Connect to Your Roots in Korea with me...
Korea is a country with over 5,000 years of history, with legends of heavenly beings coming down to the earth, a bear turning into a beautiful woman after 21 days of meditation in nature, and so many other magical stories of the land, spirit, and people.
Korea is also an amazing travel destination for many, combining so much of natural beauty, spirituality, magic, and hustle and bustle of high-tech, metropolitan life. There are many hidden experiences, stories, and magic that you won't experience through the conventional "Westernized" tourist route.
And most importantly, Korea is your ancestral land. You are of the Korean diaspora. Perhaps you have never visited Korea or it's been a long time since your childhood. Perhaps your last visits to Korea were not exactly what you wanted - maybe it was too touristy, superficial, family-obligatory, before your spiritual awakening, or whatever.
This intimate group travel is an opportunity to experience Korea with me, a Korean-American Shaman, and I will guide you through the exact experience I create for my yearly pilgrimage to my ancestral land to recharge, learn, and have fun.
You will still have some touristy experiences such as the palaces, traditional villages, shopping, street markets, traditional food. But they are curated to be truly worthwhile experiences without any of those fluffy, overpriced, Instagram-hyped experiences that offer little value.
You will have chances for your spiritual and ancestral connection since you will be guided by a Korean American Shaman - we will visit temples, get some readings done by Korean Shamans, visit some ritual sites guided by Korean Shaman experts. These will be unique experiences only possible because of my mentors' connection to the group of Korean Shamans and experts in the field.
Nature time. People think only our direct family line or immediate ancestors in our family represent our ancestors. But the TRUE ancestors is the land. Our ancestral land holds much more concentrated power and magic of our ancestors as a collective than what our limited family tree may provide. We will spend enough time in beautiful places in Korea to connect with our ancestral land.
Freedom. You will have a lot of free time to design your personal experiences and days during this trip. Also, all scheduled activities in the itinerary is optional. You have freedom to participate in all or only pick and choose what you'd like
Sisterhood time. When is the last time you spent 12 days with other sisters of Korean ancestry with similar interest in Shamanism, magic, divination, ancestral healing, etc.? A place where you can completely be yourself, where you come from, and challenges and magic of being who we are, without feeling like we need to edit, alter, hide, omit our magic?
Tentative Itinerary (Subject to Change)
Day 1 - Seoul - Arrival
Welcome to Korea. You will be arriving at Seoul/Incheon ICN Airport.
You are responsible for getting to the house on your own. It will cost you from $15 bus/train or $50 taxi
I will help you arrange the best option for you in advance, so you will feel confident about how to get to our house.
Once we are all checked in, we can chill, get to know one another, get familiar with the nearby area, then enjoy a group dinner at the house.
Day 2 - Seoul - Touristy Stuff
After getting up and having a light breakfast at the house, we will explore the palaces and surrounding historic areas in the center of Seoul.
Instead of long, boring narrated tours, we will simply walk, pause, and explore these beautiful sites at our own leisure. Even then, this will be a lot of walking - wear comfortable shoes! Actually, wear comfortable shoes every day in Korea.
We will have lunch at a nearby area known for traditional Korean style architecture, surrounded by shops and restaurants that retains the old Korea vibe. After lunch, you are welcome to explore the area at your leisure on foot or return to the house for some rest, since the jetlag will definitely start kicking in.
Dinner time we will venture out again to either Myungdong or Han River area for more exploring and street food dinner
Day 3 - Seoul - Spiritual Day
Early morning we will visit a local temple in Seoul for some personal spiritual time. You are welcome to explore and find a quiet corner to meditate or pray. We will spend a good 1-2 hours there.
In the afternoon, I will have some activities planned to experience and get familiar with Korean shamanism.
For evening, we may head out to Kwang Jang Market - this is the place of the famous street food market (but it's actually indoors) you see on Netflix and Instagram. This is the market also famous for inexpensive Korean traditional Hanbok, in case you'd like to shop for some for your own personal use for ritual use.
Day 4 - Seoul - Another Spiritual Day or Free Day.
This day can be a totally free day for you to explore Seoul. Or those who want to join me, we will visit Ganghwa where there is an mountaintop altar believed to have been used by our ancestor Dangun to perform ritual to the heaven and also a cool museum with replica and cultural artifacts from the bronze era of our ancestors including.
Day 5 & 6 - Trip to Busan or Gyeongju (based on the participants' wish, we will choose one of the two cities)
Busan is the second-largest city in Korea with beautiful beaches and a different vibe from Seoul. We will take the train to Busan (2.5 hours), check in at an oceanfront hotel. Next day, we will explore the sites curated by me, including Yonggungsa Temple with the most amazing ocean & rock view, a meal at the Jagalchi fish market, and walk down the eclectic Gamchon Cultural village.
Gyeongju is a beautiful city that used to be the capital of Silla dynasty. It is also my paternal ancestral land so it’s my personal favorite. You will get an opportunity to experience the culture and magic of the old-old Korea, almost thousand years before, where queens ruled, Hwarang existed, Shamanism & Buddhism thrived before Confucianism, and so many beautiful and fun places to explore.
Day 7, 8, 9 Jeju Island
Whether we stay in Busan or Gyeonju, we will make sure to rise early to see the sunrise from the East Sea.
Then we will take a flight to Jeju Island, the most magical and beautiful island of Korea.
Jeju is called to be the land of mythology and the island of goddesses. This is the area where traditional shamanic magic, folklore, and customs are preserved the most. Feel into the energy of the land and the people to help you connect and expand also.
We will visit some known nature sites of Jeju, visit some remaining Korean shamanic shrines, and soak up the magic of Jeju.
One could stay a week, even a month here to explore the magic of Jeju island, but since our time will be limited, we will return to Seoul on Day 9.
Day 10 - Seoul - Free Day & Goodbye dinner.
Last day to catch up on activities or shopping or spiritual experience you didn't get to experience fully in Seoul.
So many activities to choose from - K beauty shopping, Jjimjilbang experience, getting a Shaman or Tarot or Saju reading done, hiking, food tours...
Special goodbye gathering and dinner at some cool place.
Day 11 - Departure Day
Hi! I’m Seo, a Shaman, coach, author who empowers women to move outside their comfort zones, manifest transformation and play big. I help women get out of their own head and embrace the WOO to trust themselves to change their lives, thrive in their world on their own terms…and in their own way.
Price: $3,000 All-Inclusive or $300 per Day
$3,000 All-Inclusive: From the moment you land in Korea, I got you, sister! You will stay with me, eat and shop with me, & explore with me. All the domestic travel arrangements (train, air, bus) and scheduled activities are taken care of. You will also have access to me the entire trip, except for the free day and any activity you opt-out.
$300 per Day: If you already live in Korea or you would like to do your own trip, but you would like to join us for select days. You will be responsible for your own travel arrangements to get to the destination cities.
BY INVITATION ONLY
This retreat is limited to a small number of pre-qualified Korean diaspora people who will be invited to join me for the trip.
Whether you do the All-Inclusive or Per Day option, you must be invited by me to ensure the energies and intentions are all-aligned.
If you are interested in being considered to be on the invite list, please fill out the form and reach out to me.
Sliding Scale or Energy Exchange offering in lieu of payment is available. If you are interested in this, please specify in the form.
Date of retreat is TBD due to the pandemic and current travel restriction - probably October 2022.
Interested in traveling Korea with me?
Here are some things to consider...
We will be visiting three different cities, making several transfers by public transportation. This will require you to carry your luggage through some crowded areas and streets. Packing light and being physically able to transport your own luggage is important.
Korea is a tiny country with a lot of people. It may feel as if there is always too many people and not enough space. In Asia, there is no such thing as "personal space" and if you are one of those who are seeking peace and quiet when traveling, this may not be the right destination for you. If you are open to experience the lively hustle and bustle of Korea however, you are in for a treat.
Korea is a mountainous country, and there are a lot of hills, steps, and walking in Korea. Most noteworthy sites are in the mountains and require some moderate uphill walking. While public transportation and taxis are awesome there, you will experience a lot more walking than at home. Wear comfortable shoes all the time.
People with adventurous taste buds and non-limiting diets will enjoy this trip the most. More omnivorous you are, more you will find to eat. Substitution or customization are not as readily available at the restaurants. Our scheduled activities include scenes and foods that may not feel appropriate for vegans or animal activists.
With that said, there are plenty of non-Korean, Western food options available in Seoul and Busan, and you may choose to partake in these meals on your own, but most of our included group meals will be authentic Korean.
Some of shamanic practices and ritual scenes you see may be uncomfortable. If you are an animal activist, extremely fearful of spiritual activities, or have any medical or mental condition that may get triggered or traumatized - talk to me in advance so we can make alternate arrangement for you.