Travel
2025 Han River Historical Tour begins April 4
haps Magazine Korea
March 31, 2025
Han River Historical Tour (Seoul Metropolitan Government)
Seoul’s popular historical walking program, the Han River Historical Tour, returns this spring, taking participants on a guided cultural journey along the Han River from April 4 to November 30.
This year, the program expands to 16 courses with the addition of the new Seobinggo-gil, where visitors can explore the Joseon-era ice storage and distribution history.
Led by 22 professionally trained Han River interpreters, each course offers engaging and accessible explanations of the region’s historical and cultural landmarks.
The new Seobinggo-gil course covers 3.8 km and includes key sites such as the Seobinggo Stele (marking the former royal ice storage), the Seobinggo Bugundang village shrine, and the scenic Ichon Hangang Art Park, blending cultural heritage with nature and public art.
Other popular courses include Gwangnaru-gil, known for its wide river views; Gyeomjae Jeong Seon-gil, which compares historic paintings with current river scenery; Gosanja-gil, tracing the legacy of cartographer Kim Jeong-ho; and Mapo Narugil, where the Han once served as a bustling trade hub during the Joseon Dynasty.
This year introduces a new Stamp Tour to encourage course completion. Each course features a custom stamp that visitors can collect in a stamp book. A physical stamp book will be distributed on-site to the first 2,000 individual registrants, and a downloadable version will be available online. Participants who complete at least 15 of the 16 courses will receive a special gift.
Tours require a minimum of two and a maximum of 15 participants per session, except for Yanghwa Narugil (visiting gravesites), which is limited to seven.
Foreigners and individuals with disabilities can join alone but may require translation support or assistance from a guardian.
Registration opens March 28 on the official Han River Story Travel website (visit-hangang.seoul.kr) and is free of charge. Applications must be submitted at least five days in advance.
For seniors (65+) and people with disabilities who are unable to visit in person, Seoul also offers Han River History Classroom, an outreach program where experts visit institutions to share Han River stories, traditional songs, and hands-on crafts like building miniature sailboats. This program is available free for public and nonprofit groups of 20 or more.