On Location: Crazy for K-culture! PAX unpacks the best of South Korea with G Adventures, agents

Few places can make reading feel like a spectator sport.

It’s Saturday night in downtown Seoul, South Korea’s fast-paced political, economic, and cultural capital, and locals have gathered on the banks of Cheonggyecheon, a gentle stream, sunken below street level, that runs through the heart of downtown near the city’s fashionable Dongdaemun district.

With books in hand, the crowd settles into “the world’s first and largest” outdoor library – one of three that operate in Seoul, on weekends, during the spring months – where pages turn under an open sky instead of fluorescent lights.

It’s a pocket of calm: bookworms, armed with tiny reading lights, sit upright on cushioned seats next to table-side lamps, which are provided, while conversations stay relatively hushed, interrupted only by occasional laughter, the hum of city traffic above, the dings of phones and “ooohs!” of curious tourists who’ve wandered in.  

The stream, a narrow ribbon of water, is illuminated by colourful lanterns (hung, this weekend, in anticipation of Buddha’s upcoming birthday) and mini lights strung from above.

Further down, under a bridge, vibrant LED projections turn Cheonggyecheon into a moving, swirling canvas of neon colours. Piano jazz, playing from hidden speakers, drifts through the warm air.

The whole scene feels suspiciously cinematic – as if you’ve quietly wandered onto the set of a high-production K-fantasy. 

Or, maybe this city of some 9.5 million people has simply mastered the art of finding solace in chaos and pressing pause.

Seoul’s al fresco library is the definition of urban utopia. From a sustainability and nature-embracing perspective, it checks all the boxes.

But it’s far more than just an upload for your Instagram. It’s a portrait of South Korean culture – one that revolves around an ingrained emphasis on shared experiences and collective harmony.

"We’re a culture that's focused on community," says Priya, a CEO (chief experience officer, a tour director) with G Adventures, a made-in Canada company that specializes in small-group travel. “In South Korea, we don't say ‘my country.’ We say, ‘our country.'" 

How this mindset has helped shaped South Korea — a dynamic East Asian nation where centuries-old traditions coexist with modern technology and a far-reaching pop culture presence — is at the heart of G Adventures’ eight-day “Best of South Korea” tour, which 12 Canadian travel advisors, alongside PAX, are experiencing this week.

The exciting FAM from May 16–24 – made all the more vibrant with G’s own global purpose specialist (GPS) for Quebec and Atlantic Canada Hilary Arsenault on board – is a round-trip loop, beginning and ending in Seoul, with stops in Gyeongju and Busan, and plenty in between, from traditional villages and temples (including one overnight experience) to glowing markets, local cuisine and bullet trains.

The “classic” itinerary offers a layered look at South Korea’s past and present, with even some sobering perspectives on the Korean Peninsula’s history, including a visit to the Korean Demilitarized Zone, known as “The DMZ,” a four-kilometre-wide, heavily-guarded strip of land that separates North and South Korea.

Altogether, it’s a compelling snapshot of a country increasingly establishing itself as a tourism powerhouse on the global stage.

K-culture craze

With a record-breaking 4.7 million international visitors in the first quarter of 2026 alone, South Korea is on pace to surpass 20 million inbound travellers annually, according to Yanolja Research. 

Fueling the surge? A worldwide obsession with “K-culture” – from K-pop (cue PSY's “Gangnam Style” and boyband BTS) to K-dramas and films (enter Netflix’s dystopian thriller Squid Game, the animated KPop Demon Hunters, and films like Parasite, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture) to beauty trends and food that people are no longer watching on Reels, but booking flights to taste firsthand.

“K-content got really popular during COVID because people needed something to watch,” says Priya, who hails from Daegu, another metropolis in South Korea, offering a local take. “I also think people are just really curious about Korea and the culture here.”

G Adventures amplifies the experience through authentic local encounters that not only foster meaningful connections but also generate direct economic benefits for the communities it visits.

Guided by a belief that travel, when done responsibly, can be one of the greatest forms of wealth distribution in the world, the company uses a “Ripple Score," determined by a third party, to show guests the percentage of money it spends locally on hotels, restaurants and transportation.

For example, a Ripple Score of 100 indicates that every service used on a tour — from accommodations to transfers — is locally owned. In South Korea, the Ripple Score is 100.

As for the tours themselves, which are capped at 16 people (the average size is 12), G’s CEOs arrive equipped with deep knowledge of their homeland – and a rolodex of local recommendations.

They seamlessly manage the finer details of the journey, from arranging spontaneous experiences to coordinating logistics – such as helping guests navigate restaurant menus or find bank machines – to organizing transfers to preparing the group for each day’s activities, posting all the details on WhatsApp.

CEOs also typically come from globally-informed backgrounds.

Take Priya, whose role at G is shaped by a global journey, from years spent working on cruise ships to gaining firsthand international experience, including time spent living in British Columbia, where she learned English.

“I’d make friends on ships,” Priya tells me. “They’d come and visit me in Korea, I’d show them around and I really enjoyed doing that. So, I become a tour guide.”

Here in South Korea, Priya, very quickly, has proven herself to be an invaluable source of local insight and expertise.

Her passion is Korean food.  “Whenever I travel abroad, I of course miss my family and friends, but I miss Korean food the most,” she says. “I try to arrange the best restaurants for my guests.” 

Have we been spoiled on this trip? Absolutely. 

Priya wasted no time introducing us to local eats like shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pots, but done Korean style) bibimbap (white rice, topped with namul and gochujang, with egg and meats mixed in), dak-galbi (spicy stir-fry chicken) and meals that come with multiple little side dishes, such as kimchi, cubed radish, soybean sprouts and various sauces. 

She took us to the shoulder-to-shoulder Myeongdong Night Market, where fiery takes on Korean street food are found, from tteokbokki to hotteok to grilled seafood.

Another night, she directed us to Myeongdong Kyoja, a family-owned dumpling and noodle restaurant across from our hotel that has been operating in Seoul since 1966.

The busy eatery only has four items on its menu, specializing in dumplings and noodle soup. Simple décor, straightforward service, but big impact. The portions? Hefty. The prices? Affordable (meals cost between 12 to 13,000 won, which is $11-12 dollars CAD).

The cherry on the dumpling? It has a Michelin Bib Gourmand award, which recognizes restaurants that serve high-quality food at exceptional value.

Beyond the noodle bowl

Beyond Seoul’s celebrated food scene is a city, divided by the Han River, buzzing with creativity and energy.

Towering skyscrapers, 7-Elevens and easy-to-navigate subway lines exist alongside millions of people and historic landmarks like Gyeongbokgung Palace, built in 1395 as the official palace of the Joseon dynasty by Yi Seong-gye, where tourists, today, wear traditional Korean clothing, called "hanbok" (respectfully, for photo-taking purposes and to gain free entry).

There are storied neighbourhoods, like Bukchon Hanok Village, a residential area in Jongno District, known for its restored traditional Korean houses.

Some 600 years ago, Bukchon was a residential quarter for high-ranking government officials. Today, it’s a living "street museum,” where tourists flock to take in rows of traditional iconic tiled, curving roofs and artisan shops

One of the most fascinating aspects of Bukchon Hanok Village is its approach to tackling overtourism (a priority that also aligns with G Adventures).

Because it’s a residential neighbourhood, visitors are asked to explore respectfully and keep noise to a minimum.

Signs reminding visitors to “keep your voice down” are posted everyone and there are even “shush police” (my words) on duty, positioned with their pointer finger placed over their lips.

(Does this actually work? Based on our brief visit, it seemed to!)

The village operates as a “Red Zone,” with visitor access limited to designated hours – generally from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for those not staying in local guesthouses. And tour buses, of course, must keep a distance.

Gangnam style realness

But don’t mistake this for local uptightness. Seoul has a lot of soul.

We visited Insa-dong Alley, a lively network of maze-like alleyways where galleries, restaurants, traditional teahouses, and cafés pulse with life.

In luxurious Gangnam, Seoul’s affluent district – a Beverley Hills-like area – high-end boutiques and nightlife takes centre stage.

It’s here where South Korean singer and rapper PSY drew inspiration for his 2012 power hit “Gangnam Style.” The song’s high-energy music video, notably, was the first video on YouTube to ever surpass 1 billion views.

The song was such a global sensation, the city installed two giant bronze hands in Gangnam, beside the COEX Mall, crossed in PSY's iconic horse-riding dance pose. The sculpture, appropriately, plays the viral dance song when sensors detect visitors beneath.

Gangnam is one of 25 districts, comprised of more than 400 neighbourhoods in Seoul.

Take a cable car to the sky-high summit of downtown Namsan Mountain, for sweeping views, and the sheer scale of city – where dense urban landscape meets surrounding mountains – reveals itself.

Worth noting: for a megacity, Seoul is impeccably clean, with a strong culture of courtesy, respect for public etiquette, and a remarkable sense of safety.

For Tiny, ON-based Brenda Slater of Beyond the Beach, this week’s FAM adds a long-overdue perspective. Despite selling G Adventures for 15 years, she has never been on a G-hosted FAM – until now.

“I’m obsessed with Asia. I had to come,” Slater tells PAX.

Her first impressions of Seoul and South Korea in general?

“Clean, safe, vibrant, lots of bright colours, and lots going on,” she says. “I’m hoping to bring a group here. It’s one of those places not a lot of people have been to.”

Bring on South Korea!

It’s a good time to spotlight South Korea.

Hilary Arsenault says South Korea has been “growing immensely in popularity” at G Adventures. 

“There’s so much interest,” she says. “Every time we post pictures of South Korea [on social media], the likes and comments go crazy. It’s one of our top destinations for 2026, so this FAM couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Travellers are usually drawn to South Korea by its food scene and pop culture, she says.

“Set-jetting,” the trend of visiting destinations featured in movies and TV shows, is a strong motivator.

“But once people begin to explore more deeply, they discover just how beautiful this country really is,” says Arsenault. “From mountains to lush greenery, there’s so much to see and do.”

“It all comes together to make South Korea a well-rounded destination.”

What has stood out to Arsenault, who is visiting South Korea for the first time, is how friendly locals are.  

Which PAX can back up: over just two days, we repeatedly encountered kindness, despite language barriers. People have stopped to take group photos for us, have given up their seats on the subway.

One woman, in a local park, even shared some of her rice bread with Arsenault as a snack.

These are just some of the moments Canadian travel advisors – a mix of skill levels, selected through a highly-competitive application process – are discovering this week.

“I really want them to have an authentic travel experience,” says Arsenault, noting how G’s tours have a way of fostering a strong sense of community, where like-minded travellers (and travel advisors) connect and learn from one another.

There’s also a commitment to ensuring that G’s FAM trips for the trade align with the company’s mission of supporting communities.

For each fee collected from participating travel advisors, $200 is donated to Planeterra, G’s non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women, youth, Indigenous communities, and rural populations by creating opportunities to participate in global tourism.

Tourism, for good. It’s a mindset Arsenault hopes will stay with her advisors long after their week in South Korea.

“I want them to know that travelling with us is having a positive impact on communities,” she says. 

A focus on community? It's the South Korean way. 

We’re just getting started! Stay tuned for more exclusive updates from South Korea with Canadian travel advisors and G Adventures in South Korea!

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