Don't Panic.
Make yourself at home in Korea
From your first train ride to your first bank account. Find the steps, Korean phrases and official sources you need.
68 guides with sources and individual check dates
Fix a problem now
Card or payment not going through
In shops, delivery apps and online checkouts.
Phone number or ID check stuck
Tourist SIMs, monthly plans and the identity checks that come after.
Also:Emergency numbersSeeing a doctor when you are sickThe petition to file when your wages are not paid
Start life in Korea
Start with where you are
A few useful guides for each stage of life in Korea.
Staying longer
Understand your stay, find a home, get your residence card and open an account.
Ready to explore
Neighbourhood walks, market meals and the everyday side of Korea.
Recently checked guides
New guides and updates, with the date each one was checked.
Korea's automated entry gates: register in the arrival hall on your first trip
NewArrival & first week,
One express bus, the 101, to the drama shores of eastern Jeju
NewSights,
Half a day in Songdo, starting from the Gangnam Style platform
NewSights,
A Saturday in Yeongdo, the day Yeongdo Bridge lifts
NewSights,
Transit refunds only work if you register
NewGetting around,
Chicken bones and eggshells go in the official waste bag
NewDaily life,
KTX tickets go on sale at 7:00, two months ahead
NewGetting around,
Emergency alert texts: three kinds, and the one you cannot turn off
NewPhone & internet,
See it before you do it
Short videos other people made, picked from the guides that explain each step.
- Getting aroundFrom the airport to where you are stayingSix ways out of the airport are laid out side by side, starting with the payment card, so you can settle the first step of this guide before you are standing in the arrival hall with your bags.Watch in the guide
- Getting aroundHow to ride the Seoul subwayWorks through one trip in order: buying and topping up the card, finding the right platform, and reading the signs that tell you which way the train is going.Watch in the guide
- Visa & stayGetting your Alien Registration CardIt moves through the booking, the documents and the inside of the immigration office in that order, so you can see what the place looks like before you go.Watch in the guide
- Markets & foodEating your way through Seoul's marketsGwangjang filmed stall by stall, so you can see how the seating works, how orders are placed at a counter with no menu in English, and what a portion actually looks like.Watch in the guide
Browse by topic
Everything that lands on you when you move to Korea, sorted so you can find your part.
Useful before you go, and when you get there
- 01
Know what to do next
Find what to bring, where to go and the steps to follow. Each guide explains who it applies to.
- 02
Have the Korean words ready
Keep the original terms beside their explanations. Copy the Korean phrases when you need to ask for help.
- 03
Check the source
Each guide lists its sources and check date. Follow the official links to confirm details for your situation.