South Korea Travel Agents

Kim Kim did a great job introducing us to Korea. Organization was superb as were the experiences and customization to our requests. The local guides were superb! Highly recommend! did

We had a great experience in Korea! Our local guides, Sebastian, felt like a host! He was so kind and knowledgeable, both about Korea and about the logistics we needed to get where we were going with great views. The food was so fun, our cooking class with Hello K was amazing upstanding and street food was so fun we did it for dinner several nights! Jessica was helpful and easy to work with. We went to 2 countries on our trip and Jessica helped make sure we had what we needed when, to make things easy! The logistics all went very smooth which is a real benifit for big trips!

Hotel Reviews

L7 Myeongdong by LOTTE

A lot to love about location, getting there was a journey but once there you are in the heart of it all! Not 5 star because it’s a very busy hotel with only 3 elevators, it was quite common to have an elevator arrive already over full and having to wait for 2 or 3 rounds. There are not accessible stairs so there were times we needed to factor 10min into transit time just to get though the elevators!

Authenticity & Character

Fun place, nice beds! The roof top access was fun!

Location

Staff

Overall staff was helpful and kind. Needed help with laundry and one staff members was unkind and unhelpful. Not a language barrier just unhelpful and ultimately we went to 7-11 to get change as the machine was broken.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Not every room has carpet but we stayed in 2 that did and it was visibly gross and stained. Slippers were provided and used!

Cassia Sokcho

Sokcho

What a unique place! The views were so unique! The hotel was huge and expensive. Pool access was an extra charge, as were most of the unique features. The finishes to the hotel were interesting, there was a leak in our bath tub and one of the other rooms the tub didn’t fully drain and was wet upon check in, like it wasn’t level so water pooled on one side. Our stay was safe and we had a lot of fun, but there was a premium cost for anything beyond just the room and the resort style location was not ideal to explore beyond the property, even to eat.

Authenticity & Character

The views were unique, the food was good. It was a resort and felt like one!

Location

Not near anything, a pro and a con. Nice if you want the feeling of exclusivity and being on a reesort, con if you want to explore or see a new area.

Staff

Staff was helpful, we needed to have the early breakfast even though it was already full and they worked to get us settled, even bringing the tickets to our room after check in.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was clean and comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Korean Full-Course Meal Cooking Class at Local Home with Local Market Experience

Seoul

This was son outstanding experience! The host was so kind, the tour through the market was fun, we got a few snacks to try! The cooking itself was an introduction in language and culture as we got to connect with authentic cooking with the idea that we could do this in our own homes later!

Quality of Experience

Outstanding! It was fun and accessible, even if you don’t normally cook

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Host was outstanding! Kind, fun and upbeat! Her passion was clear!

Transport

Transport was self arranged and harder to navigate than expected. We had planned an hour to get there, all predictions said 30min and we got there 3min late! No one’s fault and it was not ideal.

Visit the Picturesque Seoraksan National Park with Shinheungsa Temple

Sokcho

This was outstanding! Beautiful park, we loved the views and the cultural experience at the temple.

Quality of Experience

We. Pyle the used another 1/2 a day here! We only hit the highlights of the park with little extra time to explore.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sebastián knew when we needed to be where so we we had a great time!

Transport

All the logistics went very smoothly!

Explore Nature on the Way to Sokcho: Garden of Morning Calm, Nami Island, Gangchon Rail Park

South Korea

These should all be separate reviews! We had a great day! Garden of Morning Calm: This garden was a delight! We could have used more time here to explore and enjoy the garden! Lots of great spots to appreciate the garden with benches and lovely paths to walk down! Nami Island: What a fun and unique place! We didn’t know much before going, just there for the nature and it was so nice! We needed more time to explore. The ferry ride over was nice but for logistics we were only able to spend about 90min actually looking either. Lots of lovely nature spots, statues, art and of course little shops and restaurants. Rail park: this was our least favorite of the 3 activities. We had fun, lots of laughter and smiles. It was a little hokey and we would have preferred more time in our other spots but it was fun and I would recommend the experience! Overall a great day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Korean Folk Village, Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, Icheon Ceramic Experience Tour

South Korea

We had a great time and this day was not what we thought it would be. Fortress . The fortress was a nice piece of haired and gave context to Seoul. Glad to have seen it and enjoyed the tour but was more of an extension of the previous tour where we had gone to the palace. Village: The village was nice, it was during October so there were ghost decorations and lots of kids and families there enjoying the day. Lines were long and crowds were high. Our guide did a great job of finding less busy spots to share about the history and show unique things.I had not realized this was more of a historial theme park, part entertainment part history. Reminded me of a renaissance festival. Nice but not what I had in mind, probably should have done more research. Ceramics: this was great fun and it felt like we were a last minute addition. We enjoyed making our clay pieces and we’re disappointed to learn they were going to be broken down, you don’t get to take it home (or ship it home) so it was just the experience of creating, fun, worth doing and not what we had expected. We also did not learn much about pottery or ceramics or the significance of pottery to the region. Just made clay art! We had a great time, would recommend it and you don’t get to keep the piece you make and the experiment is all about making the piece.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sebastián was great! Took us to a great BBQ place! The pottery people were kind and accommodating! We had some laugh out loud lunate barrier moments that everyone managed with grace!

Transport

Explore Seoul Highlights

Seoul

This was a busy day! We saw so much and still feel like we only scratched the surface! We had been told we might not go up the tower but we did and I would highly recommend going up!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was a very active trip. We saw a good deal of Korea from north to south and learned about Korean history beginning with the Silla dynasty to the Korean war which divided the peninsula.
Our guides were very knowledgable and especially liked our guide on Jeju Island, Eric.

A review our trip to S Korea: Thank you for flawless arrangements, transportation and interesting activities. The hotels were excellent with each having special advantages. The Hotel BOTANIK was close to markets and we loved the roof top garden. The La Valse had great views and was close to the downtown. Whistle Lark had a pool that was good for lap swimming, but too cool for lounging. The Nine Tree had the Insadong market right out the door. The hotels were so nice I am glad we did not opt for 5 star hotels. We enjoyed the K Cooking class and market tours in Seoul, Busan and Jeju. We missed the Gyeongbokgung Palace because it was closed on Tuesday. Climbing the Seongsan Ilchulbong crater in Jeju was great. The restaurant in Busan on the second floor of the fish market was over hyped. We enjoyed seeing the Gamcheon village in Busan and hearing its history. Great photos there. The Manjanggul lava tunnel was better than expected. But the DMZ third tunnel was arduous for Linda..
Our guides each presented unique Korean perspectives. Kory sincerely sought to impart a good impression to the visitor. Jade gave an honest and complete view of life as a young Korean. Sarah told us when we return next time we will be friends and not tourists - so sweet!

I just completed a private tour of South Korea organized by Christine of Kimkim. The trip fulfilled all my expectations and was an excellent introduction for a first visit to a country I've always wanted to visit. As usual with Kimkim the arrangements were first rate, from airport transfers, hotel pick ups, and private and group tours.

Seoul was a great beginning, and I had a private tour of the city highlights with Hera, who was informative, lively and flexible. She rearranged our schedule on the fly to accommodate both crowded venues as our tour fell on a major holiday, the Korean Thanksgiving, as well as rain in the afternoon. Hera knows the city well and easily found parking at Namsan Park and Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was my favorite place as I enjoy history. We also visited Bukchon Hanok Village and later Kwangiang Food Market where Hera described the various dishes available. She also recommended a resturant for lunch were I had an excellent local dish, Samgyetang, a ginger soup with a small whole chicken stuffed with rice.

The next day I visited the DMZ on an all group tour with Julie. It was fascinating. Julie was knowledge and she made the historical reality of a divided Korea relatable. We crept thru a tunnel leading from the DMC into South Korea, viewed North Korea across the DMZ, and meet a North Korean defector and heard her story.

From Seoul I took the train to the city of Gyeongju. A driver picked me up at my hotel and drove me to Seoul Station and walked me inside and ensured I knew which platform my train departed from.

At Gyeonjgu my driver/guide, Luke was waiting for me, and we spend the afternoon visiting various Silla Dynasty locations, from Tumuli Park with their curious royal tombs, to the Gyeongju National Museum with a first-rate collection of Silla artifacts and an excellent narrative of Silla history. We visited the beautiful Woljeonggyo Bride and the interesting Cheomseongdae Observatory. Luke provided detailed explanations with historical background on each place.

The next day Luke took me to Bulguksa Temple, and Seokguram Grotto. Both Buddhist sites dating back to the 8th Century CE. Both were located in beautiful settings and the buildings lovely. We drove to Busan that afternoon and on the way to my hotel Luke took me to a spa where I enjoyed a bathhouse experience that is part of Korean culture. We also took a walk around parts of the city.