Complete South Korea Travel Checklist – On Entry Requirements, SIM Cards, ATMs and so much more!

If you are currently planning your trip to South Korea, there are a number of questions you might be asking yourself. Do I need a visa? What is K-ETA? Do I need a T-Money Card? Where should I get a SIM Card? Do I need cash? And so much more.

Lucky for you, we already did all the research. In this South Korea travel checklist we walk you through everything you need to know when planning your first trip to South Korea and tell you exactly what to prepare in advance!

Complete South Korea Travel Checklist

In this South Korea travel checklist, we essentially cover five major categories and a number of subcategories that are relevant for anyone planning a trip to South Korea.

While this organisational stuff may not be the most exciting to read about, we guarantee it will help you to have as smooth a trip as possible! And as always, you can use the Table of Contents above to skip to the sections that are most relevant for you and your trip.

We cover general entry requirements as well as a lot of practical information about travelling South Korea such as where to find ATM’s that accept foreign cards (not so easy in SK), whether you need cash, paying for public transport with a T-Money Card and what SIM Card to get. There is a lot to unpack, so let’s get started!

1. South Korea Entry Requirements

In this section, we will go over the general entry requirements for travelling to South Korea and try to answer the most frequently asked questions related to the topic. Do you need a Visa? What is K-ETA and do you need it?

This section is meant to give you a good overview of what you might need to prepare before your trip. However, make sure to always check the official Korean Immigration website or the embassy page of your specific country for further information and latest updates. (This section of this post was last updated in October 2024).

🛂 What are the general entry requirements for a short-term stay in South Korea?

• Your passport needs to be valid for the duration of your stay in South Korea.
• Either a Visa or K-ETA, if required for the country your passport is issued from.
• Customs declaration if necessary (which for the standard traveller is probably not the case).

🪪 Do I need a Visa to go to South Korea for a short term visit?

There are quite a number of countries that can enter South Korea visa-free for differing time periods. The easiest way to check whether passport holders of your country need a visa or to check the time period you can enter South Korea visa-free is via the Visa Navigator on the official Korea Visa Portal.

Simply enter your country and purpose of visit and the website will tell you your specific visa requirements.

Note: For those that do need a Visa, there may be a different one for Jeju vs. mainland South Korea. However, the Visa Navigator will tell you all about that too.

📄 What is K-ETA and how do I get it?

K-ETA or Korean Electronic Travel Authorization is an electronic document that anyone who does not require a Visa will have to get. In other words: You don’t need a Visa to enter South Korea for a short-term stay? Then you will need to apply for K-ETA!

• When to apply? At the very latest 72 hours before your flight. Note: Most airlines will make sure that you have an approved K-ETA upon check-in!
• Where to apply? There is only ONE official website where you should apply for your K-ETA. Ignore all other websites that claim to be legit! There are some that will overcharge you by a lot!
• What do you need for your application? A valid passport, a valid e-mail address, a profile picture and a credit/debit card to pay the 10.000 KRW (currently ~7€/USD) application fee.

2. Official health recommendations & requirements

• Generally, when going to a new destination we recommend you to visit your nearest travel clinic and talk to a doctor about recommended vaccines and medication for that particular country or region. Make your decisions based on the provided information of your doctor.
• A good online resource to get a first idea of general recommendations is the Fit for Travel website.

✅ There are a few recommended, however no required vaccines for travel to South Korea.

3. Best SIM Card, Navigation Apps and Websites for South Korea

Now that you know what to prepare for entry into South Korea, we will look at the essentials for travelling South Korea in a next step. What SIM Card is best? What apps are helpful for navigating South Korea? And, should you get a transportation card? Let’s find out in this section!

📶 What SIM Card is best for South Korea?

The best SIM Card offer for your South Korea trip will depend on a few factors.

What to consider when choosing a SIM Card in South Korea?

• Do you prefer a physical SIM Card or an eSIM? E.g.: If your phone is a Dual-SIM phone, you can simply use your second SIM for data and still keep your first SIM in your phone. Which is what I (Florence) do. However, if that is not your case, it might be easier to just use an eSIM, which is what Andy prefers to do.
• Note: Not every phone is compatible with eSIM, so check beforehand.
• Do you need a Korean phone number? As a tourist you can definitely get by without having a Korean phone number. However, there are a few instances where having one helps. As an example, we needed to provide a Korean phone number to our rental car company on Jeju. Note: eSIM do not always have a local phone number assigned to them!
• How long are you staying? Typically you can only buy a SIM or eSIM for 30 days at a time. However if you are staying longer, for instance the provider KT allows you to extend your plan online for another 30 days without having to get a new SIM Card.
• How much data do you need per day? This will depend on you, however we find that 1GB per day is usually a good rule of thumb and was always more than enough for us since most accommodations have Wi-fi anyway.

Best SIM for travelling South Korea! Our Picks

💫 South Korea 4G Prepaid SIM Card from KT (Physical SIM Card)

If you spend 2 weeks in South Korea the KT SIM Card for 20 days is best. You get:

• Unlimited 4G data for 20 days.
• Pick-up possible at both terminals of Seoul Incheon Airport as well as at Gimpo Airport.
• Price: 54.400KRW (~37€ or 40USD)

💫 eSIM

Option 1: For a 2-week trip to South Korea, Maya Mobile offers e.g. eSIM for 15 days. You get:

• 5G data by the provider KT.
• No local phone number.
• Price: 27.500KRW (~18€ or 20USD) for 10GB (Note: you can choose to get more or less GB)

Option 2: Unlimited Data eSIMs for South Korea by KT. You get:

• Unlimited 4G LTE data by provider KT.
• A local phone number with incoming calls/texts included.
• Price: 54.4000KRW (~37€ or 40USD)

🚇 Get a T-Money Card to pay for public transport

While travelling South Korea, I am pretty sure that nearly no day went by where we wouldn’t use our T-Money Card at least once. Which is why we can highly recommend you get one too for your next South Korea trip! But, what is a T-Money Card?

The T-Money Card is South Korea’s rechargeable transportation card. As the name suggests you can charge it and then pay for public transport, more precisely the subway or local buses, simply by tapping the card as you go.

Note that intercity travel such as Express Buses, the KTX or even the AREX train to get to Seoul Incheon Airport cannot be paid using the T-Money Card. You will need separate tickets for those. The T-Money Card is for getting around on the local public transport of a city/locality.

However, it can also be used as a payment method for small amounts such as e.g. when buying a coffee or a snack at a convenience store!

• Where to get a T-Money Card? Simply ask the cashier at any convenience store, which in South Korea are either 7-Eleven, CU or GS25.
• How much does it cost? The base card costs 2.500 KRW (~1,70€/ 1,85USD). However, there are a lot of themed cards with e.g. Kakao Friends or K-Pop idol designs. Those will of course be more expensive.

🎟️ What popular attractions or tours are best to book in advance?

🌟 In our experience, entry tickets to attractions such as museums, palaces and observatories can easily be purchased on-site, even for the more popular ones.

One reason to book in advance would be that on websites like e.g. Klook you might be able to pay in your home currency. This is an advantage if your card charges a fee for paying in foreign currencies. It is no must though.

🎫 If you plan on doing any tours such as e.g. a day trip to the DMZ, we highly recommend booking those in advance if you want to make sure that you get a spot for a particular day.

⛰️ Furthermore, if you intend to hike Mt. Hallasan, South Korea’s highest peak located on Jeju Island, you need to get a permit in advance to hike to the top of Mt. Hallasan! Once all spots for a particular day are reserved, that’s it.

📱 What are the best apps to use for travel in South Korea?

South Korea is one of those destinations where your travel experience will be so, so much better if you use local apps. We won’t tell you to get twenty different apps though and they are all free so don’t worry😉.

• Naver Map. If you only download one app, download this one. Because, navigating South Korea without it is quite a hassle, trust us.
• Google Translate. Great for translating signs and menus that are only in Korean Hangul.
• Kakao Taxi. The easy way to order a taxi in South Korea. Taxi drivers do not speak English a lot of the time.
• Learn Korean. This one is optional, however it’s a great app to learn a few Korean words and phrases.

🎁 Where to buy souvenirs in South Korea?

This question is pretty random, however it is one we asked ourselves on several occasions while travelling through South Korea. We are avid magnet collectors and collect at least one for each country that we visit.

The thing is, you will find souvenirs in South Korea, however they are usually local souvenirs. In other words, in Busan you will find postcards and magnets for Busan, in Jeju for Jeju, however rarely for South Korea in general.

Since we were determined to find South Korea magnets, this lead us down a quest to uncover a place that would sell them. And, on our last day in South Korea, we did😆.

We present: The Migliore Dongdaemun Branch in Seoul. At least that’s the name on Google Maps. Just opposite the DDP Dongdaemun Design Plaza, you will find this rather random market/shopping mall. On the last floor, you can find an entire section only dedicated to souvenirs and magnets! You’re welcome😉!

4. South Korea Packing List

In this section we will go over all things related to packing and what to bring on your next trip to South Korea.

🧳 What is best for South Korea: Backpack or Suitcase?

Personally, we would always bring a suitcase for travelling South Korea. In general, suitcases are our preferred type of luggage and in South Korea roads and walkways are pretty good so having a suitcase won’t be a nuisance.
Note: Just know that the Seoul subway has a lot of stairs where you might need to carry your suitcase sometimes😆.

That said, we have also seen people with backpacks, so it literally only comes down to what you prefer!

🧳 What are essential items you need to pack for South Korea?

Truthfully, for travelling South Korea we packed like we would for any standard trip. Bring clothing that is suitable for the season you are travelling in and for the activities you plan to do (e.g. hiking boots if you intend to go hiking). Therefore there are very few things where you need to pay special country specific attention to.

• 🔌 Power Plug Adapter. If your home country does not use the Type C or F Power Plug, such as e.g. Continental Europe, bring an adapter.
• ☀️ Sunscreen. In case you prefer e.g. western bronze sunscreen, bring your own. In South Korea you will mostly find sunscreen that prevents bronzing.
• 👚 Clothing. While you are free to wear whatever you want in South Korea, it is more proper to wear clothing that is not too revealing.
• 🚗 International Driving License. If you intend to rent a car on Jeju Island or in mainland South Korea, know that you need an international drivers license in accordance with the Geneva or Vienna convention

5. Currency, Conversion Rates and Cash Withdrawal

Last, but definitely not least, we will go over everything related to money and payment methods in South Korea!

💱 The Korean Won and Current Conversion Rates

• The currency used in South Korea is the Korean Won (KRW or ₩).
• Approximately, 1KRW = 0,00068€ or 0,00074USD (Last updated: October 2024)
• To make it easy on us while travelling, we usually roughly considered 1.000KRW to be “a little less than 1€” to get a first idea on what cost what without having to pull out the currency converter every time💸.
• Check current conversion rates to any currency via the Oanda Currency Converter.

💵 Do I need cash to travel South Korea?

Long story short, YES, we highly recommend having enough cash on you at all times while travelling South Korea. I think there was no other country on our multi-months Asia trip where we had that many problems using our foreign credit card as in South Korea.

There were many instances where only local cards would work. Which is why after a while we ended up paying in cash for nearly everything (except of course for the things we booked online). In cities like Seoul, foreign cards are accepted more widely, however to be sure always have some cash on you.

Funny story: We ended up being trapped on a parking lot in Jeju, where you could only pay by card to exit the parking lot and the unmanned gate would for the life of us not accept our foreign credit card. Pair that with us having to randomly go up to Koreans on the parking lot in order to ask someone to help us get out. Most 🙅‍♂️ you, before you can say more than a word. Its funny now, it wasn’t so much then😆.

💳 Where to find ATM’s in South Korea that accept foreign cards

Be aware that quite often ATM’s will not accept foreign cards, especially if you travel outside the bigger cities!

• In general, we always used the ATM’s inside local bank branches such as e.g. Shinhan Bank, Woori Bank, KEB Hana Bank, and so on. There are quite a few to choose from.
• Visa and Mastercard are the most widely accepted credit cards.
• Often the ATM’s that do accept foreign cards will have a sign that says something like ‘Global ATM‘. However even the latter might refuse your card sometimes.
• If this happens, your only bet is to stay persistent and try ATM after ATM until one will work. In Tongyeong, we once had to comb local bank branches for over an hour to find an ATM that finally accepted our card🫠.

Transaction fees charged by the local bank ATM usually range between 2.000 – 5.000KRW. If you do not have a travel credit card, then your own bank might charge you a currency conversion rate as well.

Final Thoughts on this South Korea Travel Checklist

And, this concludes our South Korea travel checklist! In this post we covered all the organisational details of planning a trip to South Korea from entry requirements to payment methods, best SIM Card and so much more.

If there are other topics you think we should cover in this post, let us know in the comments! Save this post for later use if your trip to South Korea isn’t for another while. And, as always, happy travels!