Seoul Briefing: Coffee and Stroll with a Local Expert

Marie Boes graduated from Nottingham Trent University (UK) with a masters in Industrial Design. She received her bachelors from Antwerp University (Belgium). Her whole education has been scholarship funded. She moved to Korea in 2016 after she met her Korean husband during an Asia solo trip in 2014. Since meeting her husband she has been passionate about Korea, taking many courses and lectures about Korean history, culture, art (traditional painting, traditional Janggu drum, calligraphy and Bojagi patchwork) and language which she studies at The Cyber University of Korea. Currently she is working as a freelance travel writer and local guide. She has extensive experience in tourism and culture having worked for several government tourism organisations as a writer covering Korean tourist destinations and Korean culture, on top of that she runs her own blog and is involved in many cultural activities for foreigners. She has experience working as a French/English speaking guide in central Seoul and Gyeongsangbuk-do province which is located in the South , during these tours she would visit main historic tourist spots. When she is not working, you can find her travelling around Korea, discovering everything the country has to offer. You can read her articles on bemariekorea.com

Maria is currently a PhD student majoring in Korean History and Culture. Born in Romania, she has lived abroad for more than 8 years, in France and Korea, and she is proficient in 4 foreign languages. After finishing her Master's Degree in Marseille (France) majoring in Korean Art History, she came to Korea in 2013 and started working with the Korean National Federation of UNESCO and as an instructor and guide. She loves Chinese characters, Asian calligraphy (Korean and Chinese) and she is particularly interested in Korea’s religious diversity. Her academic background offers a special insight over the city - being able to provide the clients with fascinating stories about Seoul and its palaces, Korean kings and queens and the fengshui mysteries of its location. She is also passionate about world heritage and the ways to preserve it.