12 posts tagged with "Travel Guide"

Seoul is massive. It covers 600 square kilometers and is home to nearly 10 million people. For first-time visitors, looking at the subway map can be overwhelming. Should you stay in Gangnam? Is Myeongdong too touristy? What is "Hipjiro"?

To understand Seoul, you just need to know one thing: The Han River divides the city.

• North of the River (Gangbuk): History, Culture, Palaces, Old School.
• South of the River (Gangnam): Skyscrapers, Luxury, K-Pop, Modern.

Here is your ultimate guide to navigating the soul of Asia.

If Seoul is the polished, high-tech brain of Korea, Busan is its beating heart. The second-largest city in Korea feels completely different: the people are louder and warmer, the food is spicier, and the ocean is everywhere.

Whether you want to ride the Instagram-famous Sky Capsule or eat live octopus at a fish market, here is your ultimate guide to Busan.

You already know the "Big 3" apps for Korea: Naver Map (Navigation), Kakao T (Taxi), and Papago (Translation). If you don't have those, download them now. Serious.

But there is a second layer of apps. These are the "Quality of Life" apps that separate the rookies from the pros. These are the apps that let you book a table at a Michelin restaurant without a Korean phone number, or check your subway card balance without walking to a machine.

Here are the 5 apps you should download before you board the plane.

If you try to buy a single-journey subway ticket every time you ride, you will go insane. You will stand in line. You will fumble for coins. You will pay a deposit. You will have to return the card to get your deposit back.

Do not do this.

Instead, buy a T-Money Card. It’s like the Oyster Card in London or the Octopus Card in Hong Kong, but better. It works on subways, buses, taxis, and you can even use it to buy banana milk at CU.

Here is everything you need to know about the most important piece of plastic in your wallet.

You land in Korea. You take a photo of the airport. You want to post it on Instagram. But wait. Your home carrier just sent you a text: "Welcome to Korea! Data is $10/day."

Don't do it. South Korea has the fastest, cheapest mobile internet in the world. For the price of one day of roaming, you can get 5 days of unlimited 5G data.

The question isn't if you should get local internet, but how. Should you get an eSIM? A physical SIM card? Or a Pocket WiFi egg? Here is the breakdown.

If you Googled "Korea entry requirements," you probably found a mess of conflicting information. “You need K-ETA.” “No, it’s exempt.” “Wait, what about the arrival card?”

Here is the definitive, up-to-date reality for 2025.

For citizens of 22 specific countries (including the US, Japan, UK, and Canada), K-ETA is temporarily exempt until December 31, 2025.

Does that mean you should ignore it? Not necessarily. Applying for it might save you the biggest headache at the airport: The Arrival Card.

Here is everything you need to know about entering South Korea smoothly in 2025.

You land at Incheon Airport. You open Google Maps to navigate to your hotel. It shows you the subway station. But when you tap "Directions," it says: "Walking directions unavailable."

Welcome to Korea, where Google Maps is useless.

Korea runs on its own digital ecosystem. The good news? The local apps are better, faster, and more accurate than anything you're used to. The bad news? You need to download them before you arrive, or you'll be lost.

Here are the 7 essential apps that will save your trip.

Korea is one of the most welcoming countries for tourists. Locals are patient with foreigners, and you won't get arrested for a cultural faux pas.

But you will get side-eye if you stick your chopsticks upright in your rice. Or if you pour your own drink while an elder's glass is empty. Or if you sit in the priority seat on the subway while a grandmother stands.

Korean culture is built on Confucian values of respect, hierarchy, and harmony. Understanding a few key rules will make your trip smoother and earn you genuine smiles instead of polite tolerance.

Here's your no-nonsense guide to Korean etiquette.

When people think of Korean food, they think of BBQ. And yes, grilling pork belly at your table while sipping soju is a religious experience.

But Korean food is so much more than meat on a grill. It's crispy mung bean pancakes sizzling on a griddle at 11 PM. It's bite-sized gimbap so good they call it "drug food." It's fried chicken so perfectly crunchy that an entire culture formed around pairing it with beer.

I've eaten my way through Seoul's markets, street tents, and hidden alleys. This is your no-nonsense guide to the dishes and places that will make you want to move to Korea just for the food.

Packing for South Korea is tricky. One month it's a humid sauna where you sweat through your shirt in 5 minutes. Three months later, it's Siberia.

And while Seoul is a shopping paradise where you can buy almost anything, there are a few surprising items that are impossible to find or extremely expensive. (Spoiler: If you use strong deodorant, bring it from home).

I have lived through the yellow dust of spring and the freezing winds of winter. Here is the ultimate, no-nonsense packing list to ensure you survive and thrive.