Visiting Korea
Korea travel — entry, transport and booking basics for international visitors, plus itineraries, destinations and realistic budgets.
Route status for late 2026, getting from the train to each ferry, Dokdo landing rules, and a two-night budget
From Seoul, Ulleungdo ferries now leave from Pohang, plus Mukho until 8 November. Keep a spare day for weather, and book the Dokdo boat for your first full day.
Five ways to reach the Pyeongchang slopes compared on time, cost and foreign-card booking, plus a 2025/26 budget for beginners and for non-skiers
Most Seoul-based visitors should book the reseller shuttle bus, because it takes foreign cards and needs no Korean number. Using third-party and earlier-season prices, a beginner's ski day cost roughly 150,000–170,000 won plus transport and lessons.
How to route each receipt by its amount, what the refund is actually worth, and where people lose it on departure day
Visitors staying under 6 months should take the instant discount on receipts under 1,000,000 won. Bigger receipts go to the airport or a downtown booth, and customs must confirm the goods before checked bags go.
Counter locations and hours by terminal, what Korea's 2026 identity check means for a passport holder, and the four cases where each product wins
Data-only and an unlocked eSIM phone? Buy the eSIM before you fly. Get a physical SIM at the arrival hall only if something in Korea actually has to text or call you.
2026 fares checked — where to buy bus tickets at T2, the 22:40 last Express, and what still runs after midnight
With light luggage, the AREX train (4,750–13,000 won) is the best way into Seoul; big bags favor the 17,000-won limousine bus, and after the last trains around midnight it's a night bus or a flat-rate taxi (70,000–95,000 won).
Six bookable programs compared, plus the hanbok rule that decides whether you pay for a palace ticket twice
If you want to book something this week, the free options need no reservation at all — the Seoul Global Cultural Center's hanbok session and the National Folk Museum's English docent tour. Templestay is the only overnight choice, and Korea House's hands-on programs are closed to solo travelers.
Five places where the queue system checks out, with hours, prices and where each one sits on the island
Of these five famous Jeju queues, Sukseongdo is the only one the Korea Tourism Organization lists on Catchtable Global, the app's foreigner version; Jamae Guksu runs a Catchtable waitlist, Woojin Haejangguk and Yeondon mean registering in person, and Oneunjeong Gimbap books pickups by phone or at the counter.
Climate normals for Seoul, Busan and Jeju, the risk windows, and a way to check dates you've already picked
For most trips, mid-April to May or October is the safest choice. October also misses the winter fine-dust and spring dust seasons, and Seoul is driest from October to March. In 2027, avoid February 6–9 and September 14–16.
What Google Maps does today, why approval in February did not change it, and which app to open for each job
As of October 2026, Google Maps in Korea handles transit and place lookups but still has no turn-by-turn walking or driving navigation. Visitors should use NAVER Map for walking and driving, and keep Google for research.
The menu price is the bill, the basic sides come back when you ask, and here are the few places where that changes
Don't tip at Korean restaurants, because the posted price is the final bill, VAT and any service charge included. Basic side dishes are free and refilled when you ask, but pricier sides may not be.
Tmoney, payments, parcels and alcohol ID at CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and emart24, and the few tasks where the chain matters
Foreign visitors can do most convenience-store tasks with an overseas card and some won in cash. Top up a Tmoney card with cash, and expect the half-price store-to-store parcel services to send the pickup code to the recipient as a KakaoTalk notification and to ask the sender for a Korean return address. For the tasks we could verify, the chain changes your plan only for Tmoney refunds and half-price parcels.
What each delivery app lets a foreign visitor or resident do in late 2026, and the exact step where an order usually fails
Baemin says foreigners can order as guests with an overseas number that receives SMS and pay with an overseas credit card. With no SMS, Shuttle or takeout is the realistic route.
The age rules come from national law; tattoo rules are up to each venue
You're naked only in the single-sex bath. Everywhere else you wear the uniform you're given. From 48 months, children can't enter the opposite-sex bath. At 24-hour venues, under-19s need a parent, a supervising adult or a signed consent form at night.
Which permits rental counters accept, what one dent costs at each insurance level, and how tolls and camera fines reach your card after the trip
Visitors can rent in Korea with a paper IDP from a Geneva or Vienna convention country or a bilateral-agreement country, valid for one year from entry; after that, or without one, you need a Korean licence.
Pick a station by where you stay in Seoul, budget 15–30 minutes from Gyeongju Station into town, and check the late trains before you plan a night at Wolji Pond
Take the KTX from Seoul Station, or from Suseo if you stay in southeast Seoul, and add 15–30 minutes from Gyeongju Station into town. From October to February a Wolji Pond night view fits a day trip on the 20:13; in the lighter months take the 22:38, which arrives after midnight, or stay over.
There is no train yet, Sokcho has two bus terminals, and the beach season lasts only seven weeks
The direct bus is the way to get from Seoul to Sokcho. Leave from Seoul Express Bus Terminal or Dong Seoul Terminal, and check which of Sokcho's two terminals your ticket ends at. Intercity counters and the Bustago app accept foreign cards, and the national tourism site lists Klook and Hanpass for booking.
Everland's Korean and English booking sites vs a foreigner-only resale pass, booking without a Korean phone, and the last ride back by route
Everland sells day passes on its Korean site, on an official English site for international visitors and through resellers. Here is how to compare them on your date, and which route from Seoul still gets you home after closing.
Which card fits your trip length, your route from the airport, and whether you carry cash, with the 2026 changes dated
Most visitors should start with a Tmoney card topped up with cash. A Climate Card pass pays off on Seoul stays of three to seven days at three or more paid rides a day, even counting the 3,000 won card. Foreign cards can buy passes at newer machines but can't be tapped at the gates yet.
Which station to leave from by neighborhood, what you can book with a foreign card, and what to do when trains sell out
For most visitors the answer is a KTX to Busan Station, leaving from Seoul Station or, if you stay in Gangnam, from Suseo. Fly only if you are near Gimpo and the fare is cheap. Take the bus to save money or when every train is sold out.
How to spot a bluebottle, which symptoms mean calling 119, how to get help in English, and how to check Korea's jellyfish alerts before you swim
For any jellyfish sting in Korea, leave the water, rinse with seawater (never fresh water, alcohol or vinegar), lift off tentacles without bare hands, then use hot water or a cold pack. Call 119 for whole-body symptoms.
A branch-by-item map, a plan built around your train, and the ice-pack rule for cream cakes
Seasonal siru cakes and rolls are sold mainly at the cake shops, not at the main bakery. Arrive before 8 a.m., buy cake first, and pack it in ice if it's over an hour from a fridge.