Strolling through Deoksu Palace, visitors suddenly come face-to-face with a grand neo-Palladian building that feels worlds away from East Asian royal architecture. This is Seokjojeon, the very first Western-style structure in Korea. Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seoK
Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted travel often has a goal of finding cheaper flight tickets or affordable accommodation options.
Recently, however, an acquaintance of mine living in Seattle reached out, asking for advice on planning her upcoming trip to Korea. She confessed to relying heavily on generative AI.
Seeking an immersive “time-travel” itinerary that would take her to important historical sites related to late 19th and early 20th century events, she asked Google Gemini to craft a one-day historical tour through Seoul that would cost around 200,000 won ($150) to complete.
Before leaving an overseas visitor to navigate the capital based on the whims of an algorithm, The Korea Times set out to fieldtest the AI-recommended itinerary. Can AI craft a tour that can capture the spirit and nuance of local history, or does it merely stitch together what it finds online without understanding the real situation?
