A travel platform called Oh My Oppa allows you to “rent” an oppa as your personal tour guide when you travel in Seoul.
An “oppa” means “older brother” (used exclusively by women) in Korean, and is often what female TV characters call their male love interests, so the term is also often associated with what you call a romantic partner.
When you enter the platform, you’ll get to “pick” an oppa that catches your eyes, and view his interest and the itinerary he can take you on. For example, Jake loves games and bring you to a board game cafe and a game centre, while Ryan loves culture and will take you to rent a hanbok and explore Insadong to look at traditional Korean stamps and experience traditional tea houses. Other available itineraries include food tours and shopping trips.
Besides being your guide and translator, the oppa will also help you take photos (and take photos with you), making sure you have a seamless travel experience.
The prices start from 40,000KRW (~SGD49) for a two-hour tour to 200,000KRW (~SGD245) for a 10-hour itinerary, and they don’t include the cost of shopping, food, and entrance fees.
Would we try it?
While the “romantic” appeal of the service was an intended marketing angle by the platform, and we thought it sounded a little dodgy at first, after reading up more, we thought that it actually sounds like a great way to explore a new city with a local travel companion. We would definitely consider it – would you?
Check out this video to see one of the oppas at work:
You can visit the Oh My Oppa’s website to find out more. But note that they’re closed the whole of March and will only reopen in April.
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