[Edaily Reporter LEE SEON-WOO ] “It was really great. The walking trails were so beautiful, too.”
Mr. Eden, a native English-speaking instructor from the U.S. whom we met at the “Charity Walking Festival with Foreigners” held on the 24th at Jongmyo Citizens’ Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul, said, “Today in Seoul, I discovered many new places I hadn’t known about before.” He was the first among all participants to complete the 5-kilometer course at the event and remarked, “The course is easy to walk and offers plenty to see, so I think it would be a great travel itinerary to recommend to my fellow native English instructors, as well as my family and friends back in the U.S.”

Now in its seventh year, the Charity Walk Festival is an event for foreigners residing in Korea that was launched in 2013 by the National Council for Foreign Language Education (KAFLA) under the Korea Federation of Private Educational Institutions. It is characterized by its combination of walking, Korean cultural experiences, and donation programs.
After being suspended following the 2016 event, this year’s festival—the first in a decade—welcomed new partners, including the travel expo “All That Travel” and “Korea Experience” (KX), a Korea travel platform exclusively for foreigners. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Korea Tourism Organization participated as sponsoring organizations.
Held under the slogan “Explore Korea, Experience Korea,” the event drew approximately 1,000 native English-speaking instructors active across the country. Participants gathered at Jongmyo Citizens’ Park, the starting point, where they performed group warm-up exercises before splitting into two groups to walk a 5-kilometer course that took them through Seosunra-gil, Bukchon Hanok Village, Anguk-dong, and Ikseon-dong before returning to the starting point.
At 10 key points along the route—including the Seoul Donhwamun Traditional Music Hall, Seokjin Full-Moon Well, Jeongdok Library, the Constitutional Court, and Unhyeongung Palace—participants completed QR code verification missions. Game elements such as a lucky draw and a treasure hunt were added to enhance the fun. One participant who won a mother-of-pearl business card case expressed satisfaction, saying, “I think it would be a great gift for my father when I return home to the UK in three months.”
Some participants also expressed a desire to travel to various parts of the country during their stay in Korea. Vicki, a native English-speaking instructor from the UK, said, “A few months ago, I drove my family—who were visiting Korea—to Daegu, Gyeongju, Yeongju, Busan, Gangneung, and Taebaek,” adding, “My goal is to visit more cities while I’m here.”
Suggestions were also made to promote domestic travel among foreigners residing in Korea. Eden, who said Gyeongju was the most memorable of the cities he had visited so far, cited a “travel companion” as essential for exploring unfamiliar cities from a foreigner’s perspective. He remarked, “If there were a community that connected people with matching schedules so they could travel together, more foreigners would be able to embark on local trips without hesitation.”
The council plans to make the charity walking festival a regular event and expand the number of host cities. According to the Ministry of Justice, as of June this year, there were 12,650 foreign nationals residing in Korea on E-2 (Language Instructor) visas.
Jeong Mari, chairperson of the National Foreign Language Education Council, said, “Native-speaking foreign instructors in their 20s and 30s are important members of society, most of whom stay for at least one year,” adding, “We will expand the charity walking festival so that they can develop greater interest and curiosity in Korean history and culture.”