Korean Palace and Temple Tour in Seoul: Gyeongbokgung Palace and Jogyesa Temple
Description
Get a glimpse of Korean culture and heritage on this tour of Seoul. Explore vast Gyeongbokgung Palace, learn about Korean history at the National Folk Museum, and discover Buddhist practices and traditions at Jogyesa Temple. At each place, your expert guide will tell you interesting facts and stories, especially about Korea’s notable Joseon Dynasty.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You’ll be picked up at your Seoul hotel in the morning and driven by comfortable, air-conditioned vehicle around the city.
First, pass the Blue House (Cheongwadae), the executive office and residence of the South Korean head of state and president of the Republic of Korea.
Continue to Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was the primary residence of the royal family in the Joseon Dynasty. Arguably as the most beautiful palace in Seoul, Gyeongbokgung remains the largest and grandest of the Five Grand Palaces. With your guide, explore the palace compound on foot and learn about the traditional architecture typical of the Joseon Dynasty.
Inside the compound, visit the National Folk Museum to gain an understanding of how Koreans have lived from ancient times to today. Following your guide through the museum, learn about the customs of both the ordinary citizens and members of the aristocracy as you browse displays of traditional farming methods, hunting, weaving, cooking and other housekeeping chores.
Finally, head to Jogyesa Temple, the leading temple for Zen Buddhism in Korea. On your visit, you’ll get an authentic sense of Buddhism’s role during the Joseon Dynasty, and witness first-hand how this place provides a calm sanctuary for locals from the busy streets of Seoul.
We will visit one shopping center. (ginseng center)
After your time here, you'll be taken to the Ginseng Center before being dropped off at City Hall.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We provide hotel pick up only in Seoul area. If you put your hotel information, the tour operator will give the pick up time with exact meeting time. You MUST get the meeting time from the tour operator
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- A moderate amount of walking is involved; comfortable walking shoes are recommended
- This tour included one shopping center (ginseng center)
Reviews(42)
Typical city tour. I only had 2.5 days in Korea on my way home so used tours for best options to see sights. Guide was lovely and very experienced with good English. Small tour about 15 ppl. I don’t do the big bus groups. If you only have a short time a good way to see the sights without any stress
A great way to learn about Korean history. The guide, Sebom, was great, approachable, and always willing to answer questions.
Hello, this is Isabella from Seoul City Tour. We sincerely appreciate your review! We’re glad you had a fantastic experience and hope to see you on another Tour in the future. We look forward to welcoming you on your next visit!
Our tour guide, Katie, was organized and knowledgeable about the sites we visited. Her energy made the experience really fun.
Hello! This is Scarlett from Seoul City Tour. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with us. We are thrilled that the tour was both educational and enjoyable for you and your group. Your support means a great deal to our entire team.
First time in Korea trip dedicated to my daughter‘s birthday and wanted to go see temples only had one day here book that tour and it requested the pick up location which I provided get confirmation stating pick up spot is your hotel. Nobody showed up nobody responded. We never get in touch with the operator. She was very rude and unprofessional said we only pick up from Seoul And said if we can come, we can come by ourselves She said pick up location. It’s only to know which hotel we are from. But no specific address for pick up was provided in instructions or in any other way
Hello, this is Amy from Seoul City Tour. First of all, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you experienced. As clearly stated on our website, our pickup service is available within Seoul only. Since you were staying outside of Seoul, we kindly advised you to meet at a designated location in Seoul. Although the policy was clearly indicated on the tour page, we still tried our best to assist you and initially considered offering a refund as a gesture of goodwill. However, after receiving the 1-star review despite our efforts to accommodate the situation, we regret to inform you that we are no longer able to proceed with the refund. We always strive to treat our guests fairly and provide transparent information in advance. We truly wish this situation had been resolved more positively. Thank you for your understanding. Kind regards, Amy Seoul City Tour
Very good tour. Katie is very well organised and punctual. She is a delightful and pleasant person. X
The Temple and Palace tours were enlightening, so much so because AJ, our English-speaking and charming guide, was quite knowledgeable about Korean history.
Great tour but taken to ginseng factory for hard sell which is not mentioned on the list. The guide was informative
AJ was an amazing tour guide – funny, energetic, and enthusiastic! We covered a lot of ground in a short time In this half day tour. She kept the group together, shared great info and recommendations, and made the whole experience fun and memorable. Highly recommended!!
AJ was an amazing tour guide – funny, energetic, and enthusiastic! We covered a lot of ground in a short time In this half day tour. She kept the group together, shared great info and recommendations, and made the whole experience fun and memorable. Highly recommended!!
Well organised and great information . Plenty of great experiences and well thought out. Chloe was excellent
