Chris & Jitse

Jitse is an Amsterdam-born walker, reader and perpetual asker of questions, who followed his Korean wife to Seoul and made this country his home. At just over two meters tall, he is, by his own admission, one of the city's more conspicuous residents. He never leaves the house without a camera in his pocket — a real one — and considers a day without a wander a day not fully lived.

Before guiding travelers through the streets of Seoul, Jitse spent fifteen years in human resources at globally relevant companies including LG Electronics and Adidas. Somewhere along the way he also spent a winter above the Arctic Circle caring for eighty husky dogs, and a season guiding hikers through the Indian Himalayas. He has always found his way to places where the walking is good and the stories are better.

His knowledge of Korea has grown through a mix of formal study and the kind of learning that only comes from living somewhere slowly. He learned about the city in language courses and academic programs, but it's been the years of taking every unknown alley and conversation with every friendly face that have taught him how to truly share the essence of Seoul.

A tour with Jitse favors an in-depth experience of the city, rather than a rush to visit every last landmark but seeing little along the way. He will guide you to the road two turns off the main street, through the neighborhood where people actually live, to the market stall helmed by a character with a story to tell. Sensitive to what will make the experience as rich as it can be, Jitse's tours are continually shaped as they progress for the benefit of the guests - without ever needing to be asked. More stories, fewer words, slower pace, taller guide. Seoul will do the rest.