4.8
Treasures of Seoul: Tea ceremony Tour
- 2.5 hours
- City Highlight Tours
- Seoul
Choose one of 3 locals available
Experience hosted by Sanghee Priscilla, Cristina & one other local
- Private Experience
- Carbon Neutral
- Destination
- Seoul, South Korea
- Category
- City Highlight Tours
- Duration
- 2.5 hours
- Transport mode
- Walking tour
- Available languages
- English, Français, Deutsch, Español, Korean
- Included
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- Private Guide
- Songpyeon (Korean traditional rice snack)
- Tea selection from Korean Green Tea
- Pu-erh Enzyme Tea
- Oolong Tea
- All Withlocals Tours are Carbon Neutral
- Excluded
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- Food and drinks not listed as inclusion
6 reasons to book this tour
- Can be 100% customized to your wishes
- Get to truly embrace the culture of the city
- Learn about Tea ceremony in Seoul
- Connect with a knowledgeable local
- Hear fascinating stories and insights
- Discover cultural highlights & their local relevance
What you can expect
Seoul is full of culture and folklore, and on this private tour, your local host is going to take you to discover more about a Tea ceremony.
Through your local host’s storytelling skills and different stops, you’ll fully submerge yourself in the culture of Seoul and dive into the subject of your tour, the Tea ceremony. Discover cultural traits around a Tea ceremony and how they have shaped Seoul, from past to the present. Because isn't culture what makes a city truly special?!
As you embrace the local culture, its traditions, beliefs, customs, stories, and legends, you’ll see Seoul from a different perspective. Take your experience to the next level and follow your local host to Bukchon where you’ll check out spots relevant to the culture such as Bukchon Hanok Village, a Traditional Tea House, and the Jongmyo Shrine. As you go from stop to stop, you’ll see how the culture of Seoul is in every corner blending in perfectly with the local life.
The local hosts are natural storytellers, each with a different background ranging from history to art. They can't wait to share some of their unique stories and personal anecdotes with you! Feel like changing the route a bit? No problem, the hosts will be happy to personalize the tour to your wishes and make their Seoul, your Seoul!
Choose your local
Get to know these 3 passionate locals, each bringing unique perspectives and talents. Choose your favorite, check their availability, and book to create an unforgettable adventure tailored to you.
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Sanghee Priscilla
Truly a Seoulite
4.8244 reviewsKorean・English -
Cristina
Exhuberant Multilingual
4.659 reviewsEnglish・Français・Deutsch・Español・Korean -
Jason
K-Culture Ambassador
4.910 reviewsEnglish・Korean
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.
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Meeting point
Meet at Anguk Station (Seoul Subway Line 3) Exit 1 (In front of Police Station) - Seoul to start your journey
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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.
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Culture of the City
On this private tour, you’ll experience and discover Seoul through its culture. Whether it’s focused on a tradition, a special part of town with a story to tell, cultural beliefs, or around a cultural activity that shaped the city into what it is - this tour will be a cultural awakening you can’t miss! -
Tea ceremony in Seoul
Your tour will focus on Tea ceremony, a very important cultural subject in Seoul. Thanks to your local host, you’ll learn and see how Tea ceremony made an impact in Seoul, making you experience the city from a different perspective. -
Cultural Highlights
As you deep dive into the subject of your tour, you’ll make stops to visit unique spots that will give you a full picture of the city. Visit Bukchon Hanok Village, Traditional Tea House, Jongmyo Shrine, and more and see how these cultural highlights are part of the local life but have so much history behind them! -
Storytelling Journey
As you discover the cultural side of Seoul, you’ll be able to embrace it 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. -
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
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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.
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Change of plans?
Reschedule your experience to a date and time that works best for you.
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Loved by travelers worldwide
Simple and flexible – your plans, your way.
Reviews from guests
Kendra
(About local )
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!
Nicole
(About local )
25 May 2024
We had a wonderful afternoon tasting and learning more about tea from a presentation by an expert. Sanghee picked up on our interests and helped guide the conversation and the activity around that. We did this tour on our second day in the city, so it was a great way to learn and have fun.Fun afternoon
Miriam🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
5 May 2024
We started our trip through Korea with this tea tasting and it was the perfect start. We learned a lot about the Korean and Chinese tea tradition and had a great time with Sanghee. Thank you for the great time, we still think back fondly on it!Perfect start in Korea!
Ben🇨🇭 Switzerland
(About local )
4 January 2024
We went to two tea shops (no traditional tea ceremony!) to drink tea and afterwards we went to the Hanoi village to walk up a hill on our own to take pictures.
Sanghee mainly asked us about our lifestyles and didn't share much about tea ceremonies, South Korea, Seoul or the history.
The tour felt unorganized and unstructured.Chaotic and Unstructured
Fernando🇸🇬 Singapore
(About local )
2 January 2024
Priscilla was great in explaining the back stories not normally available in books. She was flexible in adjusting the pace and content based on our interests. Lots of recommendations too for places to go after the tour. Highly recommended!Great Intro to Korean Culture
Hemant🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
26 November 2023
Cristina was fun, knowledgeable and authentic. Her local anecdotes and personal flavor made the tour more personal and personable.
Had this tour combined with the tea tasting back to back. Appreciated her accommodating that and tailoring the combined tour to my preferences and adapting as we went along.
Appreciated her guidance through the local stores in my search for curios and keepsakes.Seoul the local way
David
(About local )
28 September 2023
Sanghee was very friendly and easy to get on with and knowledge with useful information about the teas and food.
I would highly recommend both her and the tour.Really great tour
Emile🇳🇱 Netherlands
(About local )
2 September 2023
Samghee was a lovely, sweet and friendly guide who provided us with a very nice tour, experiencing 3 tea houses and different teas. We had a great, relaxing time. Don't expect a traditional, 'solemn' ceremony. We were explained that the traditional tea ceremony takes one or two hours, which would be a lot, which is why this was a more informal introduction into different teas, of which some were made by a tea master and not for sale. We visited two locations at which the tea was prepared for us and one where we could prepare the tea ourselves, in a relaxed informal manner, all the while enjoying a nice conversation with our guide. We enjoyed it and came out calm and relaxed. Only would have liked to have a bit more in-depth explanation about the origins of the teas and the place of the tea in Korean life and society. We decided to take it as it came and enjoyed it thoroughly as such.
We paid € 85,- p.p. jncluding booking costs, which, given the 3 hour duration of the tour and the inclusion of all the teas, seems reasonable to me.Great time!
Kyanna🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
20 August 2023
Sanghee went above and beyond what we expected! We went to multiple cafes and got some of the most delicious treats on my trip so far! Ending the night with the tea class with something that I know not many get the experience and the atmosphere was so nice and light hearted I would go back in a heartbeat!A unforgettable experience
Selina🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
19 September 2022
I had a wonderful time with Sanghee Priscilla, who shared the Korean tea experience with me in the Bukchon neighbourhood. We visited the new Hansik Space to enjoy traditional Korean tea and snacks. We also visited the Tea Therapy Café, where we enjoyed a foot bath along with our traditional tea. Sanghee shared many insights about her city – it was fascinating to learn about Seoul from a local’s perspective. I would highly recommend Sanghee as a guide – she will help you make the most of your visit to Seoul. An Unforgettable Tea Experience in Seoul
Taylor🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
1 August 2022
Sanghee shares not only a wonderful tea experience, but her vast history and knowledge as well. She has a great taste in music and is a fabulous picture taker. Your pictures will definitely be Instagram ready!
Brenda🇰🇷 Korea, Republic of
(About local )
17 June 2022
It was great meeting Sanghee and having her walk us through a nice tea ceremony. We visited a local place in Bukchon village, told us information about the traditional tea, and had lots to share about the history of Korea. Afterwards, we enjoyed walk through Bukchon village followed by a tour at a loca shrine. We definitely packed a lot in the small amount of time we had! Tea Ceremony & Walking Tour
Lauren🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
20 April 2025
Sanghee was an excellent host! She made us a tailored tour, taking us to some of the biggest sites of Seoul and showing us where to find the best, most authentic food! We started our few days in Seoul with Sanghee and it was the best way to introduce ourselves to the city. Thank you so much!
Johannes🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
19 April 2025
Jason is a top recommendation. We are a group of students and early professionals living in Seoul and booked with Jason to visit the DMZ. He knows the best spots in the DMZ and is able to put things into a broader contemporary context, not just focused on the past history. The best thing was that he was a true guide, selecting the best sights and skipping the waiting lines. He made sure to adjust to all of our needs, e.g., finding a bang-for-the-buck authentic Korean restaurant or also showing us the suspension bridge despite a detour. Really felt like taking a long-time friend with us.DMZ Trip
Ying Ching🇸🇬 Singapore
(About local )
14 April 2025
We had a great time with Priscilla. Priscilla was really flexible and accommodating. We are really introverted and Priscilla totally put us at ease. In total we had more than 20 items and were stuffed to the brim. Many of the stalls were stalls we would never dare to try without a local. Come hungry!!!Great time! Really authentic!
Ute🇩🇪 Germany
(About local )
4 April 2025
Es hat uns Freude bereitet von Cristina rumgeführt zu werden. Sie hat uns einiges gezeigt und uns sehr viel in unserer Heimatsprache erklärt, wodurch wir auch alles verstanden haben. Das Highlight war zudem das süße Kaffee in das sie uns geführt hat und die urigen Einkaufspassagen. Wir können Cristina sehr empfehlen.Schöne, entspannte Stadtführung
Boris
(About local )
2 April 2025
Shanghee was a wonderful companion for our visit to the palace. We felt very comfortable and enjoyed every minute of it, we recommend it. Guide unreservedly.Perfect Guide.
Pierre
(About local )
30 March 2025
Very good guide, knows authentic and good street food places !
Thanks !!Excellent !
Regina
(About local )
21 March 2025
Priscilla organised the full day for us. So good to be picked up from our accommodation knowing we were going where we wanted to go.
Zip line and Nami ticked off our list with an added bonus of a local lunch … yum
Priscilla dropped us off in the city and ensured we knew exactly where we had to go on the sub. All adding to our experience.
Priscilla is such a bubbly individual and has a wealth of knowledge to impart. Such a great day
Regina
(About local )
21 March 2025
Well organised tour. Priscilla went out of her way to ensure we were happy with our day. Amazing guide with a great sense of humour.
We would highly recommend Priscilla.
Cheers from Regina and Moira Do DMZ with Priscilla
Maria
(About local )
21 March 2025
Fue muy dificil encontrar guia en español en Seul, y en la busqueda encontramos withlocals. Si bien se iba un poco de nuestro presupuesto, no nos queríamos ir de la ciudad sin tener una explicación de las cosas que habíamos visto.
Cristina no defraudo! Ante mi temor de que su español no fuera el mejor, le pregunte antes de encontrarnos como era su fluidez y me contesto perfecto... asi fue!!!
Pasamos 3 horas muy entretenidas descubriendo el centro de Seúl, su cultura y tradiciones.
Siempre estuvo pendiente de nuestras necesidades y hasta nos acompaño a una farmacia a comprar medicamentos.
Excelente experienciaPerfecto español en Seul
Jessica
(About local )
18 March 2025
P. is a great tour guide. She is very friendly, humorous, professional and responsive to our requests. We had a lot of fun with her. Thank you for the lovely evening. :-)So much fun… :-)
Shirley🇨🇦 Canada
(About local )
17 March 2025
Our group loved Jason - As Group Leader of 14 retirees, I'm so very happy I chose him as our Guide in Seoul! Jason has a great command of the English Language - he has a warm, upbeat personality, a great sense of humor, is knowledgeable, flexible and very attentive to our group's wishes and was especially attentive to the needs of those in our group who required special attention. We could not have had a better Guide in Seoul and thanks to him and his hard-working, efficient driver, Mr. Lee, our group had a wonderful, fun and rewarding time in Seoul. Perfect English Speaking Korean Guide!
Jennifer
(About local )
11 March 2025
Priscilla was a lot of fun and had a lot of energy. We went to all the different hot spot for local and well know food places. I am happy that I got to the famous dumpling place on Kstreet. It was amazing! Great for Foodie's
Mo🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
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!
Richard🇬🇧 United Kingdom
(About local )
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 )
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 )
1 March 2025
We loved our time with Priscilla. She is a perfect combination of guide and friendliness! Super Friendly
bc9r9rx42s
(About local )
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 )
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 )
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!
Don
(About local )
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 )
18 February 2025
Natalie
(About local )
4 February 2025
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
Scott🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
19 January 2025
Cristina was friendly and clearly knew her stuff. She answered all our questions on culture and history. There were some parts of the tour though that she could have helped us make more efficient. We didn't know we were going to a market so we didn't have cash on us. Also, it would have been good if she had mentioned the palace was going to stop admitting people at 8PM since we could have chosen to prioritize that rather than get there a minute late. Most of all, we were disappointed in the lack of restaurant and specific food suggestions. Overall, we're glad we did the tour as a way to make the most of our long layover time in Seoul and Cristina was a friendly local to walk around with and provide some interesting information.Friendly/knowledgeable but can improve
Art
(About local )
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 )
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 )
6 January 2025
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 )
5 January 2025
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 )
5 January 2025
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 )
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!
Michelle🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
3 January 2025
Cristina was so patient with me! She explained everything, was an engaging and fun tour guide. Fluent in English, conversation was easy and fun. I will book again when I come back to Seoul!Absolutely fabulous
Stephanie
(About local )
2 January 2025
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 )
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 )
1 January 2025
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!
Psalm
(About local )
1 January 2025
This tour was amazing! Priscilla is full of energy, knowledgeable, and made the history of the DMZ easy to understand. Visiting the Third Infiltration Tunnel and Dora Observatory was fascinating and educational. Seeing North Korea from the observatory was a unique experience, and Priscilla kept everything streamlined to provide us the best views and opportunities of the entire day.Must do activity whilst in Seoul!
Sven
(About local )
30 December 2024
Wir hatten eine längere Tour geplant, die aber wegen Flugverspätung kürzer ausfallen musste. Cristina war sehr geduldig und hat auf uns gewartet und dann die Tour angepasst. Wir konnten so unseren kurzen Zwischenstopp in Seoul gut nutzen. Vielen Dank!Super nette Kurz-Tour durch Seoul
Ariel🇺🇸 United States
(About local )
29 December 2024
Jason did a phenomenal job on a food tour with 4 fairly picky American kids. He offered us lots of options and followed all of our requests, requested large taxis to take us between places when it got cold, and found a vegan restaurant. His English is fluent and I would highly recommend a tour with him.Very knowledgeable guide
Helen🇮🇹 Italy
(About local )
19 December 2024
We were a bit disappointed to spend the entire tour in busy Gwangjang Market. We were expecting more variety. More variety would’ve been better.
Matthew
(About local )
12 December 2024
Private tour with just the guide makes it more personalized. My guide was Jason and he was very friendly and helpful when I needed to find specific items at stores.The 10 tastings of Seoul
Withlocals experiencesare always
Private & personalizedNo strangers, just you. Fully customize your trip to your needs.
With a local expertFrom historical facts to the most up-to-date health regulations.
Without the crowdsExperiences designed to take you away from the crowds towards authentic local spots.