Food tour in South Korea

Environment

As a global tour operator, we are committed to travelling responsibly and endeavour to practise sustainable tourism wherever we visit. We believe that responsible travel is about the attitude you take with you and the choices you make when travelling – respecting and benefitting local people, their cultures, economy and the environment. These values are more than just words on a page; they are ingrained in our culture and the daily operations of every office and every trip we run.

We take care to ensure that we use local transport throughout our tours, including the metro system and public buses. We always travel in small groups – this tour has a maximum of 12 passengers but our average sits at about 10. This enables us to stay in locally owned, small accommodation, encouraging unique connections with local people. On this tour, we stay in a traditional Hanok village house, similar to a Japanese ryokan, as well as overnighting in an ancient monastery among monks practicing traditional meditation and martial arts rituals. The experiences our travellers have here provide them with a unique insight into local life, encourage involvement in local activity and expose them to the traditions of Korean culture.
We also encourage travellers to take individual steps to help promote responsible travel and suggest bringing your own water bottle to refill along the way. We recommend at least a 1.5 litre capacity. The sale of bottled water contributes to an enormous environmental problem around the world. In addition to the water in bottles, the production of a 1 litre plastic bottle takes 2 litres of water and 200ml of oil. A large proportion end up in limited landfill or discarded in waterways and natural environments.

As a company, our responsibilities don’t stop when our tours end. Our own in house foundation has been in operation for over 10 years; a not-for-profit fund that has distributed over AU$6 million to more than 70 non-government organisations since 2002. Tackling areas like health care, education, human rights, child welfare, sustainable development and environmental and wildlife protection. Donations come from our travellers and are then matched by us dollar for dollar.

We are also strongly committed to carbon offsetting. The main sources of carbon emission from our trips (transport, accommodation and waste) are assessed and offset into renewable energy projects. We’ve offset over 250,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from our trips and offices worldwide, including over 40,000 tonnes of carbon in 2016. Part of the cost of your trip is dedicated to carbon offsetting.

Community

Our South Korea Food Adventure is operated by an English-speaking passionate local food expert and all services are provided by local Korean people, including drivers, hotel staff and kitchen assistants at cooking classes. We ensure that our traveller’s funds are focused directly to the community and in support of small, local businesses, transport and accommodation.

In Korea dress standards are conservative, particularly outside of the major cities. We recommend that our travellers (both male and female) wear loose, lightweight clothing so as not to offend, particularly when visiting religious sites, such as the temple stay. We encourage our travellers to purchase souvenirs locally to support local businesses, contributing to the destination and to aid the economies of smaller villages. We visit local village markets to see, taste and purchase local ingredients like kimchi, chilli paste, fresh tofu and an abundance of produce. Taking in both street food and traditional homestyle preparations, this tour aims to facilitate local interaction and to support small producers and innovators in Korea, such as those involved in the country’s emerging craft beer scene. Enjoy a craft brewery tour including a tasting where you can experience the nuances of the local wild yeasts used in the final product. In addition, the dinner at the temple stay is entirely vegan, providing an interesting a chance to eat a healthy, sustainable meal.
In Gyeongju, we visit a local farm and learn the history of regional agriculture, as well as some of the challenges facing farmers today. Home-made snacks prepared by the family are enjoyed directly from farm to table!