1. Who we are

How to Unlock Korea operates howtounlockkorea.com, an informational website providing practical English-language guides for international visitors and residents in Korea. The website is operated from the Republic of Korea.

In this policy, “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to the website operator. This policy covers browsing the website, using the Guide Request Form, and contacting us about the website or privacy.

2. Information we process

Guide Request Form

The form asks about the task you are trying to complete, the relevant topic or service, your general visitor or resident situation, when the information would help, and a description of the problem.

It does not ask for your name, email address, telephone number, identification documents, passwords, or payment information. Please do not include personal information in free-text answers, including booking references, account details, medical information, or information identifying another person.

If we identify unnecessary personal information in a submission, we delete or redact it without undue delay. A warning on the form does not prevent accidental disclosure, so please check your text before submitting it.

Technical records

Our form and hosting systems may process IP addresses, browser and device information, requested or referring URLs, submission identifiers, timestamps, and security or error records. These records are separate from the contact details that the form does not request.

Emails and correspondence

If you email us, we receive your email address, message contents, message metadata, and any attachments you send. Please include only what is needed to explain your privacy inquiry, correction, or other website-related request.

3. Why we process information

We use submissions to identify recurring questions and plan useful guides. We use limited technical records to deliver the website, prevent spam and abuse, investigate security incidents, and troubleshoot faults. Correspondence is used to respond to privacy inquiries, review reported corrections, and handle website-related requests. Privacy rights requests are handled under applicable law.

We do not use Guide Request submissions for email marketing, advertising profiles, or automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects. We do not sell or rent submissions or personal information.

4. How requests inform our guides

We do not publish raw form submissions. A topic may be grouped with similar questions, summarized, rewritten, checked against sources, and stripped of identifying details before it informs a guide.

Submission does not guarantee publication. Because the form does not request contact details, we cannot send individual replies or publication notices through it.

We may retain anonymous topic summaries after deleting original entries. We do not treat material as anonymous merely because a name or email address has been removed.

5. Retention and deletion

Form entries

Our standard retention period is 90 days from submission for original entries and their associated form metadata in the active website database.

Working copies

Any administrative notification emails or exports containing raw submissions follow the same 90-day period, measured from the original submission date.

Contact correspondence

We retain correspondence while handling the request and for up to 90 days after it is resolved, unless a specific legal obligation requires longer retention.

Logs and backups

Infrastructure logs and backup copies have separate provider retention schedules. Deleting an active form entry does not immediately erase every backup copy. Restricted backup copies expire or are overwritten under the applicable backup schedule and are not used for routine editorial analysis.

We delete unnecessary personal information earlier when identified. If a legal obligation requires continued retention, we restrict use to that purpose and delete the information when the obligation ends.

Deletion covers active database entries, administrative copies, and exports under our control. Information in a trash folder is not treated as permanently deleted. Following a backup restoration, we reapply relevant deletion actions to restored records.

6. Providers and international processing

Hostinger: hosting and infrastructure

Primary server location

Singapore.

Information involved

Website requests, form submissions, IP addresses, technical metadata, database records, operational logs, and backup copies.

Purpose and timing

Hosting, storage, security, backups, and technical operation. Information is transmitted electronically when the website is accessed or a form is submitted and is stored as needed for these functions.

Provider information

Hostinger supplies the hosting service under our account agreement. Its processing arrangements and authorized subprocessors are described in the Hostinger Data Processing Addendum.

The primary server location is not a statement that every support operation, backup, or subprocessor is located only in Singapore. Infrastructure records and backup copies follow the applicable provider schedules.

Google: Gmail correspondence

We use Gmail at howtounlockkorea@gmail.com for privacy inquiries, reported corrections, and other website-related correspondence. Email addresses, message contents, attachments, and delivery metadata are processed by Google. Google operates internationally, and processing is not limited to Singapore or the Republic of Korea.

If administrative form notifications are enabled, the submitted information included in those emails is also processed through Gmail and follows the working-copy retention period above. See the Google Privacy Policy for its service practices.

Access and disclosure

Access is limited to administrators or editors who need the information for the stated purposes and relevant service providers. Information may also be disclosed where legally required. WordPress and Fluent Forms are website software; using them does not by itself mean every submission is sent to their developers.

You can choose not to submit a Guide Request. Reading the guides does not require a submission, although basic network processing is necessary to deliver website pages. Contact us with questions about international processing or available rights.

7. Cookies and tracking

The website may use technical cookies or similar mechanisms for functions such as security, session handling, and form operation. Technical server logs can exist even when no cookie is stored in your browser.

Under the operating configuration covered by this policy, we do not use advertising pixels, behavioral advertising, or non-essential visitor analytics. We do not connect Guide Requests to a newsletter or advertising platform.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings. Blocking a technology needed for a particular function may stop that function from working. Before introducing optional analytics, advertising, or third-party tracking, we will update this information and implement any controls required by applicable law.

8. Your rights and choices

Depending on applicable law, you may request access, correction, deletion, or restriction of your personal information, object to certain processing, or withdraw consent where processing relies on consent. You may also complain to the relevant data protection authority.

Send requests to howtounlockkorea@gmail.com. Because the form does not request your name or email address, we may need the approximate submission time, topic, and a distinctive part of the text to locate an entry.

We request only information reasonably necessary to locate the relevant record and verify your entitlement to it. Please do not send identification documents or passwords unless a lawful and necessary verification process has first been explained to you.

9. Security and children

We use HTTPS, restrict administrative access, maintain website software, and apply retention and deletion procedures. No website, email service, or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.

The Guide Request Form is not intended to collect personal information from children under 14. If we identify such information submitted without a valid legal basis, we take steps to delete it. A parent or guardian may contact us about the information.

10. External links and changes

Our guides may link to government agencies, transport operators, apps, and other services. Their privacy practices are governed by their own notices, not this policy.

We update this page when our data practices, providers, or website functions change. The date above identifies the latest revision. Where applicable law requires additional notice or consent, updating this page alone will not replace it.

Privacy contact

Website: How to Unlock Korea
Contact: Website operator responsible for privacy
Country of operation: Republic of Korea

howtounlockkorea@gmail.com