South Korea
South Korea20 guides across 3 destinations — where to go, when, what it costs and what to eat.
Destinations in South Korea
Practical essentials for South Korea
South Korean won (KRW)
Korean; English signage is good on transport but spoken English is patchy outside central Seoul.
Type C/F, 220V 60Hz
A T-money card, sold at any convenience store, works on subways and buses nationwide including Seoul, Busan and Jeju; since March 2026 iPhone users can load one into Apple Wallet with a foreign card.
Tipping is not customary and can embarrass staff; upmarket hotels and restaurants add a 10-15% service charge instead.
Tap water is treated to drinking standard and safe to drink.
Right-hand side; visitors need an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 or 1968 conventions, carried with their home licence.
112 police, 119 fire and ambulance
Country-level guidance, checked against official sources. Currency, fares and entry rules change — confirm anything time-critical before you travel.
Recent stories from South Korea
In Busan You Pay for the Water, Not the Room
The gap between a cheap Busan bed and an expensive one is almost entirely glass and altitude, so here is where to sleep at the top, the middle and the bottom of that range, and what each one costs you in metro minutes.
The Unmissable Experiences of Seoul, Ranked
Palaces, mountaintop views, hanok lanes and late-night neon — the definitive ranking of what to do first in the South Korean capital.
Busan's Markets: What to Eat, and the Right Hour to Turn Up
Hagfish on a grill at Jagalchi, seed-stuffed hotteok in the Gukje alleys, pork soup at midnight. A dish-led guide to eating through Korea greatest port city.
The Storied Hotels of Seoul
From the city's century-old grande dame to a suite in the clouds above Jamsil, Seoul's landmark hotels tell the story of modern Korea — here's which one, and which neighbourhood, fits your trip.
Busan Off-Season: The Months Locals Quietly Prefer
Skip the August beach crush and the October film festival. Busan best weeks are the ones the domestic crowds leave alone, and winter here is warmer than you think.
What We Would Not Cut From Busan: Ten Sights, Strongest First
The case for each of the ten Busan sights we would refuse to give up, the three we would happily drop, and how to group them across four days of a forty-kilometre coast.
Seoul street food: Gwangjang Market and beyond
Mung-bean pancakes, addictive gimbap and midnight tent bars — how to eat your way across the Korean capital, starting at its 120-year-old market.
Seoul for less: the smart budget playbook
Seoul rewards the frugal like few big cities on earth. Here is how to work its subway, markets, palaces and free mountain views without watching every won.
Jeju Island for less: a smart budget playbook
Strip away the resorts and Jeju's volcanic coast, free trails and market kitchens cost almost nothing: which bus, which neighbourhood, what to skip, and roughly what it all comes to.
Breakfast to midnight: eating your way through Seoul
Seoul feeds itself around the clock, from morning rice porridge to 2 a.m. broth. A dish-by-dish route through one full day of Korean eating.
Breakfast to midnight on Jeju Island: an eater’s field guide
Jeju's food is its geology and its sea, plated — here is how to eat the island from dawn porridge to midnight soju, in the right order and on the right coast.
Alley Seoul: the backstreets and neighbourhood markets locals love
Skip the palace queues for a day: a walkable circuit through Seochon, Ikseon-dong, Euljiro, Mangwon and the eastern flea markets, ending on the old city wall at sunset.