Foreign Tourists

Korea is an easy country to visit: safe, efficient, inexpensive to get around, and small enough to see properly in a fortnight. The only hard part is at the start, because entry requirements differ sharply by nationality and the answer changes.

Check yours first, then buy a SIM and a transport card, and the rest of the trip takes care of itself.

Entry, which depends on your passport

Three broad situations, and you need to know which is yours:

• Visa-free entry with prior electronic authorisation. Many nationalities enter without a visa but must apply online in advance. Whether that authorisation is currently required has been changed and temporarily waived more than once, so verify the position for your passport close to departure rather than trusting an older article.
• Visa-free with nothing to file. A smaller group, usually under reciprocal agreements.
• A visa required before travel. This includes Nepali citizens, who need to apply at a Korean mission with the supporting documents the category requires. Apply early; it is not a formality.

Have your return ticket, accommodation details and proof of funds available at immigration. Fingerprints and a photograph are taken on arrival for most visitors.

A tourist visa does not permit work of any kind, including informal cash work. This matters more than it sounds, because being found working on a short-stay permission damages future applications to Korea.

Your first hour

Do this	Where
SIM or eSIM	Airport counters, or order online for pickup
Transport card	Convenience store or station machine, load with cash
Airport train or bus into the city	Both run frequently and cost little
Cash from an ATM	Choose one marked as accepting foreign cards

Korea is close to cashless and cards work nearly everywhere, but keep some cash for traditional markets, small restaurants and temples. A rented portable Wi-Fi device is an alternative to a SIM for a group travelling together.

Getting around

The transport card is the single most useful thing you will buy. It works on subway, bus and taxi across the country, transfers between modes are discounted, and the remaining balance is refundable.

Intercity rail is fast, punctual and the reason you do not need a car: the far south is a few hours from Seoul. Book ahead in high season and around holidays. Taxis are cheap and app-hailed. Domestic flights make sense only for Jeju.

If you do want to drive, an international permit obtained before you travel is generally accepted by rental firms. Vehicle and mobility covers the rules.

When to come, and when not to

Autumn and spring are the best weather, with autumn colour and cherry blossom respectively, and both are busy for exactly that reason. Summer is hot, humid and includes a rainy season. Winter is cold, bright and good for skiing.

Avoid arriving into Seollal or Chuseok unless you have planned around them. On the two great family holidays intercity tickets sell out as soon as they are released, motorways jam, and many businesses close for several days. Festivals covers the calendar.

Money, and the refund you are owed

Prices are reasonable by developed-country standards, and one thing is better than most visitors expect: Korea does not charge foreign visitors a higher admission rate. Palaces, museums and parks cost the same for you as for a Korean citizen, and many are free or close to it. If you have travelled somewhere with tiered pricing for foreigners, this is a pleasant change.

Tourists can also reclaim some sales tax on qualifying purchases, either immediately in participating shops or at the airport before departure. Keep the receipts and allow extra time at the airport.

Tipping is not practised and not expected. Lifestyle covers what eating and shopping actually cost.

Small things that make a difference

• Take your shoes off when entering a home, a guesthouse room, and many traditional restaurants.
• Use both hands when giving or receiving something from someone older.
• Pour for others, not yourself, if you are drinking with Koreans.
• Keep your voice down on public transport. It is noticeably quiet.
• Do not eat while walking in busy areas. It reads as inconsiderate.
• Carry your passport. It is the identification you will be asked for.

None of these are tested and all of them are noticed.

If something goes wrong

119 for ambulance and fire, 112 for police. A tourist helpline operates in several languages for lost property, complaints and directions, and the immigration contact centre on 1345 handles status questions.

Medical care is excellent and you will be billed in full as an uninsured patient, which is the argument for travel insurance covering treatment and repatriation. Medical and health covers finding English-speaking care.

If the visit turns into a plan

It happens often enough to be worth a paragraph. A short trip is not a route to staying, and changing from a short-stay permission to a work or study status normally means applying properly, usually from outside Korea.

The realistic routes in are a university place, an employer who will sponsor a work visa, or marriage to a Korean national. Each has its own timeline measured in months, and each starts with documents authenticated in your own country.

If that is where you are heading, the pages written for it are international students, foreign workers and long-term residence. Nepali readers should also see Nepalis in Korea.

Where this goes wrong

• Assuming you do not need a visa. It depends on your passport, and it changes.
• Nepali travellers leaving the visa application late. It is not a formality.
• Arriving into Seollal or Chuseok without planning for it.
• Booking holiday-period trains late. They go the day they are released.
• No travel insurance. Care is good and billed in full.
• Any kind of work on a tourist permission. It follows you into later applications.

Where to go next

Tourist attractions covers where to go by season, and anyone staying longer should start at the Korea life guide.