Travel advice for South Korea
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to South Korea
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Because the country is small, transport is unlikely to make too much of a dent in your wallet – even a high-speed KTX train from Seoul in the northwest to Busan in the southeast will only set you back W52,000, and you can cut that in half by taking a slower service. Inner-city transport is also good value, with most journeys costing W1000 or so, and admission charges to temples, museums and the like are similarly unlikely to cause your wallet discomfort.
By staying in motels or guesthouses and eating at reasonably cheap restaurants, you should be able to survive easily on a daily budget of W40,000, or even half this if seriously pushed. After you’ve added in transport costs and a few entry tickets, a realistic daily figure may be W60,000.
Tipping plays almost no part in Korean transactions – try not to leave unwanted change in the hands of a cashier, lest they feel forced to abandon their duties and chase you down the street with it. Exceptions are tourist hotels, most of which tack a 10 percent service charge onto the room bill; these are also among the few places in the country to omit tax – levied at 10 percent – from their quoted prices.
Canadawwww.embassypages.com.
Chinawwww.koreanembassy.cn.
Irelandwsouthkorea.visahq.com/embassy/Ireland/.
Japanwsouth-korea.visahq.com/embassy/Japan/.
New Zealandwwww.mofa.go.kr/eng/index.do.
Singaporewwww.embassypages.com.
South Africawsouth-korea.visahq.com/embassy/South-Africa/.
UKwgbr.mofat.go.kr/english/eu/gbr/main/index.jsp/.
Korean society is, however, becoming more liberal. With more and more high-profile homosexuals coming out, a critical mass has been reached, and younger generations are markedly less prejudiced against – and more willing to discuss – the pink issue. Gay clubs, bars and saunas, while still generally low-key outside “Homo Hill” in Seoul’s Itaewon district, can be found in every major city, and lobbyists have been making inroads into the Korean parliament. Still the only pride event in the country, the Korean Queer Culture Festival takes place over a fortnight in early June at locations across Seoul.
Despite the swarms of mosquitoes that blanket the country in warmer months, malaria is not prevalent in Korea. However, infected mosquitoes breed in the DMZ, so those planning to hang around the rural north of the Gyeonggi or Gangwon provinces should take extra precautions to prevent getting bitten. All travellers should get up-to-date malarial advice from their GP before arriving in Korea, and wherever you are in the country during the monsoon season in late summer, it’s also a good idea to slap on some repellent before going out.
Drinking Korean tap water is a bad idea, and with free drinking fountains in every restaurant, hotel, supermarket, police station, department store and PC bar in the country, there really should be no need. Water is also sold at train and bus stations – around W700 for a small bottle. Restaurant food will almost always be prepared and cooked adequately, and all necessary precautions taken with raw fish.
In an emergency, you should first try to ask a local to call for an ambulance. Should you need to do so yourself, the number is t119, though it’s possible that no English-speaker will be available to take your call. Alternatively, try the tourist information line on t1330. If you’re in a major city and the problem isn’t life-threatening, the local tourist office should be able to point you towards the most suitable doctor or hospital. Once there, you may find it surprisingly hard to get information about what’s wrong with you – as in much of East Asia, patients are expected to trust doctors to do their jobs properly, and any sign that this trust is not in place results in a loss of face for the practitioner.
For minor complaints or medical advice, there are pharmacies all over the place, usually distinguished by the Korean character “yak” (약) at the entrance, though English-speakers are few and far between. Travellers can also visit a practitioner of oriental medicine, who uses acupuncture and pressure-point massage, among other techniques, to combat the problems that Western medicine cannot reach. If you have Korean friends, ask around for a personal recommendation in order to find a reputable practitioner.
Wi-fi access is becoming ever more common, with many cafés allowing customers to use their connection for free. Tom N’ Toms and Ti-amo are generally the best chains for this (though the coffee at the former is pretty poor); Starbucks will only let you on if you have a Korean ID number. You may also be able to get online at your accommodation, though ironically the cheaper places are better: most modern motels have free-to-use terminals inside the rooms, while hotels generally charge extortionate rates of over W20,000 per day.
For unlimited Wi-Fi on the go whilst travelling South Korea, buy a Skyroam Solis, which works in 130+ countries at one flat daily rate, paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis. You can connect up to five devices at once. Prices start from as little as €5 a day.
ATMs are everywhere in Korea, not only in banks (eunhaeng) but 24-hour convenience stores such as Family Mart, 7-Eleven or LG25. Most machines are capable of dealing with foreign cards, and those that do are usually able to switch to English-language mode. Smaller towns may not have such facilities – stock up on cash in larger cities.
Foreign credit cards are being accepted in more and more hotels, restaurants and shops. It shouldn’t be too hard to exchange foreign notes or travellers’ cheques for Korean cash; banks are all over the place, and the only likely problem when dealing in dollars, pounds or euros is time – some places simply won’t have exchanged money before, forcing staff to consult the procedure manual.
Until recently, the country was one of the few in the world to have a six-day working week; though this has been officially altered to five, the changes haven’t filtered through to all workers, and Korea’s place at the top of the world’s “average hours worked per year” table has not been affected. The number of national holidays has fallen, however, in an attempt to make up the slack, and as most of the country’s population are forced to take their holiday at the same times, there can be chaos on the roads and rails. Three of the biggest holidays – Lunar New Year, Buddha’s birthday and Chuseok – are based on the lunar calendar, and have no fixed dates.
Korea’s international dialling code is t82.When dialling from abroad, omit the initial zero from the area codes.
A mountainous country with four distinct seasons, pulsating cities and a temple around every corner, Korea should keep your camera-finger busy; if you want a personal shot, few locals will mind being photographed, though of course it’s polite to ask first. One serious no-no is to go snap-happy on a tour of the DMZ – this can, and has, landed tourists in trouble. You may also see temple-keepers and monks poised at the ready to admonish would-be photographers of sacrosanct areas.
If you’re working in Korea, you may not have time for intensive study; if so, it’s worth looking into the government-funded courses run by a few major cities, some of which are so cheap that their price is barely an issue. Many people opt for an even higher degree of informality and take language lessons from friends or colleagues, but with so few English speakers around, just living in Korea can be all the practice you need.
With the number of teaching jobs on offer, it’s quite possible to handpick a city or province of your choice. Seoul is an obvious target and the easiest place from which to escape into Western pleasures if necessary, though note that a hefty proportion of positions listed as being in the capital are actually in uninteresting satellite cities such as Bundang, Anyang or Ilsan, all a long journey from central Seoul – try to find the nearest subway station to your prospective position on a map if possible. Those who head to provincial cities such as Daejeon, Mokpo or Busan generally seem to have a better time of things, and emerge with a truer appreciation of the country, as well as better Korean language skills. There are also those who arrive with a specific purpose in mind – surfers dig Jeju and the east coast, for example, while others choose to immerse themselves in the culture by staying in the smallest possible town.
One of the most regular hagwon-related complaints is the long hours many teachers have to work – figure on up to 30 per week. This may include Saturdays, or be spread quite liberally across the day from 9am to 9pm – try to find jobs with “no split shift” if possible. Questionable school policies also come in for stick; for example, teachers are often expected to be present at the school for show even if they have no lessons on. Real scare stories are ten-a-penny, too – every teacher knows an unfortunate fellow-foreigner whose school suddenly closed, the manager having ridden off into the sunset with a pay cheque or two. This said, most schools are reputable; you can typically expect them to organize free accommodation, and to do the legwork with your visa application. Some countries operate Working Holiday visa schemes with Korea, but others will need a full working visa to be legally employed; those unable to collect this in their home country are usually given a plane ticket and directions for a quick visa-run to Japan (the closest embassy is in Fukuoka).
Seoul celebrates New Year in much the same fashion as Western countries, with huge crowds gathering around City Hall.
Seollal (Lunar New Year)Usually early Feb
One of the most important holidays on the calendar, Lunar New Year sees Koreans flock to their home towns for a three-day holiday of relaxed celebration, and many businesses close up.
Independence Movement Day March 1
Children’s Day May 5
Koreans make an even bigger fuss over their kids than usual on this national holiday – expect parks, zoos and amusement parks to be jam-packed.
Memorial Day June 6
Little more than a day off for most Koreans, this day honours those who fell in battle, and is best observed in the National Cemetery.
Constitution Day July 17
Independence Day Aug 15
The country becomes a sea of Korean flags on this holiday celebrating the end of Japanese rule in 1945.
Chuseok Late Sept or early Oct
One of the biggest events in the Korean calendar is this three-day national holiday, similar to Thanksgiving; families head to their home towns to venerate their ancestors in low-key ceremonies, and eat a special crescent-shaped rice-cake.
National Foundation Day Oct 3
Celebrates the 2333 BC birth of Dangun, the legendary founder of the Korean nation. Shamanist celebrations take place at shrines around Seoul, with the most important on Inwangsan mountain.
Christmas Day Dec 25
Every evening looks like Christmas in neon-drenched Seoul, but on this occasion Santa Haraboji (Grandpa Santa) finally arrives.
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to South Korea
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