K-beauty at its core: How these South Korea tours help find your inner glow again

South Korea has recently become a breakout success in pop music, film and cuisine, to name just a few. 

Tapping into the rising fascination with Korean culture, Canada’s own Okushu Tours has crafted two new tours — one in Seoul and the other on Jeju Island. Both are about much more than showy spectacles and checking off a list of must-sees. 

“We want to bring a message that goes beyond K-pop and K-dramas,” says Lisa Lau, the company’s founder and managing director, who describes the new offerings as “traditional healing meets modern wellness.” 

With all its tours, Okushu aims for authenticity and cultural immersion. Group sizes are capped at a modest 16 people, and as few as two can be accommodated. 

On an Okushu tour, visiting the sites, getting to know the locals and being able to understand the culture are very important. 

As South Korea’s capital since 1394, Seoul can go from traditional to modern and back again in just a single city block. After a day of settling in, participants get to experience the city’s urban fabric — literally, by donning hanbok (traditional Korean costumes). Doing so enhances a visit to Seoul’s main palaces as you get to step back in time to the Joseon era (1392–1910). 

In Korea — where self-sacrifice, striving and a relentless work ethic are baked into the culture — daily life can be demanding. But Koreans have also developed powerful antidotes to stress, which are highlighted in this tour. Visitors looking for the same rejuvenating experience can benefit from them as well. 

Food is one of these go-to stress relievers, not just in terms of pure enjoyment but also through the physical and mental well-being that comes with high-quality, nutrient-packed ingredients. The tour takes a deep dive into Korea’s vibrant culinary traditions with a K-food cooking class. Participants learn the secrets behind the cuisine’s complex flavours and savoury undertones. One example is sesame oil, which is anti-inflammatory, promoting lustrous hair and healthy skin. 

Another example is kimchi, which Lau points out that this superfood “is fermented, all-natural and good for gut health.” Buddhist temple cuisine, which visitors get to discover on tour as well, is said to provide feelings of calm internally. The completely vegan dishes are not only healthy, but they’re also quite colourful and packed with flavour. 

Day three of the Seoul Beauty Journey promises complete renewal — both inside and out. Highlights include a visit to the Seoul K-Medi Center, within the country’s largest market of medicinal ingredients. Participants are treated to footbath and massage bed sessions involving such traditional medicines as Korean mugwort and wild chrysanthemum. The visit wraps up pleasantly with a traditional cup of tea. 

The journey continues the next day with an exquisite 60-minute Korean-style spa session in the Gangnam area, where the secret ingredient is red ginseng — a root coveted in East Asia for thousands of years for its remarkable healing properties. Following this, participants will undergo a 60-minute hair analysis at a specialized hair care salon to better understand the root causes of their hair concerns and learn optimal care for their scalp. The experience concludes with a full-service skin color consultation, designed to help participants identify their unique skin undertone and learn how to best enhance their natural features. 

For travellers who want to bring a little of the experience home, they can shop Seoul’s famous unique Korean beauty products, from innovative skincare formulations to cosmetics designed around personalized beauty routines. An optional perfume workshop also gives participants the chance to create a scent of their own.  

At the other end of the country from the dynamic, bustling Seoul is the subtropical island of Jeju, renowned for its citrus fruits and volcanic landscape – and about one-third the size of PEI. Okushu’s new tour here centres on the healing power of nature.  

Tour participants are housed at WE Hotel, a palatial sanctuary at the base of Hallasan Mountain. Rising gently on all sides to a height of about 2,000 metres, this dormant volcano dominates island views. Many small volcanic cones — called oreum locally — pepper the landscape, while clusters of dense tangled forest called gotjawal further contribute to Jeju’s unique topography.  

Tour takers are able to soak up the surroundings on hikes and nature walks near the hotel, as well as excursions to island wonders, including the Cheonjeyeon waterfalls, the Micheon lava tube cave and the ocean-facing Buddhist temple of Yakcheonsa. Rounding out the relaxation built into daily itineraries are programs like morning yoga, forest bathing, sound healing, and hydrotherapy. 

The Jeju tour also connects with the island through meals that highlight local flavours. Alongside delicacies from the sea, like abalone and sea urchin, the island is known for such tasty, nutrient-rich fare as fiddlehead fern and prickly pear, the purple fruit of a cactus. 

With both its Jeju and Seoul itineraries, Okushu Tours aims to provide an unfolding journey of self-discovery. As Lau puts it, “we bring the core values of Koreans: self-care, showing your best self and staying true to yourself.” 

Both of the tours are less so about finding external beauty, but more focused on knowing yourself. The hustle and bustle of everyday life can take their toll, and these tours recognize these stressors and offer an opportunity to unwind and recentre —cultivating visitors’ inner glow to allow them to shine once again. 

Discover these two tours at okushu.com/countries/country-korea. 

This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of  Okushu Tours.