South Korea balances speed and stillness in a way few places do. Neon-lit streets contrast with centuries-old palaces and quiet neighbourhood shrines. Beyond the urban sprawl lie misty mountains, forested hiking trails and temples where daily rituals continue much as they have for generations.
Transport in South Korea is fast and easy to navigate, with high-speed KTX trains linking major cities like Seoul and Busan in just a few hours. Urban areas have affordable metro systems with signs in both Korean and English, while long-distance buses connect smaller towns and rural regions.
The best time to visit South Korea is spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October), when temperatures are mild and the country is at its most photogenic with cherry blossoms or autumn leaves. Summers can be hot, humid and affected by monsoon rains, especially in cities like Seoul, while winters are cold and dry with freezing temperatures but crisp blue skies and excellent conditions for skiing in the mountains.
South Korea has a huge variety of different accommodation options. You can opt for modern city centre apartments or traditional style hanok stays. If you’re visiting the capital city Seoul, have a look at my post What Area of Seoul Should I Stay In? to decide on the best area of the city to base yourself. I always book my accommodation through trusted providers like booking.com and Hostelworld, but always read the reviews carefully.
I always recommend checking the official government advice from your own country of citizenship. For example, I’m from the UK so I use the UK Government’s Foreign travel advice website, and navigate to the “Entry requirements” section of the country I wish to visit. That will show me the most up-to-date advice and the correct links to use to apply for a visa officially, without being scammed. E.g. “South Korea: Entry requirements”.
Be aware that if you just google “South Korea visa”, you’ll find lots of 3rd party websites offering to do the application for you, which at best will charge you quite a lot of money and at worst may scam you completely.
If you would rather someone else take care of the application for you to save you time and hassle, I can recommend iVisa. iVisa offer an end-to-end visa application service where they take care of the entire application for you. You just need to sign up via their website and fill out the information they need from you for the application. Note that they charge a fee for this service, so it will be more expensive than applying directly yourself.
Here are some of the resources I’ve found particularly useful for travelling in South Korea. Download the apps before you go to ensure a smooth and stress-free experience! Check out my Useful Travel Resources page for my complete go-to list of websites and apps.
Currency:
South Korean Won (KRW)
Capital City:
Seoul
Languages:
Korean
