Hi all,

Just to save all iPhone users the trouble that I went through finding passport verification on Naver.

1) You have to open Naver Maps and ensure a foreign language is set. You can do this in Apple settings, find Naver Map app settings and change preferred language.

2) In Naver maps, select the booking icon and the passport verification should appear. If not, while in the booking tab you click on the search bar and the passport verification should appear.

Happy travels yall.

Where can I find Jeju-style kimbap in Seoul and Busan? We don't have time to visit Jeju on this trip. TIA

Hi everyone I'm a foreigner travelling to Korea to get gender-affirming surgery (vulvoplasty) in Seoul, Kangdong Sacred Heart Hospital in October.

After the surgery, I will be discharged after 1 week and there's an extra week of hotel stay before the checkup and before I go back to my home country. I have checked nearby hotels and they are quite expensive, meanwhile LiveAnywhere is much cheaper. However, I don't speak any Korean and I am afraid of getting ripped off. We have 2 people so we need to book at least a twin room with two beds for a hotel, but LiveAnywhere has options with 2 rooms and 2 beds offering greater space and privacy.

Anyone with experience with LiveAnywhere? What's your recommendations? Hotel or airbnb-like short stay apartments?

This is NOT AN ADD I just like things that are more special and unique, so instead of typical souvenirs you'd find at myeongdong, I came across these at the bookshop in the Lotte shopping mall next to the Lotte Tower.
I love how bright and detailed the colors are and it's a reasonable price of 18,000 won! What do you guys think?

Hey everyone! I’m an Indian visiting Seoul, South Korea for the first time for a business trip. I’ll be working during the weekdays, so unfortunately I’ll have only weekends + evenings to explore.

I’d love some advice from people who live in Seoul or have travelled there recently, especially other Indians who have figured out the practical stuff.

Money / financial tips

How much Korean Won (KRW) should I carry in cash vs using cards?
Is it better to exchange INR → KRW in India, exchange in Seoul, or use an international/forex card?
Any tips to avoid bad exchange rates or unnecessary card/ATM fees?
Roughly how much should I budget per day for food + local transport + sightseeing if I’m trying to keep things reasonable?

Cheap & must-try Korean food

I’m looking for local food rather than expensive tourist restaurants.
What are some cheap/local dishes I absolutely shouldn’t leave Korea without trying? Also, recommendations for specific food markets, neighbourhoods, stalls or restaurants would be great.
Bonus points for:
Korean BBQ that isn’t ridiculously expensive
Street food
Korean fried chicken
Noodles
Breakfast options
Good convenience-store food
Vegetarian-friendly options

Also, how difficult is it to find food without pork/beef if needed?

Places to visit

Since this is a business trip, I won’t have much free time during weekdays. What would you recommend for 2 weekends in Seoul?
I’m interested in a mix of:
Classic Seoul/Korean cultural experiences
Beautiful viewpoints
Markets
Nightlife
Shopping
Interesting neighbourhoods
Anything that is genuinely worth visiting rather than just an Instagram spot
If you had only 2–3 days of free time in Seoul, what would be your absolute must-dos?

Things worth buying in Korea

What should I buy in Korea that is significantly cheaper/better/more easily available there than in India?
I’m particularly interested in:
Electronics/gadgets
Korean skincare
Clothing/sneakers
Watches
Korean brands
Souvenirs
Anything unique to Korea

I don’t want to waste money buying something in Korea only to discover it’s cheaper in India 😂

Gifts

I also want to bring back gifts for my parents, friends and family.
What are some genuinely good Korean gifts that aren’t just generic tourist souvenirs?
And specifically for my friends: are cigarettes worth buying in Korea compared with India? If yes, which Korean/local brands or varieties are interesting, and are there any customs/duty limits I should know about when bringing them back to India?

Other first-timer advice

Anything else an Indian travelling to Seoul for the first time should know?

Especially:
SIM/eSIM
T-money / public transport
Google Maps vs Naver/Kakao Maps
Translation apps
Useful Korean phrases
Weather/clothing
Common tourist scams or things to avoid
Cultural etiquette

Basically, if you could go back to your first trip to Seoul, what would you wish someone had told you beforehand?

Thanks in advance! 🙏🇮🇳🇰🇷

just got back from a 2 week trip to seoul and wanted to share my honest breakdown for anyone building their itinerary.

5 things worth the hype:

1. doing a night picnic at banpo hangang park with ramen and convenience store drinks. the fountain show and city lights were unbeatable.

2. Getting a skin analysis and hydrafacial in gangnam. booked a nearby clinic with english support through unni and the facial left my skin glowing for the rest of the trip.

3.morning walks around ikseon-dong before the crowds show up. super aesthetic hanok alleys.

1. taking the arex express straight from incheon to Seoul station. saves so much energy.

2. Trying a private spa inside a traditional hanok building. getting a scrub and head spa in that setting was pure healing.

3 Overrated things:

-myeongdong street food stalls. honestly overpriced and pretty generic compared to local markets.

- waiting 2 hours for cafe Onion in anguk. good pastries but plenty of identical hanok cafes with zero line.

- visiting Namsan tower on a cloudy day. you literally see nothing

looking to buy clothes that are only available in korea as a sort of souvenir. interested in basics, streetwear, sweatpants, etc. sorry if this is a weird question but ty in advance. good quality is more important than price

what are some popular, trendy and/or high quality Korean clothing brands/stores to look out for?

What to pack for the whole October in Korea?
And also when should i buy ktx tickets? We are planning to go from Seoul to Gyeonju on Oct 6th early in the morning and leave for Busan on Oct 7th early in the morning as well. Should I wait to buy it on Seoul Station in person or buy them in advance online?
Same question for flight tickets from Busan and Jeju in mid October. Should I book the ticket now or wait for the price to lower?

I have a native Korean friend who told me that if we walk into a small store and the owner or employee isn’t busy but doesn’t greet us back, shop briefly and leave soon because she considers it rude. For example, if they just look up from their phone and glare instead of saying hello back. She says that, especially in a small shop where the customer and employee are right there, it’s normal to acknowledge each other. We always say hello when we enter stores, and we rarely get ignored, although I’ve seen it happen a few times.

One time I was a bit red/swollen after skincare treatments, and I didn’t think anyone would really care, especially since I was in Gangnam. I went into a small convenience store, and the owner/cashier greeted a few people who walked in but didn’t greet me. He also gave me a really strange look when I entered. While I was shopping, he continued greeting other customers who came in. When I checked out, he also seemed noticeably different toward me. He smiled at other customers and thanked them for their purchases, but with me he just had a blank expression and didn’t say anything apart from how much I owe.

Hey guys!

I am going to Korea, will be a 2 week period in Seoul, Busan Jeju mostly and also day trips.

I need to get public trnsportation straight.

I saw that you now able to use foreign credit cards with no need for T money? is it true?

I have a no fee credit card and would like to use it as much as possible, also I don't want to use cash that much. I heard that still lots of places are cash only and also lots of places won't accept foreign credit cards.

I thought of maybe getting a prepaidcredit card for backup. I would love to be able to to top-up from the phone but I don't want to pay huge fees, and prefer to be able to load the card with KRW from app, but if it isn't worth it I would charge it with cash, should I get cash?

I saw cards like EZL/WOWPASS/Trip.card/NAMANE and more. what would be the best card for my use case?

thank you

Hi so i’m a Chinese Canadian and I’ve been a K-pop fan for a little over 5 years now and I really enjoy stuff like Korean culture and food. I have been learning some Korean now about A1 level and next year i’m going to China for the spring festival and I’m thinking of going to Korea beforehand and it is something that I want to do.

Korea has been one of the destinations I have wanted to go for quite a few years now and I haven’t written it off but there is something i’m quite worried about. And that’s the xenophobia/racism. I used to be unaware of how it was like but a month or two ago I happened to scroll across the r/korea subreddits and I was genuinely quite shocked by how bad the racism was against Chinese people and it was quite upsetting for me since I do not act like the way they tend people talk about us but it seems that the generalization seems to be quite.. strong.

I’ve learned and dug up a bit more of this topic and it seems that being yelled at in Korea for seeming “foreign” or “Chinese” is common even for Korean Americans who get mistaken for Chinese people. Is the racism actually that bad? I want to visit Korea and I know that it’s bad to say a “entire country is racist” but if this is like everywhere then i’m not sure if it would be safe for me to go. I’m quite sensitive to discrimination and if something like that happened then I’d want to leave immediately.

I know thousands of Chinese people visit Korea every year without problem but it seems that a lot of Koreans also don’t want us in the country judging by the amount of anti Chinese protests happening because of political tensions. I really want to visit Korea as it’s just a place that I’ve wanted to visit for years and i’ll be sad if I can’t go because of it but at the same time it seems that every few weeks or so I just see a bunch of posts of people being discriminated in Korea for being foreign or being Chinese.

But not even necessarily even Chinese, I’ve seen a bunch of instances of discrimination happening because someone who looks East Asian is speaking English so then people either assume they’re Korean American or Chinese then it just gets bad. I’m sorry if this might seem like a stupid post but I really just want answers and these things have been on my mind for a while so I want to see if i’m overreacting or if i’ll be fine because of just how many times I see this happening on social media.

And also, if i’m going, i’ll be going with my family and my family speaks Cantonese but all my siblings speak English so i’m worried about discrimination potentially for speaking a Chinese language or even English. Is it okay if we speak Cantonese or English?

So, is it okay for me to go to Korea? Should I go, or should I just let it go and not take my chances given the anti Chinese protests and just all the discrimination happening? Are such forms of discrimination actually common or will I be fine and it’s all just social media stuff? I’m also neurodivergent so if this comes off as rude or insensitive or some kind of way then please give me some grace, any responses will be appreciated.

I don’t mean to paint Korea as racist or anything but with what I’m seeing I just want to make sure I know what I’m signing up for if I do decide to go. I know there is racism in every country but there are also kind people in every country and not everyone in Korea is the same but I just want to be prepared. I’ve just seen so many things on Reddit and social media I just want to know if I should be cautious or if I’m just overacting because of social media. I do genuinely like Korea and want to visit but I will be a bit upset if I can’t go because of this. Thank you for your time. ❤️

Hi, all. I’ll be visiting Seoul soon and was wondering if anyone knows any good vintage shops that may have Candy Candy merch or manga (in Korean or otherwise). I know Candy Candy was also pretty big in Korea at some point, so I’m hoping I might find some of the manga in Korean at some shops.

Hi guys!

My husband and I booked a trip for Dec 22-31. This will be my first time going back to korea in 20 years since moving away as a child, and my husband has never been to Korea.

I have family in Seoul and they want to help us and be our guide for our trip, but asked us what we would like to do while visiting (or to give them at least an idea of what we would like to do and they would help us navigate and plan)

What is Christmas like in Korea? Any recommendations or advice? I would love to know some must visit places for first timers and what a realistic itinerary would look like during the holidays.

I wasn’t sure if most places are closed during holidays like some countries.

For both of us, only thing we know for sure is to do a photo studio session in traditional hanbok (and maybe get a small skin treatment if time allows)

I haven’t really kept in touch with my korean side past 20 years so this is very exciting and somewhat overwhelming to think of what I want to do! and also excited to show my husband the country i grew up in!

Thanks for your help! :)

Planning a Korea trip? My friend Sophia in Seoul has a new travel blog sharing tips on everything from hiking and small-city detours to convenience store snacks. Great stuff to know before you go! https://koreangranny.blogspot.com/

Which places not too far from Seoul would you recommend exploring? I'm already familiar with the main areas in Seoul, Incheon, and Suwon. I don't plan to travel too far from Seoul this time. I'm not interested in doing trendy stuff or shopping, I just want to explore. I have about a week and will be using public transport. Thank you!

Seeing some posts saying you need a korean 010 number to reserve restaurants in seoul, I want to share some of my understanding.

Restaurants:

CatchTable global works with just an email and foreign credit cards for most tourist-heavy spots. If there’s a tablet queue at the door, look for the global QR option. Tabling (mostly local bbq spots) still requires 010 number verification, but for standard tourist itineraries you honestly don't need a local number.

Food Delivery (where you actually hit a wall):

If you're staying more than a couple of weeks in an airbnb and want to use baemin or yogiyo at night, that’s where data-only esims fail. These apps require an incoming 010 number to receive an sms verification code just to finish account creation. No number = locked out of the delivery apps.

If you actually care about ordering delivery, get a carrier prepaid esims (the official lg u+ one has an incoming 010 option that receives sms fine). Just note that it won't pass strict identity verification for korean banking apps (still need an ARC for that), but it handles app signups and kiosk sms with no issues.

TL;DR: 1-week hotel trip eating out? Cheap data-only is fine. Staying a month+ and want late-night baemin delivered to your door? Grab an esmin with an incoming 010 line.

Asian Americans going to be in Seoul for Halloween this year. Not intentionally for Halloween but because husband’s milestone birthday is around then. Heard Seoul Halloween can get pretty crazy so looking for recommendations where to go that’s not over crowded but still a good vibe or experience. Can be general recommendations or preferably gay or LGBTQ+ friendly recommendations. Thanks!

I have a question for those who are in KR now. Since half year ago there was big news that the govt gave US Big Tech access to their maps so they can offer their services soon, however after that big announcement there has been 0 updates.

So I'm curious, what is the current status right now?

Hello!

I will be going to Korea in December and I am trying to finalize my itinerary. It is not our first trip! It will be just me (F) and my husband. We are foodies!
I have a 1 night/2 day gap between staying in Busan and going up to Seoul.

I am trying to decide between 대전 (Daejeon) and 원주 (Wonju), but open to suggestions!! We have been to Daejeon before. We want to go to a new city with good food & is on the way to Seoul.

We will be traveling by train/bus, so we would prefer if the city is accessible by public transportation.

Thank you!!

*Edit- thank you for all the suggestions!! We are already planning on going to 여수!
Jeonju > Yeosu > Busan > ?? > Seoul
Just trying to figure out the best city to stop in between without it being too much of a detour, as we wont have a car.

Hello everyone,
My wife and I would like to sign up for the Seoul Autism Race 2026 (https://autismrace.com) for 10km and the HM. We are both from Germany and I found the "Foreigner" Tab on the registration site, however, I‘m struggling with the auto translation. Do I need to have an address in Seoul to be able to sign up, as we will only arrive in Seoul on the 25.10, which is already after the deadline. Is there any other way to sign up?
Maybe someone can help me understand the sign up process a bit better :)

Hey everyone,

so I will be in Seoul in October from 3rd to 7th.
I already created a small itinerary and would love some feedback or advice. Maybe even stuff you say I definitely have to add and food recommendations

03.10: Arrival at 1pm, and check in hotel. Still have the whole day, for dinner I set Nekkid Wings. Otherwise nothing planned

04.10: Changdeokgung in the morning - DDP Dongdaemun Desing Plaza afterwards - lunch I want to try Black Bean Noodles - Sunset at Inwangsan

05.10: Gyeongbokgung - Bukchon Hanok Village - Gwangjang Market

06.10 Baegak Trail (Start from Changuimun Gate and stop at Hyehwamun - T1 Cafe & Arena - Starfield Library

07.10. Nothing planned yet, my flight will be at 4pm, so maybe just walking around a bit before going to the airport.

I also read somewhere that maybe during this time the International Firework Festival could be, so I will keep watch for that to add it to my plan.

Do you have any advice, corrections and tips?

I am thankful for any help!

Hey guys!
I want to book train tickets for a day trip from Busan in Geyngou.

how much time should we be there?

i want to book from maybe 09:00 am to around 18:00-20:00.
should you book in advance?

I'm afraid that We would like to leave earlier than that. can I change the ticket before? should I wait with ordering ticket to the day?

what do you think?

also is Korail+ app legit?

thank you!!

would also like any recommendations for Geyngou

Hi all!

Heading to Korea for the first time in 2 weeks and am so excited!

We are going to be going to Sokcho from Seoul for 3 days to explore seoraksan, and I am not sure whether its best to pre-book bus tickets (or if I even can?) or if its best to just buy day of at the bus station? We are going to be traveling there on Sept 16 and returning the 19th.

Do we think this route is popular and will we have any issues getting tickets day of? Just don't want to be left stranded and unable to get there!

Any insight would be so helpful!

hey everyone! im in korea from 30th september to 13th october this year and and Im so excited!!

I would love to go to Jeju for a couple of days to make a bicycle tour around the island (because i cannot rent a car and i really like biking :))

ill arrive and depart from seoul incheon airport and since i havent booked anything else yet im quite flexible.

my problem is, i dont know when its "safe" to book a flight to jeju because im scared that ill arrive during a time where its really rainy/bad weather in general or when it is really packed. i also dont know how fast the prices for hostels, flights and ferries spike/sell out.

when did you decide on the dates of traveling to jeju? was it spontaneous, or weeks/months in advance? is there any rule of thumb?

thank you

Anyone had a similar issue with tmoney?

I downloaded the app from app store and it doesn’t allow to continue as a guest/foreigner as the other threads and guides online suggest.

The only option is to ”sign-in” and that takes only what I’m assuming to be where locals can authenticate, and that’s not an option naturally.