Know before you go: South Korea
Verified essentials for South Korea: connectivity, transport, tickets, money and etiquette — checked by humans, with dates.
Before you book
Check your passport and entry rules first.
Before booking anything, check your passport's validity and the entry rules for your nationality — visa or visa-waiver, allowed stay, and any pre-registration your destination asks for. Rules differ by passport, not by airline.
DocumentsSort travel insurance while flights are refundable. Travel insurance for this trip
Medical care abroad is paid care — a short hospital visit can cost more than the trip. Buy a policy that covers medical treatment and trip interruption when you book, not the week you fly.
HealthCheck K-ETA — most visitors are exempt through 2026.
Nationals of 67 countries (US, UK, most of Europe, Singapore and more) are temporarily exempt from K-ETA until December 31, 2026 — but everyone entering without a K-ETA must fill in the digital e-Arrival Card before landing. Check your passport's current status before you book.
DocumentsPlan around Chuseok and Seollal.
Korea's two great holidays — Chuseok (autumn, lunar) and Seollal (Lunar New Year) — are when the whole country travels: trains sell out within days, roads jam, and many restaurants and palaces close on the holiday itself. If your dates are flexible, avoid the holiday weeks; if not, book transport the moment windows open.
TransportTickets
2–4 weeks before
Set up an eSIM before you land. Get an eSIM before you land
Install a travel eSIM at home over Wi-Fi and it activates when you land — no airport SIM counters, no roaming surprises. Keep your home SIM active for bank SMS codes.
ConnectivityKTX seats open exactly one month out.
Korail opens KTX reservations one month before travel at midnight Korea time (Korail app or website, English supported). Normal weeks you can book days ahead, but holiday routes sell out almost instantly. Tourists can also buy a Korail Pass — unlimited rides on a passport, and it lets you board full trains standing.
TransportDMZ tours want your passport — and a head start.
The DMZ can only be visited on a licensed tour, and good ones fill a week or two ahead (longer in peak season). Book online, bring the same passport you registered with, and expect the itinerary to change with the security situation — that's normal.
TicketsSeoulFamous restaurants book out — get on Catchtable.
Seoul's most-hyped restaurants (the Netflix-famous ones especially) take reservations through apps — Catchtable has a global version for foreign cards, and Naver handles many bookings too. Reserve days to weeks ahead, or go at opening time and take the tablet waitlist like locals do.
TicketsApps
A few days before
Download offline maps and the language pack.
Before you fly, download your destination's offline map area and the offline language pack in Google Translate or Apple Translate. The camera/Lens mode reads menus and signs instantly — it works best with the pack already on your phone.
AppsPrep your cards, skip the worst exchange rates.
Tell your bank you're traveling, carry a second card in a different bag, and when a terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, always choose the local currency — "dynamic currency conversion" is a built-in bad rate.
MoneyPapago translates Korean better.
Naver's Papago consistently beats generic translators for Korean — download it with the offline pack, and use its camera mode on menus and signs. Keep your usual translate app for other languages.
AppsKorea uses European-style plugs at 220V.
Outlets take two round pins (types C/F) at 220V — travelers from the US, UK and Japan need an adapter. Modern phone and laptop chargers handle the voltage fine; check hair tools rated only for 100–120V.
Connectivity
On arrival
Grab a WOWPASS or T-money card on arrival.
WOWPASS (kiosks at airports and big stations) combines currency exchange, a prepaid payment card and a built-in T-money transit chip — the practical pick for visitors. Plain T-money cards sell at any convenience store. Top-ups are still mostly cash, though subway-station kiosks began accepting foreign cards in 2026; iPhone Apple Pay T-money exists but foreign-card loading is still patchy.
TransportMoneyTaxis: Kakao T, but choose "pay to driver".
Kakao T is Korea's taxi app — registering a foreign card often fails, so skip it and select "pay to driver", then tap your card in the cab (they all take cards). Uber works through your home app in the big cities but runs pricier; Kakao's k.ride app is built for foreign visitors.
TransportAppsCards rule here — carry only pocket cash.
Korea is the opposite of Japan: credit cards work almost everywhere, including most market stalls. Keep a little cash for T-money top-ups, temples and the odd stubborn street vendor — and don't tip; it isn't done.
Money
Daily on the ground
Wear a hanbok — the palaces let you in free.
Rent a hanbok near Gyeongbokgung and all five royal palaces waive their entry fee while you wear it — and the photos are worth it alone. Mind the closing days: Gyeongbokgung closes Tuesdays, Changdeokgung closes Mondays.
Convenience stores are open all night — use them.
GS25, CU and emart24 are everywhere and genuinely useful: global-card ATMs, T-money top-ups, cheap good food (kimbap, ramyeon with hot-water stations, seating outside), and late-night supplies. Nobody judges a konbini dinner in Korea either.
MoneyFamilyTwo hands, quiet subways, no shoes indoors.
Give and receive things — cards, cash, drinks — with both hands. Leave the priority subway seats empty even when the car is full, keep calls off the subway, and take your shoes off in homes, hanok stays and some restaurants.
EtiquetteTax refunds happen right at the register.
Spend ₩15,000 or more in a tax-free shop, show your physical passport, and the 10% tax comes off instantly at checkout (per-receipt limit ₩1,000,000). Bigger purchases refund at airport kiosks instead — keep items unused until you leave.
Money
Some links may earn hi tabi a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Last verified: 2026-07-08