- SIMCARD Korea is an affordable phone plan - On https://simcard-korea.com/ you can have the sim card mailed before you leave and it is super easy to activate (comes with all the instructions). There are 11 phone plan options for different durations but I found Premium lite for one month plenty of data for 35.43 USD
- Take advantage of public transportation - The subway in Korea is very convenient but don’t forget about taking the bus. Both transportations need to be paid with a T-Money card which can be easily bought at a convenience store (or cute ones at ArtBox)
- Don’t Tip - Culturally people in Korea don’t tip and it will be confusing if you try to leave money for them.
- Use Naver Map - Naver maps is very popular and the Korean equivalent to Google Maps. It is easy to use and your favorite locations or places you want to go can be saved on the app or computer as well.
- There are a lot of affordable tours - Trazy is a great place to look for tours and they can range from weekend trips to day trips. This can especially be helpful if you want to travel far and taking a bus would take too long.
- Always have some won - There are many places that accept cards, but for street food or shopping won is best. Although many places will take cards, they will charge 10%-15% more.
- Check the weather forecast daily - The weather forecast is so important and can change from day to day. It is especially important to check for snow, rain, windy days, hot days, and the air quality.
- Apply to get an Alien Registration Card (ARC) card as soon as possible - It can be hard to get identification anywhere you go and Korea is no exception. Once you apply to get the ARC (online) you can open a Korean bank account which can be used to pay for dorming and ordering delivery.
- There are lockers everywhere - In case you have lots of luggage that you don’t want to carry there are lockers literally everywhere. There are some in the subways, malls, attractions, parks, etc and super convenient and cheap to use.
- Rules to the escalators - The right side is for standing, the left side is for people that want to walk up the escalator. It is considered rude or inconsiderate to stand on the left side in case someone is in a rush.