Korean Folk Village & Suwon Hwaseong Fortress 1 Day Tour - from Seoul

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

Our tour guide Joseph was very kind and accommodating. Even though it was slippery here and there he helped us take care and gave us extra warning about the ice. We were shown beautiful places in Suwon and had enough free time to explore on our own too. I was able to take part in a workshop at the folk village, see an ancestral rite performance and try some delicious food Korean street food. I loved seeing the folk village and different types of houses. Joseph gave good explanations and history of the area and we had a lovely informative walk through the fortress. Unfortunately most of the market was closed when we arrived due to the lunar new year but the tour guides still helped us have a good time and introduced a famous and delicious chicken shop. The market seemed really promising though so I'll come again when it's open!

We opted for the Suwon Fortress & Korean Folk Village Night Festival (only available during summer season) and our guide was Stella Instructions for pickup were very clear with pictures showing which way to go we were easily able to find the pickup spot, for us it was the bus terminal which was a rather large space however Stella came and found us herself once she arrived. The group was relatively small, 7 visitors and one tour guide. The vehicle we drove in felt nice and spacious even with large backpacks - I believe the vehicle had 10 seats so I'm not sure if the group size is normal and we just got lucky to have extra space or if it's always like this. During the drive to the first location, Stella shared a lot of interesting knowledge about the areas we passed by and discussed other topics, we hit a little bit of traffic which made the drive a slight bit longer however Stella explained it was likely people heading home for Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) and she used this opportunity to talk about the culture around the holiday. What was a relatively long drive didn't feel long thanks to Stella's engaging discussion. Unfortunately for us it was a rainy day which meant the archery at the fortress was cancelled. We carried on however and during the walk Stella gave us a lot of knowledge such as pointing out where you could see the fortresses original brickwork and where it had been rebuilt after being destroyed in the Korean war. Information about details such as the paintwork and the symbolism of the flags was also shared, knowledge that was interesting which I definitely wouldn't have picked up on had I visited without a tour guide. At the Korean Folk Village we began with a guided tour where Stella showed us around and told us a lot about folk history as we walked by the different buildings of the village. Around this time the sun had recently set and so seeing inside some of the buildings was a bit difficult as for some reason the village had a set time to turn the lights on. This wasn't a fault of the tour at all though and a couple phone flashlights made up for it. Due to the rain unfortunately the main performance was cancelled, again not the fault of the tour as weather can't be predicted, and perhaps I can use this as an excuse to go back again :) After the guided tour we entered free time and since we were all hungry the group walked our way back to the front of the village where there is a restaurant serving traditional Korean food. Stella made her recommendation (which was also tailored to the rainy weather) and we definitely were not disappointed. The restaurant isn't included in the tour and you buy it yourself, the prices were reasonable and sharing a beef stew and large mixed savoury pancake platter between me and my girlfriend was less that £10 each. There is a convenience store in the village if you're on a budget or if you want something quick so you have more free time, I dropped by to grab a bottle of water and the prices seemed typical. After we finished eating there was still some time left so me and my girlfriend left the group to take a look at the gift shop and free roam for the remainder of the time to do some more photography before meeting the group back at the front gate at the leaving time Stella gave us when we arrived. As we drove back, Stella asked if anyone had any questions about anything, the majority of the group was tired and since there was no questions we were left to rest on the drive back. I made this booking originally simply for the convenience of travel to the tour locations as they are outside of Seoul. I didn't expect that there would be so much guiding involved, and I'm happy there was as it made the trip much more interesting and enjoyable. At each destination Stella made clear a leaving time and a place to meet so if you did want to go off on your own you were more than welcome to. Whilst leaving a review was requested, there was absolutely no pressure to do so Despite the weather it was still a very enjoyable tour and Stella sharing her vast knowledge was greatly appreciated, thank you Stella!

We opted for the Suwon Fortress & Korean Folk Village Night Festival (only available during summer season) and our guide was Stella Instructions for pickup were very clear with pictures showing which way to go we were easily able to find the pickup spot, for us it was the bus terminal which was a rather large space however Stella came and found us herself once she arrived. The group was relatively small, 7 visitors and one tour guide. The vehicle we drove in felt nice and spacious even with large backpacks - I believe the vehicle had 10 seats so I'm not sure if the group size is normal and we just got lucky to have extra space or if it's always like this. During the drive to the first location, Stella shared a lot of interesting knowledge about the areas we passed by and discussed other topics, we hit a little bit of traffic which made the drive a slight bit longer however Stella explained it was likely people heading home for Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) and she used this opportunity to talk about the culture around the holiday. What was a relatively long drive didn't feel long thanks to Stella's engaging discussion. Unfortunately for us it was a rainy day which meant the archery at the fortress was cancelled. We carried on however and during the walk Stella gave us a lot of knowledge such as pointing out where you could see the fortresses original brickwork and where it had been rebuilt after being destroyed in the Korean war. Information about details such as the paintwork and the symbolism of the flags was also shared, knowledge that was interesting which I definitely wouldn't have picked up on had I visited without a tour guide. At the Korean Folk Village we began with a guided tour where Stella showed us around and told us a lot about folk history as we walked by the different buildings of the village. Around this time the sun had recently set and so seeing inside some of the buildings was a bit difficult as for some reason the village had a set time to turn the lights on. This wasn't a fault of the tour at all though and a couple phone flashlights made up for it. Due to the rain unfortunately the main performance was cancelled, again not the fault of the tour as weather can't be predicted, and perhaps I can use this as an excuse to go back again :) After the guided tour we entered free time and since we were all hungry the group walked our way back to the front of the village where there is a restaurant serving traditional Korean food. Stella made her recommendation (which was also tailored to the rainy weather) and we definitely were not disappointed. The restaurant isn't included in the tour and you buy it yourself, the prices were reasonable and sharing a beef stew and large mixed savoury pancake platter between me and my girlfriend was less that £10 each. There is a convenience store in the village if you're on a budget or if you want something quick so you have more free time, I dropped by to grab a bottle of water and the prices seemed typical. After we finished eating there was still some time left so me and my girlfriend left the group to take a look at the gift shop and free roam for the remainder of the time to do some more photography before meeting the group back at the front gate at the leaving time Stella gave us when we arrived. As we drove back, Stella asked if anyone had any questions about anything, the majority of the group was tired and since there was no questions we were left to rest on the drive back. I made this booking originally simply for the convenience of travel to the tour locations as they are outside of Seoul. I didn't expect that there would be so much guiding involved, and I'm happy there was as it made the trip much more interesting and enjoyable. At each destination Stella made clear a leaving time and a place to meet so if you did want to go off on your own you were more than welcome to. Whilst leaving a review was requested, there was absolutely no pressure to do so Despite the weather it was still a very enjoyable tour and Stella sharing her vast knowledge was greatly appreciated, thank you Stella!

We opted for the Suwon Fortress & Korean Folk Village Night Festival (only available during summer season) and our guide was Stella Instructions for pickup were very clear with pictures showing which way to go we were easily able to find the pickup spot, for us it was the bus terminal which was a rather large space however Stella came and found us herself once she arrived. The group was relatively small, 7 visitors and one tour guide. The vehicle we drove in felt nice and spacious even with large backpacks - I believe the vehicle had 10 seats so I'm not sure if the group size is normal and we just got lucky to have extra space or if it's always like this. During the drive to the first location, Stella shared a lot of interesting knowledge about the areas we passed by and discussed other topics, we hit a little bit of traffic which made the drive a slight bit longer however Stella explained it was likely people heading home for Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) and she used this opportunity to talk about the culture around the holiday. What was a relatively long drive didn't feel long thanks to Stella's engaging discussion. Unfortunately for us it was a rainy day which meant the archery at the fortress was cancelled. We carried on however and during the walk Stella gave us a lot of knowledge such as pointing out where you could see the fortresses original brickwork and where it had been rebuilt after being destroyed in the Korean war. Information about details such as the paintwork and the symbolism of the flags was also shared, knowledge that was interesting which I definitely wouldn't have picked up on had I visited without a tour guide. At the Korean Folk Village we began with a guided tour where Stella showed us around and told us a lot about folk history as we walked by the different buildings of the village. Around this time the sun had recently set and so seeing inside some of the buildings was a bit difficult as for some reason the village had a set time to turn the lights on. This wasn't a fault of the tour at all though and a couple phone flashlights made up for it. Due to the rain unfortunately the main performance was cancelled, again not the fault of the tour as weather can't be predicted, and perhaps I can use this as an excuse to go back again :) After the guided tour we entered free time and since we were all hungry the group walked our way back to the front of the village where there is a restaurant serving traditional Korean food. Stella made her recommendation (which was also tailored to the rainy weather) and we definitely were not disappointed. The restaurant isn't included in the tour and you buy it yourself, the prices were reasonable and sharing a beef stew and large mixed savoury pancake platter between me and my girlfriend was less that £10 each. There is a convenience store in the village if you're on a budget or if you want something quick so you have more free time, I dropped by to grab a bottle of water and the prices seemed typical. After we finished eating there was still some time left so me and my girlfriend left the group to take a look at the gift shop and free roam for the remainder of the time to do some more photography before meeting the group back at the front gate at the leaving time Stella gave us when we arrived. As we drove back, Stella asked if anyone had any questions about anything, the majority of the group was tired and since there was no questions we were left to rest on the drive back. I made this booking originally simply for the convenience of travel to the tour locations as they are outside of Seoul. I didn't expect that there would be so much guiding involved, and I'm happy there was as it made the trip much more interesting and enjoyable. At each destination Stella made clear a leaving time and a place to meet so if you did want to go off on your own you were more than welcome to. Whilst leaving a review was requested, there was absolutely no pressure to do so Despite the weather it was still a very enjoyable tour and Stella sharing her vast knowledge was greatly appreciated, thank you Stella!

Such a great Day!!! We loved it so much 😍 Cecilia was such a great guide!!! I would definitely book this Trip again. Thank you so much for this wonderful tour.

Weather forecast for Dec 30th was sunny and we chose that day for this tour. Instead Seoul had the heaviest snow fall and Suwon was covered with. However with Sally Park, our tour leader who diligently shared the history of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, kept our interest intact amid the cold weather. She gave us an insight of Korean culture when we visited the Traditional Korean Folk Village. Indeed it was a memorable tour for me and my family!