General travel tips for a trip to South Korea including: what to expect at customs, helpful apps to download on your phone, what to pack, and travel requirements to watch out for.
General Etiquette
- Similarly to other parts of Asia, Koreans typically do not wear their shoes inside the house. There are slippers for the bathroom and there are slippers for the outside of the bathroom.
- Don’t talk loudly in public spaces, like in trains for example.
- Pay attention to the signs before you sit. There are seats on trains reserved for elderly and pregnant women with pictures clearly indicating this.
- Don’t small talk in elevators, or at least keep voices to a minimum. I was scolded by my friends a few times and side-eyed at least once by a local if not a few.
Arriving in South Korea
Travel Requirements
Travel requirements change from time to time, so check out your local travel to make sure you aren’t missing anything. As of April 2024 through December 2024, U.S. visitors do not need to fill out a Korean Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA).
Customs at Incheon International Airport
It took me 30-40 minutes to go through customs in South Korea in 2023. There were a lot of people there and it felt devastatingly hot in the summer. If coming to South Korea during the summer, I recommend wearing layers or bringing lightweight clothes to change into before getting in line for customs.
Transportation from Airport
I highly recommend taking the Airport Railroad Express (AREX), it is cheap and convenient and only takes about 40 minutes to get to Seoul Station.
Transportation in South Korea
Subway/Bus
I primarily prefer rails or subways. We’d only take the bus if there were no rail options.
To pay for the subway, I used a transportation card called a T-Money card, which you scan whenever you go through a rail gate, when boarding the bus, or at convenience stores that accept it as payment. It is easy to buy one when you land at the airport too. You can use cash to load them up at the station or convenience stores.
The Korea Tour Card might be a good alternative as well. More information here on transportation cards on the Visit Korea site. For whichever card you get, each person should purchase their own transportation card to make it easier.
Taxi
Taxis are everywhere in Seoul and are very easy to flag down. Just make sure you have your address/destination ready, otherwise you may get scolded for wasting their precious time! Taxis will typically take credit cards.
There are taxi drivers who will take advantage of an unsuspecting tourist. When I stopped by North Seoul Tower, I was taken advantage of by a taxi driver. I was forced to pay more than what the ride should’ve been worth and they would only take cash. At the time, I was too tired to argue and alone, so I gave in even though I knew it was wrong.
If you are in a heavy tourist area, and the taxis lingering around looking like tourist scammers, check that they take credit cards (so that you don’t have to count change), that the meter is running, and open the navigation app on your phone so that they aren’t driving you in circles to raise the fare. Or better yet, run down the street further than the tourist attraction and grab your taxi there instead.
Train
When leaving Seoul to go to another city, there are metro options that can be used to reserve your seats in advance if you wish.
I used Korail to book my KTX train tickets in advance for Jeonju. Our train had ample room during the times that we went in the summer. We did end up changing our train ticket and had to pay a small change fee, so double-check your dates/times before you book.
Helpful Apps
Navigation: Kakao, Naver or Google Maps?
Google Maps is not dependable in Korea, however, you can use it as a sanity check or when you need to copy the Korean name/address into one of the other map apps.
I had Kakao downloaded on my phone and my friends had Naver, so we used both and compared results:
- Kakao – If you create a Kakao account, you can save some points of interest in public or private lists ahead of time. The issue we had with Kakao was that when you look at the directions, some of it was in Korean… not helpful when you can’t read Korean.
- Naver – better English translation, easier to use.
Other Apps
- Google Translate
- For Yelp/food recs: Kakao/Naver is great for this, so no need for an additional app! I had better results when I typed what I was looking for in Korean (using Google Translate).
Booking Accommodations
When deciding between Airbnb vs hotel, they each have their own pros and cons. I preferred our hotel pick because it was closer to the subway station.
Airbnb
- We stayed at an Airbnb in Mapo, and it was a further walk to the subway station and all of the action in Hongdae than expected (~18 minutes).
- Pay attention to what floor your residence is on, not every Airbnb is on the ground floor.
- Our Airbnb’s bathroom was both a shower and a toilet in the same room. My friend who lived in Korea before told me to make sure that the toilet seat cover is down while showering to prevent a wet toilet seat later on.
Hotel
- We stayed at Shila Stay Gwanghwamun when we were in Seoul. I enjoyed my stay and had no complaints. It was in a central location and easy to get to the subway quickly. The bathroom was nice, there was a bidet.
- Large hotels will usually have elevators but it is worth double-checking if you’re planning on bringing heavy luggage
- They will generally hold your luggage for you if you arrive early or leave late
Staying in a Hanok
When we visited Jeonju, we stayed at a hanok, which is a traditional style Korean home. The hanok looked very aesthetic and had a little yard in the front where linen can be hanging in the afternoon. While I highly encourage the experience, do note that many hanok houses use mats so read carefully if you want a bed.
What to Pack for South Korea
In addition to the usual packing list, make sure to bring:
- Adapter (Type C or F) – One of the Airbnbs we stayed at provided a universal adapter, but I always bring my own.
- Converter – You will need this if you are bringing high-powered appliances like a curling iron, hair dryer, etc., make sure to check that the voltage range contains 220V. If it does not, you will need to look into a converter.
- Umbrella – You can also just buy this at a convenience store when you get there. This advice sounds funny coming from someone who is from the Pacific Northwestern part of the United States where we don’t believe in umbrellas. However, umbrellas are useful for both rain and shine. It offers a bit of shade against the blazing heat of summer and there is no shame since everyone else is using one too!
Leave a Reply