A recent grad posed the question online — their family is flying in from Korea for five nights, and they want to show them the absolute best of the city. Their itinerary is already solid: Ferry Building, Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, Chrissy Field, Lands End, a cable car ride, and a day trip to Berkeley. That's a genuinely excellent foundation.

But here's the thing — San Francisco's real magic isn't just the postcard spots. It's the stuff that makes visitors stop and realize this city is unlike anywhere else on Earth.

First, the oversight that locals keep flagging: the redwoods. As one SF resident put it, "You have totally forgotten the six redwood forests we have on the peninsula. A walk in the woods." They're not wrong. Muir Woods and the lesser-known groves on the Peninsula are genuinely jaw-dropping for international visitors who've never stood at the base of a thousand-year-old tree. This is the kind of experience that doesn't exist in Seoul.

Then there's Tunnel Tops, the relatively new park space in the Presidio that's become a sleeper hit. One local noted their 80-year-old mother "gasped out loud" at Tunnel Tops and declared it "the cleanest place in SF." That's both hilarious and — let's be honest — a bit of a commentary on the rest of the city. But the views are stunning, and for parents in their 60s, it's accessible and beautiful.

Other strong suggestions making the rounds: a Giants game at Oracle Park (even non-baseball fans love the waterfront setting), the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, and — don't laugh — Stanford's campus, where Korean tourists are apparently spotted marveling regularly at the Memorial Church and cactus garden.

Here's our unsolicited fiscal advice: skip the overpriced Pier 39 trap. A $7 sourdough bowl isn't impressing anyone from a country with some of the best street food on the planet. Spend that money on dim sum in the Richmond or a sunset dinner in Sausalito instead.

San Francisco still has the goods. It just takes a local who actually cares to curate the experience. Sounds like this grad has the right idea.