Seoul Searching: Modern Korea

We’ll meet at our hub airport with Rustic Pathways’ airport team and your group of travelers and board our flight to Seoul. Get some rest on the flight so you can be ready for the acventures ahead!

We arrive in the afternoon at Incheon International Airport near Seoul. Your program leaders will meet you at the airport and we head to our guesthouse where we can unpack, shower, and have a delicious first meal. Get to know the group and your leaders while we learn a few Korean games and get an orientation to help us start strong tomorrow.

We’ll spend the next three nights at a guesthouse as our hub for exploring Seoul. We’ll be 4-8 students in shared rooms with traditional floor bedding and private bathrooms with hot water.

We dive head first into exploring Seoul today. After a traditional breakfast at our accommodation, we head to the N Seoul Tower. From the towering height of this landmark you’ll have a much clearer sense of the layout of the city and how it is nestled into the surrounding hills. In the afternoon, we’ll get fitted into traditional Korean clothes, hanbok, and step back in time at the Gyeongbukgung Palace in the heart of the city. This palace dates back to the Joseon dynasty and was a home for royalty and government. In the evening we’ll have an introduction to Korean language and get a chance to practice reading and writing the traditional characters.

This morning we head to school! Join students at a local school where we get to sit in on English classes and join in with conversation practice. You’ll get to help them improve their skills and learn exchange stories about teenage life directly with students. After a lunch on campus, we’ll keep the focus on food and learn how to make a few of the famously delicious Korean dishes. Of course, you’ll also get to eat your handiwork. In the evening we will head to Gwangjang Market (famously featured in Netflix’s Street Food). We’ll introduce all the best Korean street food like tteokbokki, dak gangjeong, and mandu.

Today we’ll get behind the scenes of Kpop and learn the moves of BTS and other global Kpop idols. Later, we leave the city behind to cross the country to Gangwondo Province. Known for its beautiful natural scenery and outdoor activities, it was also host to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

We’ll spend the next two nights sleeping in the peaceful setting at Woljeongsa temple. We’ll sleep in gender separated shared rooms with traditional floor bedding and shared restrooms with the temple.

This morning we’ll go for a hike in Odaesan National Park and explore the mountains and forest. After a lunch at the temple, we’ll spend out afternoon at Woljeongsa temple learning about Buddhist practice in Korea and temple etiquette. We’ll learn about the history, stories and practices that make up life in this temple that dates back to the year 650.

We say goodbye to our peaceful temple life now and head to the Gangwondo coast. In the summer, this area bustles with beach town energy, and we’ll dive right in with a morning surf lesson. Then we’ll explore the town and sample the famous tofu gelato. In the evening, there is time to visit a norabaeng, a “singing room”. Sing your heart out with your new friends.

We move into a Korean guesthouse for the night. Shared rooms of 4-8, gender separated, with private bathrooms with hot water.

We’ll spend the morning at the beach playing in the water. In the afternoon, we board the bus to head back to Seoul for the last bit of our journey. Once in the city, we’ll take a walk along the picturesque neighborhoods along the Han River that divides the city into north and south. We’ll have a delicious fried chicken dinner and participate in Rustic Ties. This unique and powerful activity allows students to capture the memories and learning moments of their program to process and share with their communities back home.

Finish your final packing and then we’re off to the airport for your return flights. Your adventure with us in South Korea has come to an end, but we hope it has widened your world and excited you for your next adventures!