• Private Tour
• Instantly Confirmed
• Carbon Neutral

Curious to know more about Seoul’s history? Join a local history expert on an insightful tour that will show you a side of the city that can’t be found in any book. This experience will open your eyes to the past and origins of Seoul from a local perspective as you learn about Beautiful Palaces & Seoul Dynasties.

Destination

Seoul, South Korea

Category

City Highlight Tours

Duration

2 hours

Transport mode

Walking tour

Available languages

English, Korean, Français, Español

Included

• Private Guide
• Entrance palaces
• All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral

What you can expect

Choose your local

Get to know these 4 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.

This is the plan

Check out the plan below to see what you'll get up to with your local host. Feel free to personalize this offer with the host of your choice.

1. Meeting point

   Meet at Metro station City Hall exit 1 - Seoul to start your journey

   View on Maps

2. Itinerary

   This is what our experience could look like, but it’s not set in stone! Once you book, you can chat directly with your host to make small tweaks to suit your preferences.

3. Beautiful Palaces & Seoul Dynasties

   Your history tour in Seoul will focus on Beautiful Palaces & Seoul Dynasties. Learn the impacts, insights and hear stories related to this historic event from your knowledgeable host. Discover the city as you retrace history and go in-depth on the effects this part of history has on Seoul

4. Historical Highlights

   Check out main landmarks related to the theme of your history tour and connect their relevance through fantastic stories and facts from your expert local host

5. Hidden Treasures

   During your tour, you’ll also uncover hidden gems that will show you a different perspective of history as you know it, something you can’t easily find in a history book!

6. Storytelling Journey

   As you discover the historical side of Seoul, you’ll be able to go back in time thanks to the amazing stories and storytelling skills of your local host. Feel free to ask any questions and feel as if you are relieving history in the present time

7. Make it yours

   Want to tweak the itinerary? Book directly & chat afterwards with your host to adjust highlights, skip stops, or make small changes to fit your preferences.

   Book risk-free: Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund.

   Need something special? Personalize your experience for more time, alternative locations or a completely tailored plan.

Flexible cancellation policy

• Feel confident booking

  Cancel within 24 hours for a full refund. Even up to 7 days before your experience, you’ll receive a refund, minus the service fee.

• Change of plans?

  Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.

• Loved by travelers worldwide

  Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.

Reviews from guests

Unknown

(About local Ho Jin)

15 February 2025

Excellent introduction to Seul...and to South Korea. Jin Spanish is excellent to say the least which, together with his welcoming personality, made for a very entertaining tour and conversation. Thank you!Like a friend

Nancy🇨🇱 Chile

(About local Ho Jin)

23 December 2024

Fue un agrado compartir con Ho Jin, su amabilidad y su dispoción a servir son destacables, más allá de su trabajo, te hace sentir como en casa. Busca lugares que seguro te encantaran y donde no hay mucho publico para la foto perfecta, hace de fotografo tambien, muchas gracias fue un gusto conocerte.Las mejores fotos

Dayna🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Ho Jin)

29 October 2024

Jin customised the tour to make history of the Gyeongbok Palace easily understood and appreciated by my 5 year olds. History can be dry but he drew relevance to current day context so adult and kids alike enjoyed the tour. Patient guide who brings history alive

Ana

(About local Ho Jin)

17 October 2024

*5/5 Stars* "Outstanding Tour Guide! He was absolutely phenomenal! Our group had an unforgettable experience thanks to his expertise, enthusiasm, and shared fascinating insights and anecdotes, Communication: Clear, concise, and friendly interactions made us feel at ease. The best experience

Ethan🇺🇸 United States

(About local Ho Jin)

21 May 2024

My wife and I had the pleasure of touring around Seoul with Ho Jin in February 2024. Ho Jin was such an amazing guide and was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. We learned so much about the various palaces around the City, and got a great overview of some of the amazing neighborhoods and food spots to try after our tour. It really felt like we were being shown around Seoul by a friend!Like Walking with a Friend Around Seoul

Mireia🇪🇸 Spain

(About local Ho Jin)

7 May 2024

La verdad que ha sido una experiencia muy buena, tuvimos mal tiempo pero el intento que la experiencia fuese lo más buena posible. Si algun día más puedo hacer alguna excursión lo volveré a elegir.Muy bueno

Anne🇧🇲 Bermuda

(About local Ho Jin)

2 May 2024

Ho Jin "Jimmie" was a great guide. Our two hour tour was just the right amount of time to be engaged without getting tour fatigue. We explored the palace while Jimmie told us engaging stories about the history of Korea and the area. We opted to explore the Buchkon Hanok village and he took us to some very quiet streets and great views avoiding the crowds typical of the area. Would definitely recommend Ho Jin and this tour. Perfect tour

Kye🇺🇸 United States

(About local Ho Jin)

19 March 2024

Ho Jin was very willing to adjust the tour to accommodate my bad ankle, and did a wonderful job of mixing in modern era perspectives with history. He explained how this history, both old and more recent, helped shape the modern Korea.Flexibility appreciated!

Gerhard🇩🇪 Germany

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

17 February 2024

Ich habe mit Sanghee den Gyeonbok-Palast besichtigt. Mir war es wichtig in zwei Stunden einen Palast intensiv kennenzulernen, daher wollte ich statt der zwei vorgesehenen Paläste auch nur einen besuchen. Das ist das schöne an einer individuellen Tour - diese wird nach Deinen Wünschen angepasst. Es ist wunderbar mit einem so qualifizierten Reiseleiter wie Sanghee unterwegs zu sein und eine tolle Einführung in koreanische Paläste. Mit diesem Wissen habe ich auch die anderen Paläste viel besser verstehen können. I visited the Gyeonbok Palace with Sanghee. It was important to me to get to know a palace in depth in two hours, so I only wanted to visit one palace instead of the two planned. That's the nice thing about a personalised tour - it's tailored to your wishes. It's wonderful to be travelling with a guide as qualified as Sanghee and a great introduction to Korean palaces. With this knowledge, I was able to understand the other palaces much better.

Sri Nurayu🇸🇬 Singapore

(About local Ho Jin)

24 December 2023

We enjoyed this walk with Ho Jin so much! We learnt about the origin of the Korean alphabet as well as the history of Joseon from Ho Jin. It was nice to have this stroll with a local. Glad we booked this tour! We couldn’t have gained so much if not for this walking tour with Ho Jin. Thank you! Great Walking and Learning with Ho Jin

Marleen🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

16 October 2023

First of all, the reservation is easy to make and is well communicated. We met at 15:00 at The location where Sanghee was already waiting for us. Right away she was very enthusiastic and passionate. Straight away we went to Deoksugung. Sanghee explained everything from the ancient history and symbolic meanings of things. It was great and very impressive! After that we walked to Gyeongbokgung. In a meanwhile Sanghee told us a lot about the surrounding buildings and the meaning of 2 statues. Gyeongbokgung is a vast terrain with lots of buildings. Again everything was explained and gave us a good idea how it must have been. All in all: a great experience, thanks to Sanghee her enthusiastic guiding.Royal Palaces with Sanghee

Danny🇺🇸 United States

(About local Ho Jin)

9 October 2023

Had a wonderful morning exploring and learning about the Seoul Palaces with Ho Jin. He was extremely knowledgeable and myself and the rest of our group had a great time asking him questions and learning about the history of Seoul’s Palaces. He was accommodating with whatever paces we wanted to move at. Thanks again Ho Jin!Seoul Palaces tour with Ho Jin

Anne🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Ho Jin)

5 October 2023

Ho Jin was very informative an excellent guide. Gave a good insight to the differsnt architecture. 10

Erik🇳🇱 Netherlands

(About local Ho Jin)

3 October 2023

We had a day with gorgeous weather for our tour. The meetup point was easy to find and Ho Jin was there well on time to meet us. The sights were very impressive and Ho Jin explained a lot of the meaning and history behind the buildings and architecture. Ho Jin was very nice and in between the history talk we also had pleasant small talk about Korean culture etc. All in all we had a great afternoon 😀.A pleasant stroll through korean history

Mz🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Ho Jin)

24 June 2023

Ho Jin was really great. Very knowledgeable and truly built an amazing picture of how the palaces were used and talked lots about the history of Seoul. The palaces would have been less enjoyable with out him. We went at a really nice pace and was able to go and explore parts of the palaces we wanted. I’ve recommended Ho Jin to friends coming later in the year and would defo book another tour with him when I come back. It’s a shame I don’t have more time this holiday to book more tours with him myself. Best tour ive ever had

Clare🇺🇸 United States

(About local Ho Jin)

20 February 2023

Ho Jin is an excellent guide; kind,flexible and knowledgeable. He tailored the pace of our tour to what interested my group. It was a pleasure to learn more about the palaces and Royal dynasties. I highly recommend booking a tour! Perfect Afternoon at Palaces

Scott🇺🇸 United States

(About local Julian)

6 July 2022

Despite monsoon rains, Julian guided us through the temples and avenues of Seoul. It was our first day in Seoul and Julian was a wonderful ambassador to the city, answering questions related to what we were touring and everything else. I cannot recommend him highly enough - Julian is the best! Thank you for a great tour, your friendliness and patience.

rzc5h7cscc🇰🇷 Korea, Republic of

(About local Ho Jin)

3 June 2022

Ho Jin aka "Jimmy Lee" was fun, knowledgeable, and multilingual. He was flexible with 3 ladies who were inquisitive. We not only asked about the historical locations we saw, but he was more than happy to share information about every day life in Seoul and South Korea. I cannot stress enough his flexibility and relaxed style in touring. He was able to adapt to our group without making us feel rushed. I have no doubt he could push a group if needed, but we were not that group. He was so good members in our group tried to book him again with their spouses and members in our larger meeting group. Beyond expectations!

Sandra🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Yejin)

30 May 2022

Yejin was an amazing guide. She is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. Literally felt like I met up with a good friend and we went for a walk around the city. Her knowledge on the palace history is top notch! I would Highly recommend picking her as your guide. Thank you so much Yejin! Best tour when arriving in Seoul

Denzel🇲🇽 Mexico

(About local Julian)

25 April 2022

A really good tour, walking through the Seoul downtown, budist temples and the palace. I'm truly Suggest to Julian as your future guide.An amazing place with amazing guidance

adam🇺🇸 United States

(About local Yejin)

6 February 2020

Yejin was a great tour guide and added tremendously to the day - she pointed out and took us out to local hidden spots and showed us around. Everything was flexible - she was generous and hospitable. We stayed in touch for the duration of the trip and she continued to provide tips and suggestions based on our continued itinerary and experiences that we were looking for. She's added to my trip to Korea immensely and I;d like to say "Thank you, Thank you! Yejin!"Excellent tour guide and resource

Mo🇺🇸 United States

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

5 March 2025

My mother and I did a walking tour with Sanghee that started off at Gyeongbokgung Palace and in and around Bukchon. Since my mother is older, I asked Sanghee to pace us slowly and she did a great job of showing us around the sights while checking in with my mom on how she was doing. Sanghee was knowledgeable and kind, giving us insights into the Korean life whilst also helping satisfy the "tourist" side. Highly recommend!Great tour with Sanghee!

Bernard

(About local Julian)

4 March 2025

Thanks to Julian for a wonderful food tour on a snowy day. An excellent intro to street food in Seoul

Richard🇬🇧 United Kingdom

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

2 March 2025

I met Priscilla at a Metro station near Namdaemun Market and sampled a wide variety of foods from restaurants, small cafes and street stalls. I tasted many things which I would have been wary about, without her telling me about them. She was knowledgeable, funny, informative and very easy to understand. I would highly recommend her - just make sure you haven’t eaten for a few days beforehand! Her insight into Korean food was very useful in my further travels around Korea and I will definitely be cooking some of the dishes when I get home. Thanks Priscilla, hope to see you on my next trip to Seoul. A must do if in Seoul.

mrdreese

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

1 March 2025

My group really enjoyed our time Priscilla. She was very fun, charismatic, and knowledgeable about the history of South Korea. She was very familiar with the many shrines, statues, temples and artifacts, and she was able to tell the stories of each. Priscilla answered all of our questions and she made great recommendations outside of our tour. I would recommend Priscilla as a guide if you are visiting South Korea.Very Informative

Unknown

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

1 March 2025

We loved our time with Priscilla. She is a perfect combination of guide and friendliness! Super Friendly

bc9r9rx42s

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

26 February 2025

Sanghee was a great guide to different foods in Seoul. We went to places we never would have found ourselves and we had a really great time.Street food

bc9r9rx42s

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

26 February 2025

We had a great time with Sanghee. She was really enthusiastic and showed us a great time. Everything about the tour was great!Highlights with Sanghee

Catherine🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

24 February 2025

We are a Canadian family with a 10 years old kid. We had a very go experience with Shanghee Pricilla. She is dynamic, interesting and very generous! She is a very good storyteller. We had a wonderfull journey with her!Wonderfull experience!

Unknown

(About local Ho Jin)

23 February 2025

Ho Jin is a wonderful guide. So personable and knowledgeable about Korean history and culture. I highly recommend him. Terrific!!!

Don

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

21 February 2025

From the start, Priscilla led us on a culinary adventure that was varied and delicious despite being somewhat restricted by my wife’s adversity to overly spicy foods. Priscilla was informative, engaging and very personable. We both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Highly recommend! Top-notch Guide & Tour

Melissa

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

18 February 2025

1

Masias.restis

(About local Ho Jin)

11 February 2025

Ho Jin was an absolute gem as a guide! He was incredibly knowledgeable about Korean culture and life, and he made the whole experience so enjoyable. I highly recommend him to anyone looking to learn more about Korea. Korean Atlas

Kendra

(About local Jason)

5 February 2025

With so much to explore in even just the city of Seoul, I didn't know where to start! I had a lot of last minute questions and Jason made sure to clarify what I was in search of and what would make my experience most enjoyable. I really appreciated how thorough he was and how he handled all of my vague inquiries patiently. We fit quite a variety of tailored experiences in a short amount of time and I was thankful for his help and expertise. He even went above and beyond helping me with tourist information I really should have had figured out before I got here 😅 To anyone on the fence about getting a guide, I would say "It's definitely worth it! Just book it!" This was one of the biggest highlights of my trip. Can't express enough how grateful I am! "Seoul" nice to meet you!

Felipe🇲🇽 Mexico

(About local Ho Jin)

4 February 2025

Hi Jin, fue excelente guía, conocedor, flexible y nos llevó a todos lados que le pedimos. Sumamente gentil y profesional Most excellent guide in Korea

Natalie

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

4 February 2025

1

I went on a food tour with my family of 5 and Priscilla took us to hidden gems, explained food history and traditions, ordered for us and made the whole experience utterly memorable and so much fun. We ate kimchee, noodles, sweet delicacies and travelled to secret local eateries. Totally recommend Priscilla who is charismatic, knowledgeable and good humoured!Brilliant tour

Russ🇺🇸 United States

(About local Ho Jin)

27 January 2025

We had a long layover in Seoul. Jimmy picked us up at the airport and showed us around the city for 5 hours. He took us to a great fried chicken restaurant. He got us back to the airport with a few minutes to spare. It was a great day. And, he speaks perfect English. Amazing Day

Stephany

(About local Ho Jin)

14 January 2025

Ho Jin was an awesome tour guide. He was very knowledgeable and cultured. Even though it was probably the coldest day of the year we had a great time and had a lot of fun. Highly recommend! Great tour on a cold day

Kerry🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Ho Jin)

9 January 2025

We are so lucky to have Ho Jin as our guide again for the second time this trip , this time to the DMZ. He’s knowledgeable, entertaining and like hanging out with a lifelong friend. We ended our dad playing with meercats and a raccoon….🦝 what more could you ask for. Don’t even hesitate book Ho Jin for your Korean adventure!Full day DMZ

Simon🇩🇰 Denmark

(About local Ho Jin)

8 January 2025

Ho Jin gave us a great tour of Seoul, was very kind and talked perfectly English. Would highly recommend! 😊Great tour!

Kerry🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Ho Jin)

7 January 2025

Personable, friendly and knowledgeable! Look forward to our second booking with him tomorrow. Excellent guide

Art

(About local Jason)

7 January 2025

My partner and I booked a private 2 person tour to experience the taste of Seoul. We initially booked on a Sunday, but Jason advised another day as most shops closed Sunday. We enjoyed our tour of the market and had a wonderful experience. The food was excellent and Jason carried the conversation through the experience. We highly recomend using Jason and will use him in the future.Winter Food Tour

bigpetebrown

(About local Jason)

7 January 2025

We had a really interesting tour with Jason but sadly (?) Jason's tour wasn't for us. It was nice to start with a coffee and chat but we have good coffee in Australia and the chat was a little long. Jason was super knowledgable about Korea in general, and the market we visited, but we thought Jason was thrown by us not being the slightest bit interested in shopping. For a food and drinks tour the food was good but drinks didn't happen apart from the free drinks everyone had with lunch. The sit down lunch was excellent and would have been a great opportunity to be offered a beer. To be honest we'd missed that we were going to the palace and this ended up being a real highlight as the changing of the guard happened while we were there. Overall we enjoyed our time with Jason but for us the value for money wasn't there. Good food but where were the drinks?

Stephen🇦🇺 Australia

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

6 January 2025

1

Enjoyed our tour with Priscilla, went into multiple places to sample lovely tasty Korean food, simple yet full of flavour. A culinary wander to multiple different types and styles of food. Completely stuffed by its completion. Would recommend for all.Great food, local knowledge

Lisa

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

5 January 2025

1

Sanghee was not only knowledgable about all things Seoul, but she was also flexible and fun to be with. We tasked her with touring food markets, cultural landmarks and scheduling beauty treatments for our family and we all had a fabulous time. I would absolutely recommend contacting her and planning your own adventure!A terrific guide for your trip to Seoul

Niv

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

5 January 2025

1

We had a wonderful time with Sanghee on our tour of local markets in Seoul. The tour was both educational, fun, and tasty! Would definitely recommendGreat tour around Seoul

Michelle🇺🇸 United States

(About local Jason)

3 January 2025

What can I say except Book with Jason! He truly created a custom experience for me! Worth every penny and more. Hes a licensed tour guide with a fabulous sense for what will make for memorable experiences. Fluency in English made conversation fun and easy. Just fabulous, I will definitely book again!Fun and huge value for money!

Stephanie

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

2 January 2025

1

Sanghee was a great tour guide! We were able to try new foods and learn about the area around us. She catered to everyone’s food preferences and the tour was flexible when it came to trying other foods we saw along the tour. Great sense of humor too! Definitely recommend! Great tour guide and experience

Louise🇨🇦 Canada

(About local Jason)

1 January 2025

Jason was a true super host when exploring Seoul He took the time to find out what we liked to see and explore and was very accurate with his suggestions He was knowledgeable on the history of Seoul past and present And lastly Jason was all around amazing his personality shone through his words and his passion truly amazed us We would absolutely recommend Jason as your next guide True host

Psalm

(About local Sanghee Priscilla)

1 January 2025

1

My family and I recently joined Priscilla’s street food tour in Seoul, and it was fantastic! We explored local markets, tasting authentic dishes like bibimbap and noodle soup. We had been enjoying Seoul’s food scenes too much the days, so don’t make the same mistake and forget to starve yourselves the night before 😁. I highly recommend this tour to anyone looking to experience Seoul’s culinary delights.Bring an empty stomach!