Our Guides
"You have given me a gift for a lifetime"
Guides take on great importance on your journey as they usually become the primary window through which you interpret what you experience. They are hired to provide cultural and historical information that help you place what you encounter within a historical and social context. Moreover, they provide a perspective on daily life and happenings in real time, helping shape your impression of the locale. As a result, we will always try to vary the gender and age of your guides to give you multiple viewpoints to consider.
Apart from guides, you will also interact with a range of experts. These could run from a Buddhist nun to a National Intangible Treasure crafts person to a K Pop instructor. Each will impact your impression of South Korea.
Our guides are over 27 years old, local to and knowledgeable of their destination, and prepared to discuss frankly whatever topics interest you. Bear in mind that like any other country, guides’ opinions on social, political and historical issues will vary and may even contradict one another. We recommend asking all your guides the same one question to sample a diversity of opinion.
Long after your trip to Korea, you might not remember the use of the chimneys behind each of the pavilions at Gyeongbok Palace, but hopefully you will remember what the same guide explained about a current topic or social issue. It could be for example, at one end of the scale, a comment on the friction between Confucianism and feminism in modern Korea, or at the other, what makes Korean-fried chicken so crispy! Your guide has been selected for their preparedness and ability to discuss all such topics as interestingly as addressing historical issues.
Rafaella is amazing, more than I ever expected. I cried with joy at one gallery. She is a very impressive woman.L.N., US
A graduate in civil engineering at Seoul National University, one of the most demanding undergraduate courses at South Korea’s most prestigious university, Oliver went on to do post-graduate work at University of Texas in Austin before enjoying an international business career with the UK engineering firm Amec and Samsung. As he long harbored interests in history and culture, when he returned to South Korea, Oliver qualified as a tour guide to explore a new set of passions. Oliver loves the great outdoors. When he is not out taking photographs, Oliver likes to fish, camp and ski.
Alex wore many hats during her 20 years in the UK from post-graduate student to hotelier to antique dealer. Returning from South London to her home city of Seoul, she brings an international perspective to her guiding. Her wide experience, combined with post-graduate research into sociology, means she is equipped to help visitors understand the historic and contemporary forces shaping modern Korean society. Alex has published various books both on guiding and the history of Seoul. In her spare time, Alex likes to attend comedy clubs with her British husband, himself a comic.
Curious about foreign countries and languages from a young age, Angelo studied English, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. After majoring in tourism, he began work as a tour leader, taking groups to over 50 countries, his favourite being the natural wonders of Brazil. Our most experienced guide, when Angelo decided to put down roots, Jeju Island appealed. Apart from enjoying the warmth of Korea’s southernmost, subtropical island, he loves to hike across its volcanic terrain and fish red snapper and yellow tail from its temperate waters.
With a post-graduate degree in microbiology from prestigious Kyungpook National University, Miran worked for several years before starting a family with a fellow scientist whose management career took them to live both in Kansas and Illinois. After returning to Daegu, once the kids had flown the nest, Miran qualified as a guide. Her passion is to show how tradition and modernity merge within the same continuum in Korean life, reinforcing rather than opposing each other. As a result of her academic background, Miran is fascinated by the intricate processes within the culinary arts and is as passionate about Korean dining experiences as she is about a wide array of sports and international fashion designers.