Shawn and Joe trade war stories from the front lines of Seoul’s tour scene. Influencers melting down in costume, drunk guests apologizing between vomit breaks, bathroom disappearances, oddball actors who steal the show, couples who arrive mid-argument, and reviews born from pure misunderstanding.

The episode digs into what really derails a tour, how guides survive it, and why some guests treat history like fan fiction. Add a little wildlife drama, a clown fight, a Kenny G busker and a heron named Bob, and you get a solid snapshot of what it means to guide people through this city. It is messy, funny, awkward, exhausting and sometimes unexpectedly sweet.

       

 

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Credits

Produced by Joe McPherson and Shawn Morrissey

Music by Soraksan

Top Tier Patrons

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Louise Dreisig

The Weirdest Things We Have Seen on Tour in Seoul

Tour guides build up a thick skin, but Seoul still finds ways to surprise us. This episode walks through the moments that stop a tour cold, push patience to the limit or turn into stories we never forget. Influencers causing chaos, drunk guests wobbling through alleys, bathroom mysteries, misinformed history buffs and wildlife drama at Cheonggyecheon. It is every guide’s greatest hits album, and not always in the flattering sense.

Influencers Behaving Badly

Shawn and Joe started with the one group guides dread. Influencers. The word covers a wide spectrum, but the troublemakers usually share the same traits. Loud. Self important. Zero awareness of anyone around them. Joe recalled a day when a costumed influencer squad showed up ready to “perform” for their followers. They treated the tour like a background prop, blocked walkways, derailed Joe’s pacing and then wandered off.

Shawn agreed that some are fine, but many cannot be trusted to behave like adults. Guides end up playing babysitter while paying guests quietly resent the circus around them. Their joint conclusion was simple. Influencers need rules, and the rules need teeth.

When Tourists Show Up Drunk

One of Shawn’s personal favorites is the man who apologized between bouts of vomiting. Twice. He stayed polite the whole time, which somehow made it funnier. Joe countered with a bathroom incident that lasted suspiciously long. Both stories circled back to the same point. Setting higher prices filters out a certain type of chaos. Not all of it, but enough to protect the rest of the group.

A Mixed Bag of Tour Groups

Some groups arrive rowdy. Some arrive cold. And others, like the cast of The Great Gatsby musical, show up ready to party in the best way. Shawn talked about guiding with a head cold and accidentally turning a slip up into a joke that landed perfectly. Every guide has those moments. You just lean into it.

They also shared encounters with groups that changed the tour’s energy without doing anything wrong. Sometimes the vibe is off. Sometimes it is magic. You roll with what you get.

What Happens When People Think K-Dramas Are History

Shawn and Joe both field questions from guests who learned “history” from entertainment media. There are tourists who correct the guide with absolute confidence based on a single show they watched on Netflix. Others declare expertise after landing in Seoul twelve hours earlier. Balancing poetic license with historical accuracy becomes its own negotiation.

Shawn has been mistaken for a Toastmasters speaker. Joe has watched people confidently argue against documented events because they read a fan theory online. It is predictable and never dull.

When Western Misconceptions Collide With Korean Reality

Joe shared the story of the Australian tourist who bailed mid tour and later wrote a negative review. The trigger seemed to be Joe’s comment about South Korea’s propaganda, which did not fit his worldview.

This opened up a conversation on how Westerners bring assumptions about cost of living, pensions and political systems into Korea and struggle when reality does not line up. Shawn stressed the need to arrive with an open mind. Both agreed that politics comes up naturally. If they know the answer, they answer.

Street Life, Protests and Strange Moments in Seoul

The episode wandered into everyday oddities. Protesters shouting at no one. A clown fight. Seoul Station’s rough side. Government decisions that actively make public spaces worse. The kind of things that guides see constantly but never make it into guidebooks.

Shawn also shared a story about a tour guest who managed to argue with his enthusiastic wife throughout the walk. They finished without incident, but the tension was a character in its own right.

Urban Wildlife and the People Who Harass It

Joe talked about changes along Cheonggyecheon, including a local heron named Bob who does not seem impressed by joggers or tourists. Shawn and Joe both see people throwing rocks at animals or annoying everyone with their loud “lawnchair karaoke.” The decline of coordinated running groups has given way to a new plague: solo runners who act like the stream is their personal treadmill.

Public Spaces and the Art of Being Loud for No Reason

The conversation shifted to groups of runners with portable speakers, mountain bikers treating pedestrian paths like race tracks and buskers who should have been told “no” a long time ago. Cheonggyecheon in particular attracts performers who seem committed to testing the limits of amplification. The Kenny G busker on Thursdays has become a running joke.

Authorities have cracked down, but the chaos never disappears entirely.

Health, Safety and the Unexpected

Shawn reminded listeners that tourists need to disclose allergies, asthma or limitations instead of pretending they are fine until it becomes a problem. Joe recalled the time police arrived to investigate a costumed group on one of his tours.

The episode closed with a discussion of shipping headaches, customs fees and the long suffering battle of getting merch to the United States. The plea for reviews and Patreon support naturally followed.