Our OAT tour started in Seoul, South Korea with our exemplary 40 year old guide, Pam Kim who was born in Seoul, immigrated at 14 with her family to Toronto, Canada. She remained thru college and recently returned to Seoul as a professional tour guide. Night & day compared to our Vietnam guide. We are traveling with 5 others: Marcia retired high school guidance counselor who’s married to Burt, a retired attorney. They are traveling with their sister, a creative writing professor from Chicago. They are Jewish, 70 years old and well traveled. The other 2 women are older from Walnut Creek, churchgoers, well traveled on their 24th OAT tour.

We are staying in a lovely high rise hotel in the Myeondong location, close to subway, night markets and cable car to Seoul tower. No views from room but that’s OAT Tours. On our 1st day our tour passed a large protest. Protests common in Seoul, protected by police (battons, stun guns only) & sanctioned by government. In 2024 President Yoon declared martial law for no reason other than to compromise democracy. It was not only a local but global crisis. As recent as 2025, Yoon was impeached, later arrested, indicted & imprisoned citing treason. Wife received many designer items as bribes by Unification Church aka Moonies, interestingly, the founder from S Korea.

More interesting than the Gyeongbokung Palace tour, free for seniors, built in 1395 was walking thru historic Bukchon Hanok village. 900 well preserved homes house 6100 residents down quaint narrow streets with views of the city. Homes built tongue & groove (no nails) have large antiquated wooden doors with modern touches, a RING. Our lunch was delicious chicken soup at famous local Michelin restaurant. Our dinner also local & authentic barbecued pork, cooked at our table. Guide Pam offered us tastes of rice wine & 50% alcohol shots! Great 1st day!

Consumerism is thriving in this capital. Underground shopping, night markets, boutiques along the boulevard. The biggest industry seems to be make up and skin care.

Even though South Korea has the lowest birth rate in world, the number of people is astonishing, 50 million to be exact. The queue for popular eating spots, made popular by social media are hours long. Still crossing the street is organized until you reach a busy intersection that does not accommodate pedestrians aka crosswalk. One must walk city blocks or get lost in the underground before emerging triumphantly in the daylight!

The fashion in this capital city of South Korea is stylin cute to elegant chic. Due to the summer warmth, the colors are subdued, white, gray and black, many tennis shoes and waterproof boots, and always the proverbial umbrella or hat again to protect against the sun. I don’t know the demographic but based on how few places to sit in the city I’d say it’s a young country. The number of American companies is staggering; Kinko’s Baskin Robbins, Starbucks, McDonald’s, 7/11. Tom Cruise is on only English tv station.

My 2nd day I opted out of the tour to the farm to make chilie paste. Instead I walked 10 miles around the neighborhood, first to Shinsegae, a high end popular mall. The basement had foods similar to Harrods in London. And walked to the Four Seasons hotel where Barbe stayed. At night took cable car to Seoul tower to revel in city lights.