Home > Seoul > Historical Seoul Tour: Cheongwadae Sarangchae and Gyeongbokgung Palace
USD $44.00
Historical Seoul Tour: Cheongwadae Sarangchae and Gyeongbokgung Palace
Seoul, South Korea
Gain a deeper insight into Korean history and culture on this tour in Seoul with a friendly, knowledgeable local guide. Explore Gyeongbokgung Palace, visit a traditional Buddhist temple, discover Korea’s folk culture at a museum, and learn interesting facts about Korea’s politics at an exhibition center. You’ll also visit the National Ginseng Outlet to learn the secrets of this important plant.
Your guide will pick you up from your Seoul hotel in the morning and take you by air-conditioned vehicle to Cheongwadae Sarangchae, a historical center where you can walk in the footsteps of Korean presidents and learn about the past, present and future of Korea and its capital.
On the first floor, the Korea Exhibition Center, learn about Korean history, culture, historic figures and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Head to the second floor to visit the Presidential Center, whose photos display scenes from Korea’s major political events from 60 years ago to today. Gain insight into the country’s governmental developments and take home a photo souvenir of you posing with political leaders.
Next, visit Gyeongbokgung Palace, built in 1395. Explore the grounds and marvel at the traditional architectural elements of each structure, such as the main residences of the Joseon Dynasty-era king and queen. You'll discover how Gyeongbokgung remains the most beautiful and grandest of the Five Grand Palaces of the Joseon Dynasty.
You’ll then head to central Seoul to visit the National Folk Museum of Korea, where you'll get a glimpse into how Koreans have lived throughout the centuries, from ancient times to the Joseon Dynasty to the 20th century. Browse interesting artifacts and gain insight into the deep roots of Confucianism in Korean culture.
Next, at Jogyesa Temple in Seoul’s Jongno-gu district, see where the administrative headquarters of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism is housed. This 500-year-old temple, an international tourist destination, played an important role in the current state of Seon Buddhism in South Korea, and will give you a sense of authentic cultural and religious traditions.
Your final stop is the National Ginseng Outlet, where you’ll learn about the important role this plant plays in Korean culture, medicine and cuisine. You’ll then be taken back to your hotel or Seoul’s shopping district, whichever you prefer.
Very good tour and very knowledgeable guide, Michael.
Review by: Christopher K, June 2015
Very good tour of the old royal palace and museum._br/_
The guide was very knowledgeable on the sites and Korean history. I definitely recommend it.
Review by: Joshua M, April 2015
Very cheerful and knowledgeable tour guide. We thoroughly enjoyed this tour, even though it was a chilly day. The palace was beautiful, and the changing of the guard ceremony was also very cool. I recommend this tour with this guide... well worth it, and he will go out of his way to accommodate your needs.
Review by: Ian T, March 2015
Very good tour and very well informed guide. We feel we covered a lot of ground in the 3 hours we had available. We did not have much time as we were flying out at 15:00 in the afternoon but Lee managed to fit a lot in over the tour and was an excellent guide. We had to move through everything quickly but this was essential given our time constraints, it was just a taste of the city but well worth doing.
Review by: Susan A, October 2014
An excellent tailor made trip for a short visit to Tokyo. We really appreciated the thoughtful planning of this private tour to meet our specific interests and the professional leadership of our guide.
Review by: y.esme.lin, September 2014
Great tour! Our guide was super nice and very accommodating. We learned a lot about the palaces as well as the history behind them. The tour was just the right pace as well. Highly recommend for everyone!
Review by: Bats, August 2014
Guide was very helpful, and tour was fine, but disable access was limited._br/_
There were wheelchair ramps installed, but the ground around the ramps was uneven or soft making using a wheelchair very difficult.
Review by: Sze Meng L, June 2014
I shall summarize the experiences in two sentences. _br/_
The guide William was punctual and is a friendly and knowledgeable guide who explain to us the history of the Palace and the temple._br/_
Unfortunately the Presidential Center was under renovation. The guard changing at Gyeongbokgung Palace is an interesting sight.
Review by: Ann, October 2013
This tour was exactly what we expected and what we were looking for. William was our tour guide and we really enjoyed his approach and the information and history he provided. This was a fast pace tour which was good for us as we really don't like to linger in once place for long periods of time. If you want to be able to walk around and take everything in and, read everything, this is not the tour for you as there's a lot of ground covered in the time allocated. The palace is worth seeing and we really enjoyed the museum. We are very happy we decided to do a tour.
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