If you didn't know already, last December I decided to take a trip to Seoul for 2 weeks. I thought I would take this opportunity to share with some stories and tips regarding my trip!
Purchase a T-Money card!
(You can also alternatively purchase other types of transportation cards e.g. Cash Bee or MPASS (a transportation card specifically targeted at international tourists) etc.)
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For those who live in London, the concept of a T-Money card is similar to the use of an Oyster card. At each subway station you can scan your T-Money card and top it up as you go along. A basic journey costs about 1250 won for up to 10KM. However, there are potential additional fares depending on how many additional KM you travelled in a journey. You can purchase the T-Money card from several places e.g. convenience stores which display the T-Money logo. In my personal experience, I purchased a T-Money card at Incheon Airport (picture displayed above). You can purchase T-Money cards from 2500 won, but I paid a bit more because I specifically chose a special design. Some of you may recognise my design if you know of the LINE characters.
Download Citymapper!
(Or you could opt for alternative travel apps which display the Metro system.)
Trust me, these apps will save your life. The one thing I did really appreciate about the subway system was the fact that announcements on the subway were made in 4 different languages: Korean, Japanese, Chinese and English - seriously, London needs to get on their level!! The reason I suggest downloading these apps is because it can be quite difficult trying to find your way round, so the use of Citymapper (which you can use in various locations such as London and Seoul), can help route yourself to an area. From research, I have also found that the popular app "지하철" which alternatively on the UK iTunes store is called Subway Korea, is known to be a useful tool! Not only will this app map you around Seoul it will map around various other cities such as Daegu, Busan, Daejeon and Gwangju. The app offers you 3 different language settings: English, Korean and Japanese. Best of all, these apps are free to use! No payment required!~ Both are available on iPhone and Android.
Learn Hangul!
(Personally, this is solidly up to you, but I believe this is a useful tool to get by.)
I regret not properly learning Hangul beforehand. Although, many foreigners have managed to get by without doing so, there are a lot of Korean restaurants which only offer the menu in Korean. I remember one time I entered a Korean restaurant and they handed me and my friends a foreigner's menu.
Learning the basics of Hangul is actually really easy when you get to it. Certain characters can be determined by connecting characters to images. For example: The character "ㄴ" I recognise as the "n" in Korean because the shape of the character reminds me of a nose. This works for quite a few characters, and is a good way of remembering and recognising characters. Just learning the basics of Hangul to be able to read menus and more, can be very useful when travelling around Korea. If you know a lot about Korean food already that's great, otherwise you can have a look here, to see the different dishes with the Korean Hangul defined.
Download the Visit Korea app!
I've actually loved this site for ages, I follow the page on Facebook and have found they've always shown me some amazing opportunities. Whether it's about the latest events of the season or opportunities to win free tickets to a show - They have pretty much everything you need! When I found out they had produced an app (available on both, iPhone and Android), I thought it was definitely an app I needed to download. The app provides you with travel information (e.g. attractions, food and shopping etc), as well as providing you with a chance to compare hotel rates if necessary. If I had to compare it to an app similar to one available in London, I would have to say it's quite similar to TripAdvisor. I think this is a very good tourism app if you want to check out lots of tourist attractions such as palaces like the Gyeongbukgung Palace.
Be prepared to purchase lots of water!
(This one seems completely random in comparison but you'll understand why...)
When I went to visit my nurse before my trip (I went to get some holiday vaccinations), she suggested me quite a few things. She stated that I should avoid stroking stray animals (this was sort of a given though...) as well as making sure I don't drink from the tap. In England, it's very easily to drink from the tap since the water is cleaned and filtered whilst in Korea not so much. This is why when I entered my accommodation there were lots of bottles of water distributed, but we had to buy more. Alternatively, you can boil the tap water to drink. A lot of Korean restaurants would have cups which had been sanitised and filtered water prepared from water dispensers - a self service routine.
[UPDATE] Tap water is actually safe to drink in South Korea, but most people opt to drink bottled water as it is inexpensive (although funnily enough, Korean soju is super cheap too lol).
[UPDATE] Tap water is actually safe to drink in South Korea, but most people opt to drink bottled water as it is inexpensive (although funnily enough, Korean soju is super cheap too lol).
Pay at the counter of restaurants!
(This can be confusing as the concept is different in England...)
What I found from Korea is that unlike London, you don't tip for your service. The staff deem this as unnecessary, and furthermore you don't call for a bill - However it may be different for more westernised restaurants in Korea. When you've finished with a meal, you would usually proceed to the counter to pay for the bill. The counters are usually by the door in a lot of cases, and I have been asked whether I wanted to pay all together or separately.
Transfer money in the city!
(This applies if you haven't transferred your money into South Korean won yet.)
I found that from research, a lot of people seem to like to transfer their money into South Korean won at the airport as there are many opportunities to do so. However, you can actually find better rates for transfer around the city. I remember going to Myeongdong with a friend and he got his money transferred from British Pounds and Euros to South Korean Won and they were really good rates! Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the place, but I'm sure with a bit of research you can find many exchange places which will provide you better rates than the one's given in the airport.
Connect yourself to Wi-Fi!
(I mean come on... Who wouldn't want Wi-Fi???)
There's a lot of opportunities to connect to free Wi-Fi around South Korea. When I was in Seoul, I found myself connecting to Wi-Fi even at the subway station. I believe I connected to T-Zone Free Wi-Fi but to be honest, it's better to get yourself a pre-paid sim and you can pretty much connect to their services anywhere. Alternatively, you can rent a Wi-Fi Egg - available from places such as KT Olleh and SKT Telecom etc.) For foreigners, the easiest way to get them is from the airport as you arrive. If you do a bit of research you can find out the rates - It's actually not too expensive! However, I suggest that you should only get the Wi-Fi egg if you intend to travel outside of Seoul, as Seoul itself is pretty good with Wi-Fi access otherwise.
I've actually ran out of tips and essentials to share with you guys, but if I remember anymore, I'll be sure to update this blog! Funnily enough, I'll be going to South Korea once again this summer from July-August so hopefully I'll have some more exciting experiences to share with you! Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you guys soon!
Transfer money in the city!
(This applies if you haven't transferred your money into South Korean won yet.)
I found that from research, a lot of people seem to like to transfer their money into South Korean won at the airport as there are many opportunities to do so. However, you can actually find better rates for transfer around the city. I remember going to Myeongdong with a friend and he got his money transferred from British Pounds and Euros to South Korean Won and they were really good rates! Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the place, but I'm sure with a bit of research you can find many exchange places which will provide you better rates than the one's given in the airport.
Connect yourself to Wi-Fi!
(I mean come on... Who wouldn't want Wi-Fi???)
There's a lot of opportunities to connect to free Wi-Fi around South Korea. When I was in Seoul, I found myself connecting to Wi-Fi even at the subway station. I believe I connected to T-Zone Free Wi-Fi but to be honest, it's better to get yourself a pre-paid sim and you can pretty much connect to their services anywhere. Alternatively, you can rent a Wi-Fi Egg - available from places such as KT Olleh and SKT Telecom etc.) For foreigners, the easiest way to get them is from the airport as you arrive. If you do a bit of research you can find out the rates - It's actually not too expensive! However, I suggest that you should only get the Wi-Fi egg if you intend to travel outside of Seoul, as Seoul itself is pretty good with Wi-Fi access otherwise.
I've actually ran out of tips and essentials to share with you guys, but if I remember anymore, I'll be sure to update this blog! Funnily enough, I'll be going to South Korea once again this summer from July-August so hopefully I'll have some more exciting experiences to share with you! Thank you for reading, and I hope to hear from you guys soon!
