What wildlife and nature should foreigners be aware of in Korea, including animals to watch for on hikes, in parks, and even in urban areas?

Korea is mostly safe for the outdoors, but a few things are worth knowing. On hikes, the main animals to watch for are venomous snakes, which live in wooded and mountainous areas and are most active in warm months, so watch where you step and put your hands around rocks and long grass. Wild boar (멧돼지) are the most talked-about wildlife; they live in the mountains and occasionally wander into suburban and even urban edges of Seoul, and while they usually avoid people, a startled or cornered boar can be dangerous, so keep your distance and back away calmly rather than running. There are no wild bears or large predators to worry about in populated areas.

The bigger everyday nuisances are insects: mosquitoes in summer, and in tall grass and rural areas, ticks and chiggers that can carry scrub typhus and SFTS, so wear long sleeves and repellent when hiking off-trail and check yourself afterward. Larger wasps and hornets appear in late summer and autumn, so do not swat near nests. Lacquer trees (옻나무) can cause a poison-ivy-like rash in sensitive people. In cities you will mostly see magpies, pigeons, stray cats, and the occasional raccoon dog. At the coast, jellyfish appear on some beaches in late summer, so heed local warnings. None of this should put you off, since the trails are well maintained and heavily used, but staying on marked paths, using repellent, and giving boar and snakes space covers almost everything.