Dodori Korea TripGuides
Korea travel guides, checked in Seoul
The things that are hard to find out in English: 31 guides across 11 topics, from arriving and getting around to money, shopping, eating and culture. Each answers one question end to end. Every figure carries the date it was last checked, and a guide comes down rather than showing a number nobody has verified.
Itinerary 3 guides
One day in Seoul, planned in one direction. These routes run palace to evening without crossing the city twice, with the subway line and the minutes between each stop. Start with the classic day, then the two districts most first-time lists leave out.
- One day in Seoul, start to finish
One day in Seoul without crossing the city four times: this route runs one direction, palace to evening, with the subway line and time for each stop.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Seongsu, Gangnam, and the river between them
Seongsu, then Gangnam: the day for people who have already done the palaces. A factory district nobody planned, then a city drawn on paper.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Itaewon, Hannam and Yongsan: a day around the land you could not enter
Itaewon is international because a foreign army was next door for a century. This route walks the edge of the old Yongsan garrison, now becoming a park.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026
Arriving 6 guides
Everything between the plane door and your first night in Seoul. Whether you still need a K-ETA, what Korea's duty-free allowance actually covers and how many cigarettes you can bring in, and the four ways from Incheon Airport to Seoul with the real fare for each. Plus the SIM, the apps, and the first two hours in the order they come up.
- Incheon Airport to Seoul: four ways in, and which one is yours
Incheon Airport to Seoul four ways, with the real fare to Myeongdong, Hongdae and Gangnam. Hongdae is 4,750 KRW direct; Gangnam is a bus, not a train.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - K-ETA, and whether you still need one
Most nationalities are exempt from K-ETA right now. The exemption has an end date, the rule returns the day after, and copycat sites charge many times the fee.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Korea eSIM, SIM or pocket wifi: getting online in Korea
Korea eSIM, tourist SIM or pocket wifi: two questions decide it, neither about price. Plus the thing all three fail at, which nobody mentions in advance.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 - Korea's duty-free allowance, and what you may bring in
A duty-free allowance is what you can bring in without paying duty. Korea's is USD 800, alcohol and tobacco counted separately. Declaring beats being caught.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Arriving at Incheon Airport: the first two hours, in order
Arriving at Incheon Airport, two things get harder the moment you leave. What to do at the airport, what is cheaper in the city, in the right order.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - The apps for Korea worth installing, and the wall behind the rest
Google Maps still cannot give walking directions in Seoul; Naver Map can. The apps for Korea that work on a foreign phone, and the wall behind the rest.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
Getting around 6 guides
Google Maps still cannot give walking directions in Korea, which is the first thing to fix. Then the rest: luggage storage in Seoul and the lockers at Seoul Station, the KTX fares that changed on 1 September, intercity buses and the two booking sites nobody explains, taxis, and getting your T-money deposit back before you fly.
- T-money refund: getting your money back, at the right counter
T-money refund confuses two things. One is ten seconds at a station machine, the other a minute at a convenience store. And one thing never comes back at all.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Google Maps in Korea, and the maps that actually work
Google Maps has never given walking directions in Korea. That is changing, but not yet everywhere. Install the fallback before you land, not on the corner.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 - Taxis in Korea, and the two things that go wrong
Taxis in Korea are metered, cheap and almost never a scam. What catches visitors is an app that refuses foreign cards, and a surcharge that is a myth.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - KTX, and what changed on 1 September
KTX and SRT merged on 1 September 2026. Fares fell about 10%, Seoul to Busan is now 54,400 KRW, and every guide written before then is wrong.
LAST VERIFIED 13 SEPTEMBER 2026 - Luggage storage in Seoul, for the suitcase problem on your last day
Luggage storage in Seoul: coin lockers in nearly every subway station, staffed counters for odd sizes, and a same-day service that carries your bag to Incheon.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Intercity buses in Korea, and the two booking sites nobody explains
Hundreds of Korean towns have no train station and an intercity bus three times an hour. Two booking systems cover them; the wrong one shows you nothing.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026
Money 1 guide
Korea runs on cards, and a foreign card that works at one counter can fail on the next website. Two separate systems are involved. Which wall you have hit, and whether anything gets you past it.
- Card declined in Korea: which of the four walls you hit
A foreign card declined in Korea usually failed online, not in a shop: two separate systems. Which of four walls you hit, and whether anything gets you past.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
Shopping 3 guides
How the tax refund works in Korea, including the downtown refund most visitors use without noticing and the airport queue they then join anyway. Which Seoul department store to pick and where its refund desk actually is, and what a personal colour analysis really costs before you book.
- Korea's tax refund, and getting the money back
Korea tax refund has three routes that work nothing alike. Most visitors use one without noticing, then queue at the airport for money they already have.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Shopping in Seoul without wasting a day
Shopping in Seoul: which department store to pick, where its tax refund desk is, and why the most interesting retail is not in a department store at all.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Booking a personal color analysis in Seoul
Personal color analysis in Seoul: three things move the quoted price, the cheap option is secretly a smaller service, and English sometimes costs extra.
LAST VERIFIED 22 AUGUST 2026
Eating 2 guides
Korean convenience stores quietly replace six errands, from hot meals to parcels and transit top-ups, and most visitors only buy water. And when a restaurant takes orders through a touchscreen with no English, how each system works and the four rules no screen explains.
- Ordering food in Korea, when the kiosk only speaks Korean
Ordering food in Korea often means a touchscreen with no English. How each of the four systems works, and four restaurant rules no screen explains.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Korean convenience stores, and what they replace
Hot meals, parcels, transit top-ups, even some medicines. Korean convenience stores quietly replace six errands - and most visitors only buy water.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026
Culture 6 guides
How Korean age works after the 2023 change, and what the legal age in Korea is now. Whether Gyeongbokgung is free to enter, and the hanbok rule the rental shops skip. Plus a Korean baseball game, the etiquette that actually comes up, and how visitors meet people here.
- How Korean age works, and how old you are in Korea
Korean age changed by law in 2023 and most English guides still describe the old system. What changed, what did not, and why birth year still comes up.
LAST VERIFIED 13 SEPTEMBER 2026 - Seoul's palaces, and the four ways in for nothing
Seoul palaces are free in hanbok, but the gate checks rules the rental shops never mention. Two million used it last year; plenty got turned away.
LAST VERIFIED 15 AUGUST 2026 - Korean etiquette, the parts that actually come up
Korean etiquette without the hundred rules: the habits that change what happens in a restaurant, a taxi or a round of drinks, and what a visitor can skip.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 - How visitors actually make friends in Korea
Korean friend groups form early and stay closed, which is why hobby clubs, running crews and language exchanges exist. Friends in Korea, no Korean needed.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 - KBO tickets, and seeing a Korean baseball game
KBO tickets: Korean apps demand a Korean phone number; two global sites do not. When sales open, which Seoul stadium has a roof, and why you can bring chicken.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026 - Han River Drone Light Show
The Han River Drone Light Show is free, runs a few nights a season and is announced only in Korean. What the official poster and program say, in English.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
Seasons 1 guide
What each season in Korea is actually like, what the July rains do to a bag, and which months to go instead. Packing for the wrong season is the commonest visitor mistake here.
- Packing for Korea: the four seasons, and what they mean for your bag
Packing for Korea goes wrong on the season, not the list. What each one is actually like, what the rains do to July, and when to go instead.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
Wellness 1 guide
Korea's big races fill long before most people book flights, and overseas runners have a separate registration most guides never mention. Plus what you can still join this week.
- Seoul Marathon entry, hiking and templestay: sport and wellness as a visitor
The Seoul Marathon fills months before most people book flights, and overseas runners get a separate registration most guides skip. Plus what needs only days.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
Health 1 guide
Korean clinics are fast and good, and a visitor pays the uninsured rate for them. What a visit actually costs, which number to call, and how to find a pharmacy at 2am.
- Getting sick in Korea, and which number to call
Getting sick in Korea is fast to fix and priced at the uninsured rate. What a clinic visit costs, which number to call, and how to find a pharmacy at 2am.
LAST VERIFIED 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
Emergencies 1 guide
112 and 119 are not the number you will actually need. 1330 answers in English at 3am and interprets live. Plus what your embassy will do, and what it will refuse to do.
- Korea emergency numbers: who to call when something goes wrong
The Korea emergency number tourists need is 1330: English at 3am, live interpreting. When to call 119 instead, and what your embassy will refuse to do.
LAST VERIFIED 23 AUGUST 2026