Tour to Changdeokgung & Rear Garden, listed by UNESCO World Cutural Heritage, traditional Korean village, traditional food and whole view of Seoul. Tour feature highlight & essence of beautiful traditional culture and landscape at Changdeokgung, Bukchon Hanok Village, and traditional food at Gwangjang market, beautiful cityscape at Namsan Tower. Guide share information of Korean culture that help guest fully enjoy the beauty and value of traditional Korean culture as well as palace architecture.
This itinerary can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Send me a message with your requests!
Meeting Point
at your hotel
- Greetings and pick-up at your hotel. Moving to Changdeokgung
Changdeokgung and Rear Garden
Tour to Changdeokgung and Rear Garden
Bukchon Hanok Village
Bukchon Hanok Village
Gwangjang market
Traditional Korean street food at food stands.
Namsan & N-Seoul Tower
Panoramic view of whole Seoul at N-Seoul Tower and Fortress wall from N Seoul Tower to South Gate can be included as an option.
Namdaemun market
Tour to Namdaemun market
City hall
Tour ends.
Ending Point
Seoul City Hall
This tour can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Click below to send me a message with your requests.
guide fee
meal, entrance for palace and N Seoul Tower, drinks, transportation.
* Entrance ticket for Rear Garden will be bought in advance by guide and later it need to be paid by guest to guide. Entrance fee for Rear Garden is 5,000Ko.Won/person.
* Entrance fee for palace is 3,000Kor.Won. It will be bought at palace.
Exploring of Korea’s unique cultural identity and beauty!
Architecture is the center of culture & tour. Architectural style represents spirit of times. Confucianism is spirit of Joseon Dynasty.
Confucianism culture of Joseon Dynasty is unique & differentiated characteristic of Korean culture, compared to Chinese and Japanese.
With knowledge of Confucianism, architectural feature & its historical significance, you can fully appreciate the beauty and value of not only Changdeokgung but entire Korea’s traditional culture. Without knowledge, we are just fascinated by their superficial beauty.
Changdeokgung and its Rear Garden is the only palace, registered as UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. Changdeokgung is unique and attractive palace with huge beautiful garden and unusal arrangement of palace buildings. Rear Garden of Changdeokgung is a remarkable place, where a plain hillside is turned into a beautiful garden. Rear Garden was designed to embrace nature. The original topography of the area is preserved, and trees, hills, valleys and streams are preserved. Rear Garden of Changdeokgung is classic example of traditional Korean garden reflecting Confucian ideas.
Bukchon Hanok Village is a Korean traditional village in Seoul with a long history. Bukchon Hanok Village is unique and attractive destination that shows traditional landscape in the middle of highly urbanized metropolitan environment.
Gwangjang market is the oldest traditional Korean market, where we can experience traditional Korean food, and there we can experience marinated beef slice, live octopus, mung bean pancake and Ttokbokgi, glass noodles, etc.
Namsan mountain is situated in the center of Seoul, and N Seoul Tower, which seats on the top of Namsan mt., provides panoramic view of Seoul. Visitors can see the beautiful scenery of Seoul at the observation deck of N-Seoul Tower. N Seoul Tower was selected as one of the world's top 500 tourist destinations in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travel List.
My primary tourist destination is Seoul and metropolitan area, consisting of 5 palaces, Royal Ancestral Shrine, Bukchon Hanok Village, National Museum of Korea, War Memorial of Korea and other museums & galleries and contemporary architectures, and Namsan Mt. with N-Seoul Tower, traditional & trendy market places such as Gwangjang market & Hondae street, and also Korean Folk Village & DMZ tour.
Hello everyone, I am Paul, a state-licensed English tour guide in Seoul. I am professional tour docent with proven record track of over 200 tours for international tourists.
Seoul is a fascinating destination that seamlessly blends the traditional with the modern.
My tour is to explore Korea’s unique cultural identity and beauty!
Center of tour is architecture. Architectural style represents spirit of times. We can see as much as we know. For example, without knowledge about Christianity, the spirit of medieval Europe, we cannot fully appreciate beauty and value of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, but are just fascinated by its superficial beauty.
Confucianism is the spirit of Joseon Dynasty. Confucianism is Korea's cultural identity, that is basis for Korean traditional architecture.
I am the only tour docent guide in Korea who introduces Korean traditional culture based on Confucianism. Based on understanding of Confucianism, your appreciation will create intense impression and long-lasting memory of Korean culture.
My primary tourist destinations are focusing on Seoul and metropolitan area, consisting of 5 palaces, Royal Ancestral Shrine, Bukchon Hanok Village, National museum of Korea, War Memorial of Korea and other museums & galleries and contemporary architectures, and Namsan Mt. with N-Seoul Tower, traditional & trendy market places such as Gwangjang market & Hongdae street, and also Korean Folk Village & DMZ tour in neighboring cities.
Alongside, I am specialist for hiking to Bukhansan Mt. and Inwangsan Mt. that are located in downtown Seoul, where you can enjoy beautiful natural sceneries and stunning view of Seoul.
With my hands-on experiences and deep knowledge of Korea's culture & history, you can discover true discoveries in Korea.
Thank you for your interest!
As your guide, I hope to see you soon in Seoul!
Josh W.
“Paul was an outstanding guide!”
When Paul started put with a lesson in Confucianism and the history of Korea, my wife and I didn't quite know what to think. When we got to the first palace, everything came together and made great sense. Our day with Paul was educational (a tenant of Confucianism), fun, and delicious. It was a great way to start our journey.
Paul K.
The center of culture and center of tour is architecture. Architectural style represents spirit of times. Confucianism was the spirit of Joseon Dynasty. Confucianism culture of Joseon Dynasty is unique characteristic of Korean culture, compared to Chinese, Japanese and European culture. Tourist information is based on Confucianism for your full appreciating of entire Korean architecture and cultural places.
Sandra M.
“2 day Tour of Korean culture Highlights”
My husband and i had a short visit to Korea at the end of a cruise and booked Paul to show us the highlights of the city in 2 days. Paul was very knowledgeable about the Korean culture and history with regard to confucius culture. This information gave us a better understanding of the sights that we visited. Paul was very punctual and got us around the city with confidence. We visited two places, the secret gardens, two museums, Seoul Tower and experienced tradition Korean street food as well as a restaurant. Our tour was busy and we did a lot of walking as well as using the train system, which is amazing, and we also used the bus. Overall we got a great taste of Seoul in a short time. There is so much more to see and do, perhaps on our next visit. Thank you Paul
Paul K.
Guest's good review is great rewarding to my dedication to tour and my study. Appreciation of architecture, art and craft requires background knowledge. We can see as much as we know about background knowledget. Confucianism is Korea's culturual identity. Korean traditional culture as well as Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces represent Confucianism. I appreciate Sandra's full appreciation of Korean traditional culture. Paul
Angelo M.
“A day of education”
Paul was an amazing and very knowledgeable guide. He not only took us for a day tour of the Temples, Palaces and Shrines but he also provided great context by giving us a historical insight in Confucianism with its social and moral framework and how it has had a profound impact on the modern South Korea. Many thanks Paul. Much appreciated and will definitely recommend you to our friends if they come to Seoul for a tour. Cheers, Angelo
Paul K.
It's gratitude to meet good guests, and even grateful for good will and sharing humor with guests! Center of tour is architecture! Architectural style represents spirit of times. Confucianism is spirit of Joseon Dynasty, which was last dynasty just before current Korea. Confucianism is Korea's cultural identity. Appreciation of Korea's tradition architecture, art and cragts require knowledge of Confucianism. Without knowledge of Confucianism, appreciation cannot create intense memory, but we are just fascinated by their superficial beauty that cannot last long.
$250/ per group