2023 South Korea Basics

1. Visas- Canadians and Americans do not need to get a visa in advance to enter South Korea.
2. What about a K-ETA ?  The government of the Republic of Korea announced that from April 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024, the Korean Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) is no longer required for Canadian U.S. citizens and citizens of several other countries   visiting Korea for 90 days or less for business or tourism. If you do need one you can apply on line https://www.k-eta.co/
3. SIM Cards and phone data You can buy a tourist SIM card or an e-SIM for your unlocked phone at booths in the airport. Standard rates are for unlimited data. You can pay extra to make calls and send texts. I paid 38,500 KW for 10 days, There is Wi-Fi available in many places in South Korea if you do not wat to buy a SIM. You will need your passport to buy a SIM card.
4. Google maps does not work well in South Korea. It will tell you where you are and you can find an address but the only directions it will give you are via public transit, Apple Maps and maps.me work but you do not get live traffic. The South Korean government does not allow mapping data to be stored on servers outside of South Korea and Google and Gramin have not agreed to place servers in South Korea. It you plan to use the maps on a Gramin there are third party maps available which will work on your Garmin.
5. Money You can change money at the airport but outside of the airport I did not see anywhere you could change Canadian. There probably are places in Seoul that will do it but outside of Seoul it could be hard to change Canadian. Most places will take a credit card. You will need cash for some smaller vendors. There are “global” bank machines (it says global on the booth). They will allow you to take money using a credit card. I was not able to find a machine where I could get money with my bank card, but I did not try in Seoul. US can be exchanged easily. I changed money at our hotel in Busan. You will need your passport to exchange money. You also need to make sure that any money you bring to exchange is new bills with no damage. Euros and Japanese Yen are also easy to exchange.
6. Getting to Seoul from the airport. You can take a taxi which I was told would be about $80, there are airport buses and there is a train which is part of the subway system. It will take you to Seoul Station which is central and connected to the subway system. There are two different trains to Seoul Station: The all stops train and the express train. The all stops train takes about an hour, it’s cheaper 4550 KW and it goes more regularly (every 10-15 minutes). The express train is about 20 miniutes faster but it goes less regularly and costs more.
7. Using the subway system Seoul is a big city with a population of around 10,000,000. It has a big subway system with many lines which is intimidating at first but it is a logical system and the trains are not overcrowded if you avoid rush hour.
   1. Paying for the subway. There are machines in the subway where you can pay for a trip or load money onto a T money card. You can buy a card in advance or you can pay an extra 500 KW on your first use to get a card. The 500 KW is a deposit which you get back if you put your card in the refund machine when you leave the station. You can get prompts from the machine in English, but it does not give you much time to respond so it may take you a few tries. If you already have a card, you select add money to add money to your card. It will show you your balance, you select how much you want to add and you can pay by cash or credit. I think it matters which way you put the bills into the machine because it took me several tries to get mine accepted. I believe it costs about 1500 KW for a ride but there is an extra charge if you have a distant location. If you do not have a card, select pay for single use ticket and select the name of the station you are going to. The cost appears on the screen ,and you pay and get a card.  You scan the card at the turnstile when you enter the station and again when you leave the station at your final stop,
   1. The train lines are all numbered and the station names are written in English and Korean. Pick your line and check the last station on the line to get the correct direction, There are lots of signs to direct you and the signs generally include the name of the last stop and the next stop which is handy for making sure you are going the right way. The subway is clean and once you figure out the payment system it’s easy to use.

A couple of things you may not expect.

Towels In smaller hotels you get lots of small towels but no big ones. I have no idea why

Showers– In smaller hotels the shower may not be a separate stall in the bathroom. There will just be a showerhead and a drain in the floor. This is very common in Asia.

Take your shoes off– Koreans don’t wear shoes indoors. You wil find slippers by your hotel room door and even some restaurants have shelves by the door where you leave your shoes.

Eating in Restaurants  You do not tip in Korean restaurants. The service is generally really fast in restaurants, but they will not come to your table unless you ask them to, Some restaurants have a bell on the table that you press to get service. You also have to ask for the bill. Tables often have a drawer where you can find cutlery and napkins.

Being asked how old you are. Older people are owed respect in Korea and it is considered quite normal to ask someone how old they are. If you have a toast in Korea the younger people will keep their glasses below the glasses of their elders.