Before Korea
Things to check before you visit, buy, eat, or use Korea.
Start with the problem you need to solve
Before Korea is an independent practical guide. Choose a task below, then recheck time-sensitive details through the official links in each guide.
- Start hereArrival, payment, mobile access, and first-day checks.
- Getting aroundAirports, trains, taxis, schedule changes, and recovery routes.
- Shopping and paymentCards, tax refunds, sizes, delivery, and checks before buying.
- Food and dietary needsOrdering, allergies, halal checks, and food-label limits.
- Apps and accountsKakao, Naver, delivery apps, identity checks, and fallbacks.
- How we writeSee how sources, updates, uncertainty, and corrections are handled.
- Official source libraryOpen the primary public sources used across the site.
-
Seoul Bike for Foreigners: Recover a Pass or Failed Return
Use the dated foreigner pass route carefully, keep the emailed pass code, and separate the pass clock from each rental and recorded return.
-
National Museum of Korea: Which Visits Need a Reservation?
The Children’s Museum and VR experience require separate online reservations, while other immersive content and the international highlights tour follow different routes.
-
Seoul Foreign Resident Center: Choose a Service Before You Visit
The Seoul Foreign Resident Center lists counseling, legal and labor consultations, classes and community space. Match your question to the service, then confirm language, schedule and any booking requirement.
-
Seoul One-Person Housing Help: Find Your Borough Booking Route
Seoul’s free safe-contract service is for one-person households living in or planning to live in the city. Choose the borough, request the help you need, and confirm the appointment before relying on it.
-
National Museum of Korea Help: Match Equipment, Storage, and Guide Language
Wheelchairs, strollers, coat storage, lockers, and multilingual guide functions are separate National Museum services. Match the need, location, and language before relying on one.
-
Changing or Cancelling Lotte Rent-a-Car? Check the Saved State
Lotte’s published cancellation figures apply to advance-paid reservations. Save any changed confirmation, check the 24-hour branch, and notify before pickup if delayed.
-
Lotte Rent-a-Car Pickup Refused? Bring the Original IDP
Lotte Rent-a-Car requires a valid passport and the original qualifying IDP at pickup. A copy, PDF, photo, or mismatched class can stop the handoff.
-
Gwaneumsa Campground Booked? Check Payment, Arrival, and Closure
A Gwaneumsa campground application is usable only after confirmation and on-time arrival. Separate personal cancellation, no-show, and weather-closure refund rules.
-
Seoul Metropolitan Library: Visiting and Borrowing Are Different
Anyone may use Seoul Metropolitan Library on site, but taking a physical book home requires a library card. If you are a foreign visitor or resident, check the membership category and original identity-and-address documents before expecting to borrow.
-
Seoul Rental Waste: Choose the Bag and District Route
A Seoul rental’s trash does not all go in one bag. Separate general waste, food waste, recyclables and bulky items, then confirm the building and district’s bag, collection point and set-out time before leaving anything outside.