

Once the rains have passed, however, the country is bathed in the most stunning shades of orange and red as the autumn leaves start to bloom. With mild temperatures, low rainfall and a wealth of unadulterated natural beauty, autumn (September to November) is a close rival to spring with regards to being the best period to visit South Korea.

Winter

Finally, we come to the cold but curiously delightful season that is winter, falling between December and March. While being cold is never the best thing in the world, there is a certain charm about wrapping up warm and walking through crisp, white snow. Transport still runs like clockwork in South Korea and many points of interest are likely to be far less congested than usual so if you want to avoid the crowds, winter isn’t such a bad time to visit. This is also the perfect time to go to South Korea if skiing, snowboarding or any other snow-related activity is on the agenda.

Climate | Seoul

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
TEMP MIN °C	-9	-7	-2	5	11	16	21	22	15	7	0	-7
TEMP MAX °C	0	3	8	17	22	27	29	31	26	19	11	3
RAINFALL (MM)	31	20	38	76	81	130	376	267	119	41	46	25

Climate | Jeju Island

	JAN	FEB	MAR	APR	MAY	JUN	JUL	AUG	SEP	OCT	NOV	DEC
TEMP MIN °C	3	4	6	10	14	19	23	24	20	15	10	5
TEMP MAX °C	8	9	13	18	22	25	29	30	26	21	16	11
RAINFALL (MM)	65	62	89	90	97	181	240	283	222	80	62	48

Festivals and Events

Encompassing everything we know and love about the Far East, festivals in South Korea delicately mingle religion, culture and cuisine, invariably offering spectators an event to remember. Always characterized by elaborate dress, bright and dazzling colors, music, dancing, food and high spirits, there is little not to enjoy when it comes to South Korean festivals. Here are some of our favorites to whet your appetite.

Chuseok

Chuseok is known as the Korean Thanksgiving and falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Originally, the festival was for the people to give thanks to their ancestors for a plentiful harvest. Nowadays it is celebrated by exchanging gifts as the women of each family prepare a variety of special dishes, most of which include the newly harvested rice, for which Koreans are so thankful. Songpyeon, a cake made from ground rice and stuffed with red beans, chestnuts, and sesame seeds, is a traditional dish eaten during this festival.

BIFF (Busan International Film Festival)

One of Asia’s biggest and most influential films festivals, BIFF aims to showcase and promote the work of up and coming directors, particularly from Asia, and screen some of the newest and hottest films around. The festival takes place at the Busan Cinema Centre and includes a number of different talks and masterclasses in addition to showing films from a variety of different genres and styles. Awards are given out in various categories, such as the two best feature films, best actor and actress, the film that gained the most acclaim from the audience and the best world documentary film. Prizes are all in cash as a way to help filmmakers with their next projects.

Ultra Korea Music Festival

Seoul welcomes to the stage some of the hottest artists and DJs in the world during the Ultra Korea Music Festival. Past performers of this global music extravaganza have included Deadmau5, Chase & Status, Afrojack, Armin van Buuren and Avicii. The vibe at the festival is always electric, and not just because of the electronic beats coming from the gigantic speakers at the front. Hundreds of thousands of music lovers make their way to the capital for this event as they pay homage to some of their best-loved rhythm-makers.

Gangneung Dano Festival

The Dano festival is celebrated across both North and South Korea but the Gangneung branch has gained special recognition by spectators and UNESCO who designated it one of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. Traditionally, during this festival, women would wash their hair with water that has been boiled with the sweet flag (a wetland plant) while men engaged in wrestling matches. Blue and red traditional clothes are also worn for the duration of the festival and music, singing and wine all make generous appearances.

Boryeong Mud Festival

Each year, the muddy shores of Boryeong see an influx of visitors as hordes of locals and foreigners head to the Mud Festival for the chance to blow off some steam while they get their hands dirty (literally). Mud sliding, mud massages, and mud wrestling are just some of the messy events that take place during this unique festival. The mud itself is sought after for its curative properties and whilst celebrating, men and women cake themselves in it with the hopes that their skin will be all the better for it afterward.

2017 Calendar

To help plan your visit to South Korea, here's an overview of the festivals and events taking place in 2017. This is by no means an exhaustive list so if you are thinking of heading to South Korea outside of these dates and want to know what's on, check out a more comprehensive list here.

March 24th-26th - Ultra Korea Music Festival (Seoul)
May 20th - June 11th - FIFA U-20 World Cup (Nationwide)
June (dates TBC) - Gangneung Dano Festival (Gangneung)
July 14th-23rd - Boryeong Mud Festival (Boryeong)
October 4th-6th - Chuseok (Nationwide)
October (dates TBC) - BIFF (Busan)

There's also a number of national holidays in South Korea and on these dates many businesses and some tourist sites will close for the day so plan your visit accordingly.

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, by Unknown

Age

Life Insurance- Based on age and Annual income

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, by Unknown

facts

What are some mind blowing facts about South Korea?

I'm there as an exchange student in Seoul National University and these are a few facts:

South Koreans line up to get on the subway.
There are 18 seats reserved for elder people and pregnant woman per subway wagon
South Korea has been at war since 1950 (more than 60 years!) and all males spend at least two years in military service (three if you're serving as an officer) before their thirties
Koreans eat with chopsticks... AND a spoon! I think it's the only country in Asia where the spoon is really part of the official cutlery
Kai Peter Chang already talked about Starcraft, so I'll give another fact about video games: at any time of day and night, you can turn on your TV and watch live, commentated video game matches (especially Starcraft II and League of Legends)
Koreans have two counting systems: one coming from Chinese characters and another one, from their own Hangeul alphabet. You use Chinese numbers for money and the Hangeul to ask for 5 bananas at a shop. As Michael Han specified in the comments, it is the same in Japan and it is due to a difference of reading and not to a difference of characters (one character can be read differently)
Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, was invented during the Joseon Era (~1443) under the orders of King Sejong who wanted to increase the literacy of his people. It is considered to be one of the most scientific alphabets of the world (for more details, please see Wikipedia - it is really interesting!) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangul
Like in many other East Asian countries, Koreans count the first year of life has been year 1. That means that when you reach your first birthday, you become 2, etc. If this is not clear, please see this article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eas...
You can find tomatoes in fruit salads
There are PC Bangs at virtually every street corner (literally "PC room", you can access a computer for 1,000 Won per hour - 0.75€ - and play any game you want)
You can order a Bulgogi (Korean barbecue) Burger at McDonald's and... have it delivered straight to your home
White is sexy. Tanned isn't. Women wear white makeup on their faces

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, by Unknown

2017

How to Save Tax in India

We go through this process step-by-step, from the largest and most commonly applicable items to the smaller ones. We also tell you how to verify if you have indeed got the benefit. An hour at spent at the beginning of the Year to plan this, and an hour at the end of the Year for calculations, is all it takes to derive the full tax benefit. !!!

1.Save on House Rent Allowance (HRA).

Check your salary slip for a split of Basic and HRA.
Compare your monthly rent, basic pay, and HRA.

If you live in your own house, request your employer to restructure your salary, so most of it is Basic and very less is treated as HRA. This will give you other benefits associated with a higher Basic Pay.
If you pay more rent than your monthly HRA, check whether HRA is 50% of Basic. If it is not, request your employer to increase your HRA and decrease your Basic so that HRA is 50% of Basic. If HRA is already 50% of Basic, you are already getting the best possible benefit of HRA exemption.
If you pay less rent than your monthly HRA, again request your employer to reduce HRA and make it equal to rent; increasing your Basic Pay instead.
Make sure you obtain rent receipts from your landlord. Preferably, pay rent by cheque.
Provide the rent receipts to your employer well before the last day specified by them.

2.Use tax saving investments.

Check your salary slip for monthly PF deduction. Multiply by 12 to get the annual value.
See how much this falls short of Rs1 lakh.
Start a Systematic Investment in a tax-saving mutual fund (e.g. DSP Black Rock Tax Saver). Make sure the entire shortfall above is covered before 31 March through the systematic investments.
If you are over 50 years of age, you may bridge this shortfall by putting the amount in PPF, instead of the Tax Saver above.
Watch out in the market for infrastructure bonds from IFCI, LIC or IDFC. Invest Rs20,000 in any one such bond.
Provide the details of the above investments to your employer.
When you receive Form 16, make sure the deductions are given under Chapter VI.
80C Deductions= Sum of PF and your tax saving investments, up to Rs1 lakh.

3.Find tax saving insurance.

If you do not have a medical cover for yourself and your family, take one immediately. Cover dependent parents, if applicable.
Provide the details of the above investments to your employer.
When you receive Form 16, make sure the deductions are given under Chapter VI.
80D Deduction= your medical insurance premium.

4.With allowances.

Make sure your salary slip has Rs800 per month as conveyance allowance.
If you have incurred medical bills in the year, make sure there is an annual Rs15,000 as medical reimbursement in your salary slip.
If the above two items are not present, request your employer to provide them by reducing your Basic. Remember, these are tax-free.

5.Loans

If you have a home loan going, make sure you declare this to your employer.
When you get Form 16, make sure the interest paid in the year is shown as a loss in House Property. This will reduce your tax liability.

6.Donations.

If you have made donations to an approved institution, you can provide the original receipt to your employer.
When you get Form 16, make sure the amount is shown in Chapter VI Section 80G.

Tips:

There are several other tax saving options including PPF and Unit Linked Insurance Plans. But ELSS is highly recommended for their simplicity, lower lock-in, and customer friendliness.
Your HRA tax benefit is Minimum of (50% * Basic, Rent paid – 10% * Basic, HRA). The closer these three numbers are to each other, the better it is for you.

Warnings:

Not disclosing loans, investments or insurance to your employer – This could result in excess TDS being deducted by them from your salary. Getting this money back from Income Tax Department is usually a very difficult exercise.
Not independently checking your tax liability – Sometimes employers may miss out deductions while computing TDS and preparing Form 16. Make sure you do an independent check of your tax liability and not blindly go by what is given in Form 16.
Investing in other products because the ad or agent talks of its ‘tax benefit’ - Remember, all the tax benefits you are eligible for are covered above and you will get nothing more. This harping on tax benefit is usually a ploy by agents to sell you bad products

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, by Unknown

Indian

What are the 10 things that every Indian should know?

Let me go with the top 10 things that we need. Now, these may not seem important to you but I think these are basic things that you need to know. I’m not listing them in any order

#1 Know your president, prime-minister, CM and MLA - Alia Bhatt made a blunder but handled it well and over time changed things but this meme never got old. These are basic awareness facts that you simply cannot avoid learning.

#2 Emergency numbers - If you take America, everyone in the world knows that calling 911 will help you report an emergency. The same awareness level is not present in India. 112 adopted as India's all-in-one emergency number: Things you should know about emergency numbers in India - link to common emergency numbers

#3 Weddings are way important - Weddings are an issue of pride and a thriving industry in the country. What we forget is how much we waste in this. Also, we are the largest commercial users of gold in the world. We spend most of our weddings. Sometimes we spend more on weddings than housing.

#4 We are secular, tolerant and not insane - Don’t believe the media. They love capturing the exceptions and showing them on the front page as they sell better than the fact that everything is good. Don’t believe that. India is plenty secular, tolerant and friendly.

#5 Foreign Craze - British people treated us as slaves and oppressed us yet we are obsessed with copying them. We forgot our roots. We stopped using charcoal, neem, and cloves for brushing teeth. Our toothpaste have the same. Our own products are patented by other countries and sold back to us at high prices.

#6 Ironies in India - Religion, politicians, actors, states divide us. Terrorism and natural disasters unite us. We are not without ironies. For more, Venkat Raman's answer to What are the biggest ironies in India?

#7 Money Matters - If you have money and the right connections, you can get away with anything. You may even get a great driver who will take the blame and go to jail for you. You can commit a fraud, do a scam and then walk out like you are a saint. You can even become a chief minister of a state with zero qualification. Let me stop here. I don’t want to get into trouble.

#8 Engineering is a requirement, not a choice - We are crazy about engineering. That is partly what got us to be a huge outsourcing hub but are we having too many engineers? Everyone wants to be engineers but nobody really understands what that demands. We are creating a large number of unemployable people.

#9 Agriculture is Dying - We are importing pulses from Mozambique, farmer suicides don’t seem to be falling and we are moving more and more towards digitalization. It is safe enough to see that the backbone of our country is failing.

#10 We have bad/biased media - Media raises an issue and milks it until TRP is still high and then forgets it. Aarushi murder, Sheena bora case and even rapes are mere TRP spinning issues for the media. Once the heat is down they forget it. The other extreme is the thing like the Rohtak sisters. Our media is just shameless.

- Venkat Raman

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, by Unknown

Biggest

What are the biggest ironies in India?

These are a few things you can think of the moment you think of ironies in India

Kissing in public is seen as a great offense to culture and tradition. (I agree to this). Pissing in public is the norm. Come on!
We have to pay taxes and we have huge penalties if not. There are millions who don't pay taxes. Even our tax money goes to the pockets of the corrupt. What is left goes to buy the votes of the poor as freebies. The poor man gets TV, grinder, and whatnot and the cost of electricity are increased too. You don't rob Peter to pay Paul.
Corrupt politicians talk about justice and roam free and proud even after being exposed by scams. Whatever they do, there are people who continue to worship them. How many politicians convicted (and proved) of scams are currently out?
Liberty of the press is seen when they talk about the personal lives of celebrities and not when talking about the shortcomings of the government. When media is owned by politicians or business powers, things are filtered. How many political parties own channels?
The craze for engineering. People want their kid to do an engineering degree no matter what the kid wishes. Now it is engineering-MBA combo. How many engineers are working as peons and other jobs?
Selling votes to political parties. ‘Votes for money’ is a reality in this country even today.
British people treated us as slaves and oppressed us yet we are obsessed with copying them. We forgot our roots. We stopped using charcoal, neem, and cloves for brushing teeth. Our toothpaste has the same. Our own products are patented by other countries and sold back to us at high prices
People raising awareness to several causes are ironies themselves. Corrupt politicians talk about anti-corruption, playboy actors talk about chastity, vain actresses talk about self-respect … (I’m holding back here)
Religion, politicians, actors, states divide us. Terrorism and natural disasters unite us
Look both ways to cross a one-way road, We park at a no-parking and do similar things and so many other traffic related ironies.

- Venkat Raman

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, by Unknown

Knowledge is (Sharing) is Caring

Sleep Deprivation Solution

Best time to visit South Korea - 2017

Life Insurance- Based on age and Annual income

What are some mind blowing facts about South Korea?

How to Save Tax in India

What are the 10 things that every Indian should know?

What are the biggest ironies in India?

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