I booked this tour for our group of 4 based on the reviews and specifically asked for Brain because he came highly recommended in some of the comment. Well, during our trip to South Korea, we took 3 tours: this one, a group DMZ tour (highly recommend) and another private tour in Busan (5 stars!). I was going to rate this 3 stars but after experiencing the much better service and experience in the other tours, I had to downgrade my rating. When I booked this tour, I asked for Brian and if we could move up the starting time by an hour. A day prior to our tour, I received an email stating that we would have Brian as our guide but no explicit mention about a change in time accommodation. As a result, our driver was an hour early and we were not at the pickup location (still getting breakfast). We were late starting as a result of this communication lapse. Our guide Brian seemed irritated at this issue which was not our fault. As for the actual tour experience, Brian was was essentially just a driver. He had very little information about 4 of the 5 sites we toured. He spoke very little unless we directly asked questions and could not (or would not?) not answer basic questions about Seoul and the sites we visited. We googled some things and had to give him answers. Our first stop was Seoul tower and he dropped us off at the cable car at the bottom of the hill and told us to come back to the van in an hour. We had to buy our own tickets, visit the location ourselves and come back down where he was waiting for us. What kind of private tour is that? No information, background. He did not even come with us to point out landmarks. He was informative really only during the visit to the Palace. The other sites was essentially to take us to shopping districts. I will say Brian was a safe driver, and if he was friendlier, I might rate him higher, but he rarely smiled and seemed even arrogant or condescending at times. On at least 3 occasions, he flat out ignored my questions. Maybe there are 2 Brian’s with this tour company? Or his name wasn’t even Brian and simply a fill-in? Anyway, for the price, we could have easily just hailed a cab to take us to the places we visited and saved a lot of money based on the experience we had. I will say that he was nice enough to return an umbrella that a member of my group left in the van. For that we are grateful (I note that we all left a decent tip prior to this so maybe that helped?). I’ve been on enough tours to know that the best tour guides are friendly and extremely knowledgeable about the sites your visit. They volunteer information and give you interesting true facts and point out things that you would not know yourself or cants easily look up. If they are really good, then they are also funny and entertaining at the same time. We had a discussion amongst our group during the tour if a regular local would have been a better guide.) Overall, although I have nothing against Brian, I would not recommend him as a professional tour guide based on our experience, especially for the price we paid. There are so many others on TripAdvisor that seem available, why take the chance? Book at your own risk. My daughter read this review and thinks I should put one star. You can decide for yourself.

OneDayKorea Tours worked with us to customize the tour to fit our tastes. This included an English speaking tour guide (Brian) who picked us up from our hotel and dropped us off. Brian optimized our itinerary in order to fit in all the places that we wanted to visit. Our day: 1. Bukchon Hanok Village 2. Changdeokgung Palace (UNESCO site) 3. Section of Seoul City Wall with view of Namsan tower. 4. Lunch at Insadong 5. Gyeongbokgung Palace and Changing of Guards ceremony 6. Coffee break with Shaved Ice 7. Brief stop at Cheonggyecheon Stream 8. Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) Thanks to Brian and the good weather, it was a great visit.

This was a 4 1/2 star rating as Sam was great, he is a 5 star guide! The time it takes to get around the city makes it less than 5 stars. I think if we had known about the traffic we would have asked for a shorter castle tour. We had to be back to our hotel by 5:30 and it can take 1 1/2 hours to travel across the city. If you like walking there is plenty on this tour so wear comfortable shoes. The lunch choice was excellent as were the highlights of the city we saw. Ending with the gondola and a view of Seoul from all sides was fantastic. If you are visiting for a short time I would highly recommend this tour and Sam.

This is our first time in Seoul, and we are so glad we signed up for this tour with Janet! She took us to so many great spots-including Gyeongbukgung Palace, Bukchon village, Insadong, and Gwangjang market. We had a delicious lunch of bibimbap at a restaurant in Insadong that we never would have found ourselves. Janet is a terrific tour guide! She helped us navigate through the crowds to find the perfect places to take photos.

Very wet Seoul day, Brian looked after us and adapted our tour to visit unique and interesting places undercover. He was very informative and knowledgeable and spoke perfect English.

Brian was an awesome guide. Best tour we've had so far. You 100% need to take this tour for an efficient one day tour of Seoul.

If we had more time in Seoul, I would hire Sam again in a heartbeat! If you want a warm, friendly, knowledgeable tour guide, Sam is your man! He also drives a very nice and comfortable luxury sedan. I highly recommend him.

Janet our guide was good . She communicated well . Although a lot of walking was involved she made it light by talking well . Thanks Janet

Our group of 6 had the amazing experience of having Brian as our guide / driver in April 2024. I did my research on the various tours and booked this private tour based on the reviews and Brian . And we were very lucky that Brian was assigned to our group that day. Simply put, Brian deserves all the accolades on this site. He was the epitome of a professional guide --- personable, warm , knowledgeable and accommodating. He was very knowledgeable with Korean history. and was accommodating with the schedule tweaks that was created because we wanted to rent hanboks. With 5 ladies in tow who love shopping, Brian was so patient with us in Insadong. He took us to this restaurant with authentic Korean food and went back for lunch 2 days later as the food was so good with side excuse to do more shopping in Insadong. With Brian's expertise and insight, we covered a lot of Seoul's must sees without the hassle of a large bus tour . It was a totally satisfying and wonderful day. Highly recommend this tour company OnedayKorea Tours and Brian is indeed a great asset to this company.

Our layover sightseeing trip with Brian was amazing for several reasons. First, Brian is an excellent guide. He picked us up at the airport and led us through several sights. Due to the length of our layover, he adjusted our itinerary so that we could make the most of our time in Seoul. He was interested in answering all our questions about the sites, the city history and life in Seoul. He is one of the most engaging guides we’ve encountered and it was very fun, even in our jet lagged state, to spend the day with him. The logistics also worked seamlessly, so if you have a significant layover in Seoul (ours was 12 hours), I highly recommend that you see the city with Brian.

Brian was an excellent tour guide. He adjusted the pace of the tour to suit us and had flexibility to take us to locations and even shops that we were interested in along the way. His historical knowledge was very good. We had a great day

Billy was a great tour guy, he's very attentive to us. Took us to see all of the places in our iteniary and more. Such a great person very nice man. He made our experiences very special. If it wasn't raining it would be a perfect day, but the experiences were great. Thank you Billy

This was a great tour with our guide Billy. He was informative and we were able to understand his English. Seeing the changing of the guard was really cool, and the Hanok village too. The whole tour was a great way to get acquainted with Seoul and some of its highlights. Definitely recommend.

Jonathan was a good tour guide with much korean history knowledge in his belt. He explained very clearly on Korean history during the palace tour. Took us around for the remainder Seoul tour knowing exactly where are good spots for photos etc. Added an extra nearby place for us to explore too.

Brian Jeong was hands down one of the best tour guides we have ever had, and we travel quite a bit. Our day in Seoul was punctuated with heavy rain, but Brian still managed to create a memorable experience. In the morning we started at Gyeongbokgung Palace, and Brian showed his encyclopedic knowledge of the palace and the Joseun Dynasty. Little details such as the palace heating system and the king's mother-in-law quarters were described. We then proceeded to Hanok Village to see traditional Korean houses, and Brian took us to see the village vista from a hidden vantage point. We then went to Insadong to see traditional Korean handicrafts and art, and also had a delicious beef and rice stew in a hot stone pot for lunch. After lunch, we went to see the Jogyesa Buddhist Temple. Since it was cloudy with poor visibility, instead of taking us to Seoul Tower (where we wouldn't have seen much), Brian took us to the Gangnam district in the part of Seoul south of the Han River, where we took great photos at the huge Starfield Library in the COEX Mall and the amazing statue of Gangnam style. Throughout the tour, Brian provided commentary not only on the sights we were seeing, but on the current Korean sociopolitical situation. He was fluent in English and was a very considerate tour guide who provided ample breaks. His van was immaculate and comfortable, and we felt safe with his driving. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the tour and felt we got a great overview of Seoul in one day.

Brian was our tour guide. He speaks fluent English, is a nice guy, very knowledgeable, punctual, and accommodating. It was our first time in Seoul and felt lucky that we got Brian as our guide. We were able to visit all the places listed in the itinerary and had delicious authentic Korean food for lunch. We are satisfied customers and this tour is highly recommended especially if you get Brian as your guide.

This tour is fantastic. My family had so much fun. We learned so many new things about the places we visited. Our tour guy Brian is amazing. He is friendly, fun, knowledgeable, and flexible. It felt no different than travel with a friend of our. He made our trip more enjoyable. I will recommend this tour to my any of my friends..

Enjoyed the tour. Only a slight concern in that the traffic from the Incheon port into Seoul was more than expected. Luckily the driver (who was getting concerned on timing as well) managed to get us to the changing of the guard ceremony right on time and went to part while we then went with our actual guide, Tommy. Tommy was able to accomodate a slightly older crowd and reduced the stairs while we still completed the planned itinerary to include giving us different places to stop and explore a bit on our own.

Highly recommend this tour. Tommy was our guide and driver. He did a fantastic job throughout the day both driving us around Seoul and communicating relevant, interesting information at the various sites we visited. It was our first time in Seoul and we felt like we got a very good feeling for the variety of things available in Seoul including tings we went back to visit later more in-depth.

excellent introduction to the historical and modern city of Seoul. Wonderful lunch in an authentic neighborhood restaurant. Korean cuisine is wonderful! Loved every moment of our tour!