South Korea is the most card-friendly country we cover, and one of the most app-dependent. You can go a whole trip without touching cash, but Google Maps won’t give you walking directions, and the entry paperwork depends on a list of 22 countries that expires on 31 December 2026. Most South Korea travel guides skip both. This one starts with them.
We file every country on the site into the same six lines we use for Japan. Korea has five guides so far, on entry, money, getting around and the calendar. If you’re traveling to South Korea for the first time, read them in the order below. Each one lists its official sources at the bottom.
South Korea at a glance
- Entry: 22 countries and territories, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan, are exempt from the K-ETA until 31 December 2026. They file the free e-Arrival card instead
- K-ETA: ₩10,000, valid 3 years, applied for at least 72 hours before boarding
- Stay: 90 days visa-free on US, UK, most EU and Australian passports
- Currency: Korean won (KRW), roughly 1,355 to the US dollar. Cards are accepted almost everywhere
- Emergency: 112 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance, 1330 for the tourist helpline in English
- Power: 220 volts, round two-pin plugs (types C and F)
- Tipping: not expected. The price on the menu is the price you pay
Start here: five guides for a first trip to South Korea
Five guides so far. The K-ETA one matters most if your trip runs into 2027, when the exemption for Americans, Britons and Australians is due to end.
- K-ETA Korea: who needs it, who’s exempt, the fee, and the free e-Arrival card that replaces it.
- Best time to visit South Korea, month by month, with the monsoon, the two big holidays and the foliage window.
- Money in Korea: Korean won, the ATMs that take foreign cards, WOWPASS, T-money and the instant tax refund.
- Tipping in South Korea: why you don’t, and the few places where people do.
- T-money card: what it costs, how to top it up with cash or an iPhone, Seoul fares and when the Climate Card is cheaper.
A · When to go: spring, autumn and the monsoon in between
Spring and autumn are the easy answer, and for once the easy answer is right. April and May are mild, with cherry blossom in Seoul in early April. Late September to early November brings clear skies and, towards the end of October, the leaves. Summer is the hard part: the jangma monsoon soaks most of the country from late June through July, and August stays hot and humid. Winter in Seoul is dry and properly cold, often below freezing in January.
Two holidays shift the whole country. Seollal, the lunar new year, falls on 7 February 2027, and Chuseok runs from 14 to 16 September 2027. Millions travel home, trains sell out, and many shops and restaurants close for a day or two. Palaces and big-city attractions mostly stay open.
- Best time to visit South Korea: month-by-month guide, with weather, crowds and holiday dates.
B · Money and payments
Korea is close to cashless. Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards work in shops, cafés, taxis and convenience stores, and a prepaid travel card like WOWPASS covers the few places that are fussy about foreign cards. You’ll still want a T-money card for buses and the subway, loaded with cash at a convenience store or a station machine. Shopping? Stores in the immediate tax refund scheme take the VAT off at the till for purchases of ₩15,000 to ₩1,000,000 per receipt. Bring your passport.
Tipping is simple: don’t. Menu prices already include tax, and Korean law requires the displayed price to be the final one. Nobody will chase you down the street with your change, but nobody expects extra either.
- Money in Korea: every note, the exchange rate, Global ATMs, WOWPASS versus a regular card, and the Seoul transit pass.
- Do you tip in Korea? The rule, the hotel service charge, and the delivery fee people mistake for a tip.
C · Transport: getting around South Korea
One card does most of the work. A T-money card, a few thousand won at any convenience store, pays for the subway and city buses in Seoul, Busan and every other big city, plus most taxis. It gives you discounted transfers within 30 minutes, as long as you tap off buses. The catch for visitors is the top-up: the plastic card is loaded with cash, although iPhone users can now add T-money to Apple Wallet with some foreign cards. In Seoul, the Climate Card Tourist Pass is cheaper if you ride three or more times a day. Long-distance KTX trains need a separate ticket.
- T-money card Korea: price, where to buy it, top-ups, Seoul subway and bus fares, refunds, and the Climate Card break-even.
F · Entry and documents: South Korea travel requirements
For a trip that ends before 31 December 2026 on a US, UK, Canadian, Australian, Japanese or most Western European passport, the paperwork is one free form. File the e-Arrival card at e-arrivalcard.go.kr in the three days before landing, counted in Korean time, and you skip the paper card at the airport.
Everyone else from a visa-free country needs the K-ETA: ₩10,000 at k-eta.go.kr, at least 72 hours before boarding, valid for three years. That list includes Ireland, Switzerland and Portugal. The same applies to exempt passports from 1 January 2027 unless Korea extends the exemption again, which it has done twice already. If you’ll be back within three years, the K-ETA can be worth buying now anyway.
- K-ETA Korea 2026: the 22 exempt countries, how to apply, what a refusal means, and the e-Arrival card field by field.
South Korea travel tips we’d give a friend
Most of these are about your phone. Korea is an easy country once the right apps are on it.
- Install Naver Map or KakaoMap before you fly. Google Maps shows where things are in Korea, but it won’t give walking or driving directions.
- Buy a T-money card at the airport convenience store on day one. It works on subways and buses nationwide, and in many taxis.
- Only pay .go.kr sites for entry paperwork. Agency sites charge several times the K-ETA fee, sometimes for a K-ETA your passport doesn’t need.
- Take your shoes off when a restaurant has floor seating, and in anyone’s home.
- Save 1330 in your phone. The Korea Travel Hotline answers in English around the clock, and it can interpret a conversation with a taxi driver or a pharmacist.
South Korea travel checklist: what to do, and when
Sorted by lead time. The e-Arrival card and the K-ETA work on opposite clocks: one can’t be filed more than three days early, the other shouldn’t be left later than three days.
| When | Do this | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 months ahead | If your dates touch Seollal (7 February 2027) or Chuseok (14 to 16 September 2027), book trains and hotels now | Best time to visit |
| A week ahead | Not on the exempt list, or arriving from 1 January 2027? Apply for the K-ETA on k-eta.go.kr | K-ETA guide |
| 3 days before landing | Exempt and no K-ETA: file the free e-Arrival card | K-ETA guide |
| On landing | Buy a T-money card, or set up WOWPASS, at the airport | T-money card |
| When shopping | Show your passport for the instant tax refund on purchases from ₩15,000 | Money in Korea |
| At the table | Pay the price on the menu. No tip needed | Tipping in Korea |
What’s next for South Korea
Staying connected and local rules are still to come for Korea. Getting from Incheon into Seoul and choosing an eSIM are next on our list. Each new guide gets a line on this page.
Other countries on the network
Pairing Seoul with Tokyo or Osaka? Our Japan travel guide covers all six lines. The Vietnam travel guide and the Thailand travel guide follow the same layout as this page. For everything we’ve published, newest first, see all guides.
Data checked: 2026-09-28