Seoul offers walking tours in 7 languages

Two new Seoul Guided Walking Tour courses in Seoul are now available for tourists to explore historical and cultural sites, Seoul Tourism Organization and Seoul Metropolitan Government said Tuesday.

Both tours are available in seven languages -- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese -- and have interpretation services for the visually and hearing impaired.

“Hidden Stories of Hangang-daero, Yongsan” is a 3.5-kilometer walking tour that starts at Yongsan Station and ends after walking around Hangang-daero.

The guides will explain the story behind the birth and development of Yongsan Station, how Yongsan served as a military base and how the city developed during the Joseon era and during and after Japanese colonial rule.

The tour lasts for two hours and 30 minutes.

The "Healing Road to Traditional Market” course is a 1.5-kilometer traditional market walking tour in Dongdaemun-gu.

The course takes tourists around traditional markets based in the area, such as Seoul Yangnyeong Market, which is one of the most famous oriental medicine markets in Korea, and Gyeongdong Market, one of the largest traditional markets in Seoul with a wide selection of herbal ingredients and fresh produce. The tour lasts two hours.

The Seoul Guided Tour operates twice a day on weekdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and three times a day on weekends at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. The tour is available for up to 10 people per group, but group bookings are available with groups consisting of 11 or more people.

Reservations must be made in advance through the Visit Seoul website. While all walking tours are free of charge, some experiential programs and palace tours included in the program may require tourists to pay a fee separately.

The new additions bring the number of walking tours in Seoul to 48. Covering the capital's major tourist attractions, visitors can choose from the themes of palaces, tradition and culture, urban renewal and night walks.