*These are indicative prices and are subject to change over times*
WHAT ABOUT SOUTH KOREA
Capital: Seoul
Largest City: Seoul
Official language: Korean
Population: Over 51 million as of 2017
Religion: Mainly Atheist
Political system: Constitutional republic
Currency: South Korean Won
Time zone: UTC+9
WHAT ABOUT SOUTH KOREA
Wet season: June to September
Best season to travel: Any season outside of the summer season
Visa: It depends on your nationality. There is a 3-month exempt visa for most nationalities. Make sure to check out the latest info on the Immigration Website.
Hotel: Usually as cheap as 7€ to 14€ (8$ to 16$ USD) for a bed in a dorm. If you do not book a hostel in advance, be aware that you will have to bargain to get the same price as Booking.com. Yeah, South Korea is one of these countries!
Food: Usually as cheap as 3.5€ to 6€ (4$ to 7$ USD) for a basic streetfood meal. You can get cheaper meal through convenience stores.
Food specials: Kimchi, Bibimbap, Bulgogi, Japchae, Hoeddeok, Ddukbokki, Seolleongtang, Sundubu-jjigae, Samgyeopsal, Pajeon, Hobakjuk, Samgyetang and many more!
Transportation: Download the smartphone application named ‘Naver’. It gives you the easiest way to get from A to B. You can compare bus and train fares which are more or less expensive depending on the destination. Slow trains tend to be cheaper than buses but that’s not always the case. Flights within South Korea can be extremely cheap – ask your hostel as they use local Korean website with unbeatable fares (Sometimes 5 to 8 time cheaper than what show up on Google Flight or Skyscanner).
Bargaining: There is literally no bargaining culture in South Korea.
Budget: From 700€ to 900€ for a month (820$ to 1050$ USD).
KOREAN BASICS
Hello: Ahn Nyeong Ha Se Yo
Thank you: Gahm Sah Hahm Ni Da
Goodbye: Ahn Nyeong Hee Ga Se Yo
TRAVEL APPS AND WEBSITES
GPS: An amazing offline GPS application that highlights hostel, food and even the tiniest hiking paths in your area (Maps.me )
Hostels: Use filters to sort out the cheapest price of the day. There is usually no need to book in advance. You might find cheaper accomodations on-site. In some remote areas, these are not advertised online. (Booking, Agoda, Hostelworld)
Currency converter: Highly useful for your first few days stepping in a new country (XE Currency, Easy Currency Converter)
Meeting people: Couchsurfing integrate a new ‘people around me’ feature. You will usually meet plenty of people at your hostel but it does happen sometines that you are the only one there. Tinder is not ‘only’ what you think! More and more people use it to meet locals or travelers to explore a destination (Couchsurfing, Tinder)
Money sharing: If traveling by group, Tricount is an amazing application for organizing group expenses (Tricount)
TRAVEL TIPS
Backpack: Pack as light as you can. Ten kilos should be a maximum. You won’t need these 15 tshirts and 5 pairs of shoes, will you? Remember that you will carry all this weight on your shoulders. There is one more thing. Checking in with a carry-on luggage only is way cheaper!
Cash: Always keep a 50€ or 50$ USD banknote in your wallet. You never now what might happen. It can be really helful in case your credit card get blocked for a few days. Never ever wait to run out of cash before withdrawing in a local currency! Before leaving a country, try to get rid of coins and small banknotes. You won’t be able to exchange them later!
Toilet paper: Yeah, you can laugh at this one. However, be aware that most Asian countries do not use any. You better get one roll in your backpack!
SOUTH KOREA TRAVEL ITINERARY
