Publication: Insider Travel Report
Interview: Discover All That’s Hot About South Korea Today
Interviewer: James Shillinglaw

This interview originally appeared on the Insider Travel Report channel and is republished with permission as part of Imperial Tours’ media archive.

Discover All That’s Hot About South Korea Today

 

Nancy Kim and Guy Rubin, managing partners of Imperial Tours, talk with James Shillinglaw of Insider Travel Report about how they added South Korea two years ago to their China tour operations. They also give us a luxury grand tour of South Korea, from Seoul to Busan to Gyeongju, the ancient capital of the Silla Kingdom. From food to music to history, Imperial Tours delivers a comprehensive experience of one of the most fascinating and trendiest destinations in the world today. For more information, visit www.imperialtours.net.

Originally produced by Insider Travel Report and reposted with permission.

Interview Transcript

James Shillinglaw: Hi, I’m James Shillinglaw for Insider Travel Report and I’m here today in Seoul, South Korea. I’m here after a wonderful tour with Imperial Tours, and these are the two principals of Imperial Tours: Nancy Kim and Guy Rubin. They are both managing partners of their company. The secret is I actually have traveled with them before. They showed me China, but that was a while ago, and now they showed me South Korea. It was a wonderful trip, and we’re going to talk about that and a whole lot more on Insider Travel Report.

James Shillinglaw: First of all, Nancy, it’s great to see both of you. It’s wonderful to get together. I see this guy a few times, but we usually go to football matches and things like that. Actually traveling with you here again in really is what is a pretty new venture for you. You’ve sold China for how many years?

Nancy Kim: Since 1999.

James Shillinglaw: Okay, since 1999. But you’ve only sold South Korea since 2024, right?

Nancy Kim: Exactly. We officially launched in the summer of 2024, but started researching and so on and so force a couple of years before that.

James Shillinglaw: And what was the reason why you turned to South Korea? I remember when you told me you were going to do that, and there is a reason. And One of the reasons is you are Korean-American, right?

Nancy Kim: Correct. I lived here actually until I was five. Grew up in the States, but my father always lived in Korea. I have lots and lots of family here, and I studied here in my late 20s. So obviously I have a much more stronger connection to Korea than to China.

James Shillinglaw: China, yeah. And you two met, I know the story goes, in Beijing learning Mandarin, right?

Speaker: Yeah, that’s true. In 1997.

James Shillinglaw: You decided to go into business, and you ended up getting married and having kids right there.

Speaker: Exactly. Exactly.

James Shillinglaw: And now the kids are not kids anymore, right?

Speaker: Yes, exactly.

James Shillinglaw: So now this was time for a new venture. And Guy, I’m sure you’ve been interested in this because you’re learning all about Korea through Nancy as well, but you’re finding more stuff on your own, right?

Guy Rubin: I don’t want to start boring everyone with my interest in Confucianism and everything, but it is really interesting to look at China from Korea. Korea is very, very, very Confucianist, more so than China. And so there’s a lot to learn.

James Shillinglaw: Let’s talk about the trip that we just experienced. It really was a snapshot. I’m over here for a conference, and I was going to come here anyway for the conference, but then I suddenly realized you guys sold South Korea. I called you up, and very kindly I was put into a small group. Part of a small group. Let’s talk about what we experienced here. We started out in Seoul, right?

Nancy Kim: Correct. Seoul is the most important city and where everything in modern-day Korea happens. So started here, and it was really about giving you a different experience throughout the trip. Not just of the cities and the sites, but of all the different experiences that we can offer.

James Shillinglaw: And we also went to some, is it a hutong? Is that the village?

Nancy Kim: So, actually, hutong is in China.

James Shillinglaw: Oh I’m sorry. I have to get my terminology right.

Nancy Kim: What we call hutong in Korea are the hanok.

James Shillinglaw: The hanok. Okay, I gotta remember my terminology now. So the hanok. And these are wonderful older buildings, all decorated, and the first thing we did was go to one that was actually a sort of monument, right?

Nancy Kim: Yeah. It was one of the most historical hanok villages in Seoul, where the nobility used to live during the Joseon Dynasty. The government is trying to preserve this area. So lots of hanoks, courtyard homes that are preserved and have been turned into small sites. But some that have been turned into cafes or little boutiques. So quite a fun area to go to.

James Shillinglaw: And we are finding out where we were just today, we were seeing more of those. Then you took me to a touristy hanok where they actually filmed at least K-pop Demon Hunters, which made me a hero to my four-year-old who loves K-pop Demon Hunters. And you pointed out, I think you’re the one that said, take this shot.

Guy Rubin: Yeah, I have to sheepishly admit I’m one of the middle-aged men that also likes K-pop Demon Hunters. So yeah, I know all the top K-pop sites also in Bukchon, where I made you take that photo for your four-year-old grandson.

James Shillinglaw: He knew right away, believe me. And then of course, we were here in Seoul and had a wonderful time here just for one night. Then we took — I did not know there are high-speed trains in South Korea, right?

Nancy Kim: Yes, I think there are.

James Shillinglaw: Wait, no, I’m sorry. We took the bus down. We took it coming back. It was about a three- to four-hour trip down. We went to a Temple. A Buddhist temple, right?

Nancy Kim: A temple called Beomeosa. Which is a very important temple just north of Busan. We went there with an expert in all things Korean.

James Shillinglaw: We had a long discussion about religion, and you had several long discussions as well with him, right?

Guy Rubin: Yeah, the guy knows everything there is to know, from Buddhism and Confucianism and Taoism to mountain spirits and dragon kings and everything animistic.

James Shillinglaw: Most of these Buddhist temples are in the mountains. High in the mountains because they had to get away. That’s where the religion was.

Nancy Kim: Exactly. During the Joseon Dynasty, it was explained to us that Buddhism was actually outlawed. So a lot of the Buddhist monks had to escape into the mountains. So, the best Buddhist temples are still in the mountains of Korea.

James Shillinglaw: It was incredible. You’re hopefully going to see some shots as we’re talking about that. It was amazing. We spent a lot of time down there. Then we kept going. We went down to a city that I sort of know the name, but I didn’t know the history: Busan, right?

Guy Rubin: Busan really exploded after the Korean War. After 1953, all the refugees came down, and since then it’s become a major shipping port for South Korea. A lot stuff goes in and out. It just exploded. It’s kind of like the Miami of South Korea, with lots of new architecture, beaches.

James Shillinglaw: We walked along a beachfront, and the beach was huge. More to the point, it reminded me of San Francisco with the bridges and everything else. It was just a really lovely place. We traveled all over that place. Then we went to the markets, the seafood markets. And then we actually chose. Did you choose or?

Nancy Kim: We have an expert who takes us there. She helps us choose what’s the freshest and how to prepare it. The way it works is you choose all your seafood in the market, and then you go upstairs and they cook it for you.

James Shillinglaw: It was a marvelous experience. I’ve done a little bit of that in other cities in Asia, but this was perfect. You go choose your live seafood and then you cook it. It really was an incredible time. Then we stayed in Busan some more. But then we went up to… What was the royal tomb that we went up to??

Nancy Kim: We went to a city called Gyeongju. Which is a historical capital. Gyeongju was the capital of Korea from even before the first century all the way through the 10th century. So it’s really important historically. We went to see first what were the tomb of the royal family.

James Shillinglaw: They put rocks over the tombs and then they put earth over the tombs. It’s like this whole area of little rolling mountains, right?

Nancy Kim: Exactly. So it does look like they are natural, like little hills, but in fact they are hundreds of tombs.

James Shillinglaw: We were up there for the entire day. You didn’t go with us that time. You stayed home, right? You had to work?

Guy Rubin: I had to do some work on the flight. Yeah.

James Shillinglaw: Then, of course, the thing that you missed was this incredible dinner that we went to in an incredible, beautiful restaurant. You’re going to see some of it, and it was really awesome. It was one of my favorite highlights of the trip as far as I was concerned.

Nancy Kim: Yeah, a historical courtyard, but on a more elaborate scale. Just a beautiful and very unique dining experience.

James Shillinglaw: We had a lot of other experiences and amazing stuff, but then we did get on the high-speed train to go back. It’s about two and a half hours, I believe, right?

Guy Rubin: It took about two and a half, three hours. Quite comfortable. We were able to get all our work done.

James Shillinglaw: I worked the entire time. Then we got back here to Seoul and we weren’t done. We had more food. I keep saying I love food tours. This tour was really a food tour, right?

Nancy Kim: Yes. Guy will say that all I talk about is food, and for Koreans that is sort of the national pastime. For us, you can’t have a tour without eating lots of great food.

James Shillinglaw: We did that, and it was just another wonderful meal. Last night we went to some really trendy restaurant with a Korean Los Angeles-born chef who is into fermented foods, if I recall. You were having a little bit of fermented foods there, right?

Guy Rubin: I’ve been into fermented foods for a few years now. I’ve been talking to you about [Reference unclear in transcript.]. I do it at home, but nowhere near as good as Austin at making that fermented jam.

James Shillinglaw: We actually had a chef-guided dinner. I didn’t expect that. I thought that was amazing.

Nancy Kim: Well I think that he’s a great guy and passionately believes in what he’s doing. Every time we go there and bring guests there, he’s really happy to talk about his journey, why he became a chef, and why he cooks the food that he does. I think it is a special experience.

James Shillinglaw: It was. Incredible experience. One of the things I forgot is that you do a nice job throughout these tours of juxtaposing the old and the new. I remember we were looking at all the historic stuff in the morning once in Seoul, and then we went to these incredible stores that you were waiting for us. Talk about those two stores.

Nancy Kim: Yeah. It’s an area of the city called Seongsu, which people refer to as the Brooklyn of Seoul. It was an area that was actually factories and car repair shops and became very popular. Now there’s lots of boutiques, cafes, and one of the largest Olive Young shops, which is a K-beauty store. And so people love going there and seeing all the young people walking around. Makes you feel a bit young, right?

James Shillinglaw: Multi-level. I don’t know how I would ever choose all the different facial treatments and things like that. Then we went to an incredible place where all they do is sell eyeglasses, but they do it in such an unusual way. It was incredible. Everybody goes. And they look at these exhibits and statues and things like that. And maybe they buy some eyeglasses.

Nancy Kim: Exactly.

James Shillinglaw: I bought some eyeglasses. I’m going to have to refashion myself after that one. That’s the example. Finally, this last day we did kind of the same thing. We went in the morning to a traditional — what do you call it?

Nancy Kim: Hanok.

James Shillinglaw: A hanok.

Nancy Kim: Hanok, yes.

James Shillinglaw: Where the wonderful woman makes these silk — what would you call them?

Nancy Kim: It’s the art of jogakbo, which is a traditional craft where they take — It’s Korean patchwork is maybe the easiest way to describe it. But, she’s an artisan, and she explained to us the history of this craft and showed us some of her pieces.

James Shillinglaw: Then you got a break. You got to go shopping.

Nancy Kim: Yes.

James Shillinglaw: And we got to go to art galleries. It was a lot of different art galleries to see modern Korean art, and that was pretty impressive, right?

Guy Rubin: The theme was basically what you just touched on, which is mixing the past and tradition with what’s now modern and contemporary.

James Shillinglaw: And one more I want t point because we went to several of them and we actually talked to the artists. Several spoke excellent English. You had to drag me away from one. The last experience I want to talk about is one I don’t know how I would have set it up on my own. We talked to a young woman who was a defector from North Korea. And you served as our translator.

Nancy Kim: Yes, exactly. The think the modern history of North and South Korea is quite an important one. And a lot of companies go to the DMZ, which for us isn’t the most exciting experience. What we do is arrange a meeting with a North Korean defector, and in that way you actually get to speak with someone who has lived there. And can talk to our clients about what life there was like, why they left and their life now.

James Shillinglaw: It’s an extraordinary story. I think there is a Netflix program about her story. She’s a very young woman in her 30s. Doesn’t look it. She’s really just an amazing person, and it was extraordinary, wonderful to talk to her about this situation. It’s such a tragedy that this country has been separated for so long. And yet you see this story and you kind of getting a better feeling about things when she can be here. And I think she was actually pregnant.

Nancy Kim: Yes.

James Shillinglaw: This is her second kid here in Seoul. That was amazing. First of all, what’s to come for both of you? You have the two businesses now. You have China, right?

Guy Rubin: Yeah, China’s still going strong.

James Shillinglaw: And then Korea, South Korea?

Nancy Kim: For both countries, it’s just about continuing to research interesting experiences for our guests so that they get a real sense of the countries, as opposed to just being a tourist here.

James Shillinglaw: I think you do that very well. You did it really well for me in China. I still remember that you introduced me to China, and I’ll always remember that trip. It was an incredible trip. And now you’ve introduced me to Korea. Where else are we going now?

Nancy Kim: Well yes, there are always ideas.

James Shillinglaw: You’re going to keep doing this. And you know what? And also, you have to realize, Korea, South Korea, is hot right now: the food, the K-pop, the music, the films, the TV shows. During Netflix, we also started watching Korean TV shows. And I think there’s a fascination with it. And I think you kind of lucked into it because you were born here and also lived here for a long time. and you speak excellent Korean. How’s your Korean?

Guy Rubin: Needs a little work.

James Shillinglaw: Your Mandarin is still pretty good, yeah. But it’s just such a hot-button destination right now, and it’s a good juxtaposition of having China and South Korea, right?

Nancy Kim: Yeah, definitely. So really interesting I think for Guy said, there are a lot of similarities but also differences. So it’s nice to be able to introduce guests to both places.

James Shillinglaw: You had to find some other food for him to eat because he gets into all the food. It was marvelous. We were stuffed. We had wonderful lunches, wonderful dinners. It was just the way you found these places. We would go into alleyways and walk up stairs and I was like “Is this a restaurant”? And sure enough it was. And your rice wine and all that kind of thing.

Guy Rubin: There’s so much to explore in Korea. Conceptually as well, like what you were talking about with the retail outlets in Jeongsu. Conceptually, it’s ahead of the game.

James Shillinglaw: I think so. It’s a beautiful modern city. We’re actually in the middle of a beautiful park and there are skyscrapers over here, and now I see a big balloon up above us.

Nancy Kim: Seoul, my soul.

James Shillinglaw: Again, I want to thank both of you. I’m so glad I remembered, because Guy had told me you were doing this, and then I got a chance to experience this wonderful country with you.

Nancy Kim: Thank you so much for coming.

James Shillinglaw: Great to see you, and hopefully we’ll get together soon somewhere in the world.

Guy Rubin: At some soccer match soon.

James Shillinglaw: At some soccer match. We can’t do it anymore in the UK. He and I used to go every year somewhere. But we talked about doing Korea, right?

Guy Rubin: Yeah. Asian season, summer season. Let’s go.

James Shillinglaw: Next time. Again, thank you so much, and we look forward to much more from Imperial Tours to come.

Guy Rubin: Thanks.

Nancy Kim: Thank you.

James Shillinglaw: I’m James Shillinglaw, and this is Insider Travel Report.

 

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