South Korea

Government advisories

• ☐ United States: level 1/4 — Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions
• ☐ United Kingdom: level 1/4
• ☐ Canada: level 1/4 — Exercise normal security precautions

Health notices

• ☐ Global Measles (level 1)

Entry requirements

☐ Foreign visitors to South Korea are required to obtain a visa from one of the South Korean diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt countries, in which case they may apply for a Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) instead.

Practical

• ☐ Plug type C/F, 220V — bring an adapter if yours differs
• ☐ Drives on the right
• ☐ Emergency (police): 112
• ☐ Emergency (ambulance): 119
• ☐ Emergency (fire): 119
• ☐ SIM: 4G LTE is available in Korea. While 5G is also becoming available, providers have only so far made it available to select postpaid plans or inbound roaming agreements; prepaid users purchasing a local SIM in South Korea will not have access to 5G (as of August 2021).
• ☐ Money: The currency of South Korea is the South Korean won, denoted by ₩ (ISO code: KRW) and written 원 (won) in the Korean language.
• ☐ Tipping: Tipping is not expected anywhere in South Korea and is not practiced by Koreans. It could be considered an insult between Koreans as it is regarded as giving someone charity, although people generally know of American tipping culture and would be understanding of a foreigner doing this.

Laws that could get a tourist arrested

• ☐ Theft of lost items — Picking up items dropped on the street can be legally classified as theft. Avoid handling property that does not belong to you.
• ☐ Public smoking fines — Smoking is restricted to designated areas only. Walking while smoking can result in a fine.
• ☐ Self-defense legal liability — You may face legal consequences if an attacker is injured during a fight, even if you did not initiate the conflict.
• ☐ Drone flight restrictions — Using drones to take pictures is prohibited in most of Seoul, particularly in areas north of the Han River, as they are restricted flight zones.

Before you go

General trip-prep, not specific to South Korea — the same short list applies anywhere.

• ☐ Register with your embassy's traveler program if one exists
• ☐ Check your passport's validity and blank-page requirements on your destination's official entry-rules page
• ☐ Photograph/screenshot your passport, visa, and travel insurance documents
• ☐ Download offline maps for your destination
• ☐ Confirm your bank/card issuer knows you're traveling
• ☐ Check whether your phone plan needs a travel add-on or a local SIM