The city of Seoul and the Seoul Tourism Organization are adding new routes on the “Seoul Guided Walking Tour” program starting Tuesday.

The three new courses are the “Gyeongbokgung Stonewall Walkway and Cheong Wa Dae Course,” the “Gwanghwamun Square Course” and the “Yulgok-ro Palace Wall Road Course.”

Each walking tour involves a narration about the site’s history by professional tour guides, as well as an introduction of popular spots such as museums and galleries in the area.

The two-hour-long “Gyeongbokgung Stonewall Walkway and Cheong Wa Dae Course” takes visitors from Gyeongbokgung to Cheong Wa Dae, along with an explanation about the 600 years of history in the area.

The “Gwanghwamun Square Course” centers around the newly reopened Gwanghwamun Square, and explains the city of Seoul’s plan to turn the capital into an ecological and cultural city. The 2.5-kilometer course takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete. 

Starting in September, an hourlong nighttime tour of the square will also be available. The program’s nighttime tours operate until the end of October.

The “Yulgok-ro’s Palace Wall Road Course” explores Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo before coming to an end at the hanok village in Ikseon-dong.

Walking tours are available at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on weekdays and at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. on weekends.

Each session can accommodate up to 10 participants.

The tour is provided in eight languages -- Korean, English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malay, Indonesian and Thai.

Reservations can be made online through the STO’s VisitSeoul website.

By Kim Hae-yeon (hykim@heraldcorp.com)