New to Korea · Start Here
Your first steps in Korea,
in a useful order.
You do not need to read every guide before your trip. Start with the task in front of you, then use the next guide only when you need it.
Know what you need? Search above, or follow the beginner’s reading route below.
Before you arrive
Prepare the essentials, not every app.
Use this route to identify what to check before choosing a product or making a booking. For changing requirements, use the official sources in the detailed guide.
Choose the mobile functions you need
Separate mobile data, a reachable number and the messages an app might ask for. Start with the overview; move to setup only after choosing your plan.
Prepare a payment backup
Read the guide for a card decline or ATM question, then decide what you will check with your card issuer before travelling.
Keep arrival information together
Keep your accommodation address and arrival plan easy to find. Check the official entry information relevant to you rather than assuming another traveller’s requirements apply.
Your first day
Move, eat and solve the small things.
Open the guide that matches your next action. Keep an alternative ready when a reservation, payment or app does not work as expected.
Find the right route and entrance
Start with the address and map guide. Use the transfer or taxi guide when the difficulty is the journey rather than the destination.
Order your first meal
Choose a dining route that suits the situation: an ordinary restaurant, a reservation or a delivery order. Each detailed guide focuses on a different task.
Make daily tasks easier
Use one specific guide instead of installing or researching everything at once. Translation, convenience stores and everyday shopping are useful places to start.
When something fails
Start with the failure, not another purchase.
Write down the step that failed and the message you received. Hide personal details before sharing screenshots with a support team.
A verification text is missing
Use the message-delivery guide to distinguish the point of failure before repeating setup.
Find guides: eSIM SMS troubleshootingA delivery payment appears, but there is no order
Use the payment-status guide rather than repeatedly submitting the same order.
Find guides: Delivery payment pending without an orderYou need a simpler food option
Switch to the guide for takeout or an in-person meal instead of treating delivery as the only route.
Find guides: Takeout phrases and collectionStaying longer
Choose the stay type before the platform.
A few nights and a weekly or monthly rental are different planning tasks. Start with the matching overview, then open a provider-specific guide only when you need that booking process.
A few nights
Compare the booking route, room type and check-in information for the exact stay you are considering.
A week or longer
Read the rental overview first, including the questions to ask about costs and documents. Provider guides are the next step, not a substitute for checking the actual offer.
Keep this route flexible.
This page is a reading map, not a promise that every service will work for every visitor. Check the review date, scope notes and official sources in the guide you use.
For all topics, browse the Guides library. To suggest a missing topic, use Request a Guide; it is not live booking or emergency support.
Prepared by How to Unlock Korea. Read our editorial standards.