Looking to introduce Korea to foreign nationals here in a friendlier way than the standard tours, a group of Korean undergraduates is offering group events to help expats build bridges.

On Jan. 2, a group of Showul volunteers plans to take 30 foreign participants on a tour of the War Memorial of Korea before letting them try their hands ― and feet ― at breaking some boards with martial arts at Korea Arirang Taekwondo in Seoul.

But rather than having one or two guides, Showul takes a one-to-one approach. Although the tours are done in groups, the foreign participants are each paired up with a Korean guide, with larger tours split up into groups of three or four pairs.

Organizer Choi Jin-woo said the group has been active for about two years, with monthly tours of large groups and smaller ones arranged more informally through social media, particularly Meetup. 

“We are trying to make it a little bit different from conventional tours where you have only one person talking and everyone listening,” said Choi. “We try to make it more friendly so that we can get to know each other, not as guides and tourists.”

He added that Showul often arranges a meal or drinks after the tours for those who want to stay on.

The tours started as a way for expats and young Koreans to meet each other in an informal way. While the Korean students get to keep their English skills sharp, people new to the city have someone to show them around.

“I studied in America myself, and I know how difficult it can be, especially for people who are studying here, to make friends in Korea and get to know the place,” he said. “That was my motivation for joining. It’s great because I feel like I’m helping people make friends and making a good impression of Korea.”

“A lot of our guests are studying in Korea and they come to us because they want to make Korean friends and see the country as well,” Choi said.

Language meant that the people who had joined the tours were mainly from English-speaking countries, but Choi said they have started to diversify.

“Because it is an English tour ― other languages aren’t available yet ― we have mostly had people from Europe and America, but now we have a lot of people from Singapore and Malaysia as well.”

There was no tour in December due to the exam season, but there will be two in January to compensate. The second destination is undecided ― a toss-up between Yongin Folk Village and an ice fishing trip ― but Choi said it would be an overnight trip.

He added that Showul would try to run more smaller tours next year, to give people a chance to meet more often. Though the larger tours are heavily planned in advance, the smaller ones are arranged based on suggestions made by foreign members of Showul’s Meetup group. Showul members then research those suggestions to organize a tour.

“We want to make our tours as fun and interactive as possible so that our guests leave Korea wanting to come back,” Choi said.

For more information on Showul or the upcoming tour, visit www.meetup.com/travel-seoul-for-free.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)