Skip to content
Don't Panic KoreaA calm guide to living in Korea
EN
日本語ENEspañol

Browse by topic

First week

Your first-week checklist

Answer four questions and the list puts the guides in an order that works. Your answers and ticks stay in this browser.

About you

Why are you in Korea?
Have you arrived yet?
Do you have your Alien Registration Card?
Do you have a Korean phone number?

Saved in this browser only. Nothing you pick here is sent to our server.

Your list

0 of 19 done

This is the full list for a longer stay. Answer the questions to trim it.

Before you fly

  1. A place for your first few nights
  2. From the airport to where you are staying
  3. Some trips mean a health declaration when you enter Korea, even with no symptoms

Your first few days

  1. A tourist SIM covers maps and messages. Do not count on it for the identity checks banks and government sites ask for.

    Getting a Korean phone number

  2. 119 also takes texts and video calls if you cannot talk.

    119, 112 and the numbers that bring an interpreter onto the line

  3. Install the Emergency Ready App and keep emergency alerts switched on.

    Emergency alert texts: three kinds, and the one you cannot turn off
  4. How to ride the Seoul subway
  5. When your foreign card is declined
  6. Your first week in Korea

Your residence card

  1. Understanding your visa and stay

  2. First registration happens at the counter, and you need an appointment to get there.

    Booking an immigration slot is not the same as applying

  3. Apply within 90 days of arrival.

    Getting your Alien Registration Card

Once you have the card

  1. It starts with your Alien Registration Card.

    Getting a Korean phone number

  2. Call the bank's foreigner line first. What you need depends on the bank and the branch.

    Opening a bank account

  3. A Korean number and a foreigner registration number are the two keys.

    Passing identity verification

  4. It can start without an application, sometimes from the day you arrive.

    A health insurance bill comes even if you did not apply
  5. Renting a home: check the owner before you pay the deposit
  6. Starting work or study
  7. Fifteen days to report your new address

This is a reading order, not a judgment about your case. Visa rules and deadlines depend on your status, so check each guide and its official sources.