Korean History & Heritage Tour: Discover Seoul's Gangbuk Area and Traditional Korean Architecture
4.8
50 Ratings
Seoul
Immerse yourself in Korean history and heritage on a tour of Seoul's Gangbuk area. Explore traditional Korean architecture and learn about the fascinating history of the Korean people. Book now to experience life during the Joseon Dynasty period.
Duration: 7 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Gyeongbokgung Palace - We will see the Changing of the Guard Ceremony and venture deep into the palace to get an appreciation for the architecture and life of the king.
  • National Folk Museum of Korea - We will talk about the life of a Korean, starting with the birth, the life, the death. We will even go so far as seeing the afterlife of a Korean.
  • Bukchon Hanok Village - We will see a traditional Korean village in which people still live there!
  • Insadong - We will walk through the King’s guild where he commissioned great artists and designers to create beautiful pieces of artwork for him. It’s now the antique alleyway where you can get many Korean souvenirs.
  • Jogyesa Temple - We will see a Buddhist temple in which case used to be the national religion of the country.
  • Cheonggyecheon Stream - A walk through a beautiful stream and talk about the stories behind it.
  • Kwangjang Market - Walk through a 600 year young, vibrant traditional market that started out selling linens for special occasions but has reinvented itself over the years as the go to place for Korean comfort street food carts.
What's Included
  • Transport with air conditioning included
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Pickups outside of Seoul but within the Gyeongi Province will add a $50 surcharge.
Additional Information

Delve into the cultural and historical aspects of Seoul by touring the picturesque region of Gangbuk - home to a number of conventional tourist attractions. By the end of this journey, your knowledge of Korean traditional structures and the past of the Korean populace will significantly enhance. Reserve your spot now to get an insight into the lifestyle of Koreans during the span of the Joseon Dynasty (1392AD - 1919AD)

Location
Gyeongbokgung Palace
161 Sajik-ro, Jongno-gu,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.8
(50 Ratings)
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Rich
Mar 16, 2024
Terrific service for custom Korea trip - Rob and Ruth helped us arrange multiple aspects of our two week trip. They did a great job helping us set upp tours and rides all over the country, and answering about a million questions. They also were flexible with our schedule alterations. Really appreciate the help they gave us yo make a great trip. I strongly recommend them to anyone wanting to plan and customise a trip to Korea. Also, Kory took us on two days of sightseeing around Seoul. He was an excellent and fun guide and a good driver! We learned a lot and enjoyed spending time with him. Also a strong recommendation!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roxane_b
Oct 11, 2023
Awesome and personalbe - Judy was knowledgeable and super friendly. She was patience and kind walking me around. The car ride was comfortable. Thank you Judy. ❤️
Review provided by Viator
Dwd3906xs
Jun 11, 2023
Private Tour of DMZ - I booked a private tour of the DMZ with Korean Tour Guide in April of 2023 and it exceeded my expectations. My guide was Michael and he was very knowledgeable about all of the DMZ locations that we visited. Not only that but we finished earlier than expected and he took me to the Korean War Museum as a bonus, which is really well done and definitely worth a visit! On the way back dropping me off at my hotel we also grabbed lunch at a restaurant he recommended where he educated me a lot on life in Korea and what it's like to live there. I would definitely consider working with Korean Tour Guide again if I ever come back to Korea. Thanks to Rob who set the tour up for me; I appreciate it!
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Jenbrownaz
Oct 17, 2022
Sunny day in Seoul - Our tour guide, Judy, handled our day with efficiency ensuring we visited all the sites on the itinerary without ever feeling rushed. She was pleasant, friendly and joyful. We were going to be in Seoul for three more days and even gave us tips on things to do the other days! We really enjoyed her and when we return, we will surely look her up!
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397tawnies
Jun 15, 2022
Pam was a great tour guide - I had the honor of meeting Pam yesterday June 15, 2022. I was picked up and dropped back off to my hotel which was relieving. Pam helped me understand the public transit system as I will be here for a couple of months and really explained how to read the maps and pay attention to where the buses/subways are going. Although it was raining, we still were able to visit a lot of spots such as Gyeongbokgong Palace, Hanok Village, Insadong, and many more places. I was able to learn a lot of the history behind each of the places. I also was able to see some of the filming locations from Goblin. I really enjoyed having Pam as my tour guide as she was extremely friendly and easy to talk to.
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Paul
Apr 19, 2022
Seoul in a day with Pam as tour guide is great - This was my first overseas trip out of the US ever. I wanted a guide to help me with questions I had that only a local would know the answer to. I booked a tour with Pam Kim under the "Seoul in a Day: Private Van + Guide". The sign up process was very straightforward on their website. I was contacted later in the day by Albert to confirm the booking. Pam and the driver Mr. Il arrived earlier so they could find the residence I was staying at. She actually revealed to me that this was her first tourist since covid and first tour given in a year (the other tours were given to business people). She also said she had tears in her eyes at the train station because of this. I'm glad to be the first out of what I hope to be many as covid subsides. She and the driver were both very friendly and professional. She was knowledgeable not only in the historical facts but she also answered questions I had about how modern Koreans live and the issues they face today. I had the recommended iterinary and we had time to squeeze in the Noryangjin fish market. All in all it was a fun, memorable day. I had told her I planned to stay in Korea for another week and a half. At the end of the tour she was kind enough to offer to answer any questions I had while I was still here. I have asked her multiple questions afterwards on Kakaotalk about food so far.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Johna2956
Dec 19, 2019
Layover tour of Seoul - We had a 12 hour layover on our return to Canada and decided to find someone to show us around the city. Rob met us at the airport and drove us around to the king's palace to see the changing of the guard, went to lunch at a chicken/kimchi restaurant, toured old town, went to a market, did some shopping and ate more food, and then went to the Seoul World Cup stadium. English is excellent. He told us of the history, customs of Korea. How Korea was influenced by other nations. All in all, a great guide. He is a wealth of information. You will not be disappointed.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Djtravellingholiday
Nov 3, 2019
Excellent customised service - I'm a wheelchair user and was going to Korea for about 2 weeks. I looked into organising things myself but it got very complicated and confusing. So a friend of mine put me in contact with Rob (owner of the tour company). Rob organised a wheelchair accessible transport to take me and my friend around Korea: Seoul, Gyeongju, Busan and Bucheon. Rob took us on tours too, going out of his way to fit around my timings, meaning later starts, and late finishes. He also organised KTX tickets for us, for when we wanted to experience the fast Korean trains and also other tour guides for when he was already committed to other tourists. Rob's knowledge of Korea, its history and culture is second to none, and made our trip amazing. Highly recommend Rob's tour guide company to help you make the most of your time in Korea.
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Eddiemarsdenjones
Sep 8, 2019
Awesome Guide - Jin Lee gave an awesome tour of Seoul from ancient to modern history. The whole day was engaging and fascinating. Jin was very flexible and accommodating. She has exceptional knowledge of the city and Korean history, all delivery in a very friendly and fun way. She did an amazing job and I had a wonderful day. I can’t recommend her enough if your looking for a local tour guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roxane_b
Nov 18, 2023
The worst tour guide on Viator so far - YT Kim was unprofessional and a real cheat! . He made this private car tour into a walking tour and charged us the private car tour fee.. He parked his car so far away on purpose after the first stop. By following him, we have realized how far he had parked on purpose. We didn’t even had time to enjoy our tour because he kept rushing and walking ahead. . Most of the time he just walk in front and left us in the dust and doesn’t really know where we were. We had to look for him all the time. He doesn’t talk much at all and doesn’t listen to our needs The worst tour guide I had ever book on Viotor so far He took us to the palace but only walk the entrance us into the main entrance and immediately took us out to the back entrance to folk museum in less than 45 min we spent inside the the palace. He told us the hanbok rental was only for two hours?! After he dropped us off at the hanbok store, he purposely parked his car at the Bukchon village so we can walk all the way. We only enter the palace and immediately he took us straight to the folk museum entrance in less than 45 min. He didnt take us to the king’s and queens quarters.mt, didn’t do the walk around the pond of the palace he made us walk from the palace straight to the restaurant in Insadong for lunch and straight to Bulcheon village by 3pm. he just kept walking ahead until without stopping much anywhere else. The worst and laziest tour guide. It’s supposed to be a private car tour instead he turned it into a private walking tour where the price is very different.. Also, he doesn’t even give you any background or history or facts. He simply wants to walk the course and leave quickly. We were done with his schedule by 3pm!! We didn’t want to go to bukcheon but he still walk us there because he parked his car there. If you want to do walking tour then. advertise as so, Don’t advertise as private car tour and cheat your way out as a walking tour because we paid for a private car tour not a walking tour. Felt like he scam our money and thinking he can get away with it! We wanted to go to Namsan, he made us walk all the way done back to his car??? Even my previous waking tour guide had us taking the bus down. Very disappointed on this tour. Our tour started at 10am. We were at the hanbok store for about an hour, walk the palace and folk museum and left and changed out our clothes and got to the restuabrt about 12:30? We went to wait in line for the famous dumping at insadong had lunch and got our about 2, the. At Bukcheon next to his car by 3pm. We didn’t want to go to Bukcheon , we went took Abby’s to Namsab and walked back down to his car by 4:30 back to our hotel before 5pm???
Review provided by Viator
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