Practical travel tips, transit guides, and essential accommodation information for exploring South Korea.
When I used trains in Korea years ago, carrying a paper ticket was simply part of the journey. I remember showing it to station staff and having the ticket checked before or during the trip. Riding KTX today feels quite different. There is usually no subway-style gate where you scan a ticket before going down … Read more
Seeing a doctor for an ordinary illness in Korea often begins with a neighborhood clinic rather than a large hospital. In many commercial areas, it is common to find several independent clinics in the same building, sometimes with a pharmacy on the ground floor or nearby. This is a familiar part of everyday life for … Read more
When foreign friends see news about North Korean missile launches or military tensions, they sometimes ask me, “Is South Korea okay?” From abroad, the Korean border is often introduced as one of the most dangerous places in the world, and a DMZ tour can sound like an unusually tense kind of travel experience. What I … Read more
Today, Cheonggyecheon Stream looks like a carefully landscaped walking path running through the heart of downtown Seoul. Water flows between high-rise buildings, people sit on the stone steps, and in summer, trees and bridges provide places to escape the heat. I also think Cheonggyecheon has become a genuinely useful public space. Compared with its early … Read more
Gyeongju feels different from many other Korean cities. You do not always have to enter a museum or a fenced historical site to feel that you are in an old capital. Walk through an ordinary part of town and a huge royal tomb may suddenly appear beside the road. A little farther away, you can … Read more
For most travelers, tipping in South Korea is simple: in ordinary restaurants, cafés, and taxis, you generally do not need to add a percentage tip. You look at the price, pay the bill, say thank you, and leave. I have lived in Korea all my life, and I cannot remember routinely calculating 10, 15, or … Read more
For most travelers, South Korea is a very safe country to visit. The U.S. Department of State currently places South Korea at Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions, its lowest travel-advisory level, and describes violent crime and property crime as relatively uncommon for most visitors. Living in Korea, I also feel that sense of safety in … Read more
Some useful Korean apps and websites still show important information mainly in Korean. When that happens, your phone’s built-in translation tools can often help you understand the screen without changing the app itself or copying Korean text into a translator one phrase at a time. Because I live in Korea, I normally use Korean-language apps … Read more
I have never been the kind of person who travels somewhere just because a drama or celebrity was filmed there. If I visit a place in Seoul, I usually want another reason to go as well, whether that means good food, an interesting neighborhood, history, architecture, or simply a pleasant walk. Something that happened near … Read more
Olive Young has become a popular shopping stop for international visitors to Korea, especially those interested in K-beauty. A large branch can have shelves of skincare, makeup, hair and body products, health items, beauty tools, snacks, and Korean brands that may be difficult to find at home. I live in Korea, but I am not … Read more