The Dark Side of Seoul

Seoul, South Korea

(3)

Walking Tour

60 mins

1.9mi

About the Tour

This popular tour is finally on audio! Murder! Ghosts! Sex! This is the side of Seoul that you won’t find in the tourism brochures. Take a tour down the dark alleys of the forgotten 600-year history of bloody massacres, seedy hideaways, and mourning ghosts. Stops on this tour include the following: the site of a gruesome massacre, the bridge whose stones tell a dark story that lovers and passersby know nothing about, and a neighborhood known to be occupied by the spirits of prostitutes who met grisly ends. Along the way we regale tales of Seoul’s famous ghosts and murderers, weird and surprising landmarks, and the ancient city’s scandalous secrets. Clairvoyants on the tour have reported that we also have a few vaporous guests who join us. Keep an eye out for them. There will be an opportunity to buy refreshments. Children under 18 should not take this tour. It involves violent stories, sex jokes, and a foul-mouthed tour guide.

Tour Producer

Joe McPherson

Joe studied Korean history at university and has lived in Korea since 2004. He creates tours of Seoul's secrets you won't find anywhere.

He co-hosts the Dark Side of Seoul Podcast at darksideofseoul.com.

How VoiceMap Works

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Map

Major Landmarks

Unhyeongung Palace
Tapgol Park
Insa-dong
Pimatgol
Avenue of Youth
Cheonggyecheon Stream

Directions to Starting Point

Take the subway line 3 (orange line) to Anguk Station. Exit 2. In front of Dunkin Donuts.

Show Directions

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Insa-dong, is a great place to shop for souvenirs. You'll also find a public bathroom at this stop.

Best time of day

At sunset or after dark

Precautions

There are a few old, homeless men around Tapgol Park, but they won't bother you.

Comments

This was so much fun! I did the tour on a Saturday evenings in June, and it was a welcome change to be away from tourist traps and amongst locals just going about their business - especially around the love motels ;) For scaredy-cats like myself, I’d recommend completing the tour in the early evening, so that you aren’t walking through the alleys of Pitmagol on your own when it’s really dark!!

Also, all the anecdotes/information Joe shared were engaging and informative, as well as funny. Directions were well explained and easy to follow (except for the part about the car park before Pitmagol, that area no longer matches the description very well). The amount of love put into this project is evident, and I can’t praise it enough tbh!!

Thanks Joe for making such an incredible audio tour, it‘s been a highlight of my trip to Korea!

Posted by Bryon W , about 3 years ago