What is the best way to prepare for a first trip to Korea?
I am planning my first trip to Korea and I want to prepare well before I go. What are the most important things to arrange in advance for transportation, payments, and communication?
1 Answer
Arrange three things before departure. First, save your accommodation address in both English and Korean, download Naver Map or KakaoMap, and decide how you will travel from the airport. For local buses and subways, you can buy and reload a prepaid transportation card such as Tmoney or EZL after arrival. If you have fixed intercity travel dates, check the official train or bus booking options in advance rather than relying on same-day seats.
Second, notify your card issuer that you will travel, bring more than one payment card, and carry a modest amount of Korean won. Card acceptance and foreign-card processing can vary, and some transportation-card reload points may require cash. Third, confirm that your phone is unlocked and choose international roaming, a Korean SIM or eSIM, or a portable Wi-Fi device before you leave. Airport roaming centers sell SIM cards and rent Wi-Fi devices, but comparing data allowances and pickup hours in advance will save time. Save your hotel contact details and key bookings offline in case you have no connection on arrival.
The Korea Tourism Organization’s official VISITKOREA pages provide current transportation-card and mobile-communication guidance: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/infoBscView.do?vcontsId=140663 and https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/contentsView.do?vcontsId=140041. Checked: 2026-09-05.