--- title: "South Korea travel guides, city by city | Wimup" description: "South Korea on Wimup: Top 10 city guides, the KTX routes that make them a day apart, what to know before you go, and the videos worth watching first." url: https://wimup.com/country/south-korea type: Country guide updated: 2026-10-06 publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com) --- # Top 10s across South Korea **Palaces and neon** on the same block, mountains inside the city limits, and a food culture built around sharing. South Korea moves fast and is **easy to keep up with**. ## Quick answer Base yourself in **Seoul** for four or five nights, then take the KTX south. **Busan** is under three hours away for the coast and the fish market, and **Gyeongju** sits between the two with the Silla tombs and temples in the open. Add **Jeonju** for the hanok quarter and the food, or **Jeju** for volcanic coastline on a one-hour flight. **April to May** and **September to November** are the months to aim for: blossom then foliage, mild air, and none of the August heat. ## Quick facts - **Best months:** Apr–May · Sep–Nov - **Ideal length:** 8–12 days - **Budget per day:** $90–160 - **Language:** Korean - **Getting around:** KTX & city subways - **3** City guides - **51,628,117** People - **1** Video guide South Korea concentrates an enormous amount into a small, superbly connected country. Seoul is the natural base, and the KTX puts Busan, Gyeongju and the coast within a morning. ## 3 South Korea city guides 1. [Seoul](https://wimup.com/city/seoul.md): Asia · 10 picks 2. [Gyeongju](https://wimup.com/city/gyeongju.md): Asia · 10 picks 3. [Jeonju](https://wimup.com/city/jeonju.md): Asia · 10 picks ## Know before you go - **Population:** 51,628,117 - **Area:** 100,295 km² - **Density:** 514.8 / km² - **Capital:** Seoul - **Major cities:** Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Gwangju - **Tourism board:** Official site - **Money:** ₩ South Korean won Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including taxis and convenience stores. Carry a little cash for traditional markets and the smaller street stalls. - **Language:** Korean Hangul is phonetic and takes an afternoon to learn to sound out, which turns most signs and menus readable. English signage is thorough on the subway and the KTX. - **Calling code:** +82 - **Power:** 220V · Type C/F The same two-round-pin plugs used across most of Europe, at 220V and 60Hz. Visitors from the UK, the US and Japan need an adapter. - **Emergency:** 112 police · 119 fire and ambulance Both lines run around the clock and can hand over to interpreters. The 1330 travel hotline answers general questions in several languages. - **Visa:** Visa-free for short stays Most Western passports enter visa-free, and a set of nationalities are exempt from the K-ETA travel authorisation until 31 December 2026. Check yours on k-eta.go.kr, the only place to apply. - **Getting around:** KTX and city subways The KTX links Seoul to Busan, Gwangju and Gangneung at high speed, and every large city runs a subway with English signage. A car is only worth it for Jeju and the inland national parks. - **Transit card:** T-money One rechargeable card covers subways, buses and taxis nationwide, and works at convenience-store tills. Buy and top it up at any station or convenience store. - **Tipping:** Not customary Restaurants, bars and taxis do not expect a tip and there is no line for one on the bill. Service charges appear only at hotels and a few high-end restaurants. - **Connectivity:** Public wifi and eSIM Free wifi covers the subway, buses, cafés and most public buildings. An eSIM or an airport-counter SIM covers the rest, and coverage holds in the mountains. ## When to visit - **Jan** (good) - **Feb** (good) - **Mar** (good) - **Apr** (best) - **May** (best) - **Jun** - **Jul** - **Aug** (peak) - **Sep** (best) - **Oct** (best) - **Nov** (best) - **Dec** (good) ## Fun fact Around 70 percent of South Korea is mountainous, so Seoul has national park trails inside the city limits. ## Stereotypes, sorted out - **Myth:** It is all Seoul **Reality:** Seoul holds the palaces and the nightlife, but Busan is a beach and port city with its own accent, Gyeongju is an open-air museum of Silla tombs, and Jeju is volcanic coastline. The KTX puts most of them within a morning of the capital. - **Myth:** Korean food is all barbecue and kimchi **Reality:** Barbecue is the export, not the everyday. Regional cooking runs from the cold buckwheat noodles of the north to the seafood of the south coast, and Jeonju built a reputation on a single rice bowl. - **Myth:** The border makes it risky **Reality:** The DMZ is a day trip from Seoul, run daily with permits and guides, and life in the country carries on without reference to it. Korea consistently ranks among the safest places to travel in Asia. - **Myth:** Everyone works in K-pop or on a phone **Reality:** The country is more than its exports. It is also Confucian scholarship at Andong, a Buddhist temple-stay tradition open to visitors, and mountain hiking as a national weekend habit. - **Myth:** It is expensive **Reality:** Seoul hotels can be, but eating is not. A market meal, a bowl of noodles or a convenience-store dinner costs little, and the subway and intercity buses are cheap by any comparison. - Give and receive with two hands, or with your right hand supported at the elbow. It is the single clearest sign of respect. - Take your shoes off at the door in homes, temple stays, guesthouses and any restaurant with a raised floor. - Let the oldest person at the table start eating and pour their drink first. Turn away slightly when you drink in front of them. - Do not tip. There is no line for it, and offering one causes more confusion than goodwill. - Keep phone calls quiet on the subway. Trains are busy and almost silent, and everyone is reading. - Sort your rubbish. Recycling is separated by law, and bins in public places are labelled by category. ## Famous Korean faces - **BTS**: The group that took Korean pop to the top of the Billboard 200 - **Blackpink**: First K-pop girl group to headline Coachella - **Bong Joon-ho**: Director of Parasite, the first non-English Best Picture winner - **Han Kang**: Novelist and Nobel laureate in literature in 2024 - **Son Heung-min**: Forward who shared the Premier League Golden Boot in 2022 - **Kim Yuna**: Olympic figure skating champion in Vancouver in 2010 - **Ban Ki-moon**: Secretary-General of the United Nations from 2007 to 2016 - **Psy**: Gangnam Style, the first video to pass a billion YouTube views - **IU**: Singer-songwriter and actor, one of the country's biggest solo acts - **G-Dragon**: Big Bang leader and producer who shaped modern K-pop - **Seo Taiji**: Seo Taiji and Boys remade Korean pop music in 1992 - **BoA**: First Korean singer to top the Oricon albums chart in Japan - **Rain**: Singer and actor who opened the Korean wave across Asia - **Song Kang-ho**: Actor who won Best Actor at Cannes in 2022 for Broker - **Park Chan-wook**: Director of Oldboy and Decision to Leave - **Youn Yuh-jung**: Won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2021 for Minari - **Lee Jung-jae**: First Korean actor to win a lead drama Emmy, for Squid Game - **Hwang Dong-hyuk**: Created and directed Squid Game - **Bae Doona**: Actor across Korean cinema and international television - **Park Ji-sung**: Midfielder who won four Premier League titles at Manchester United - **Park Se-ri**: Golfer whose 1998 US Women's Open win started a Korean era - **An San**: Archer who won three golds at the Tokyo Olympics - **Ryu Hyun-jin**: Pitcher who moved from the KBO to a decade in Major League Baseball - **Kim Dae-jung**: President and Nobel Peace laureate in 2000 - **Yu Gwan-sun**: Student who became the face of the March First Movement in 1919 - **Lee Byung-chul**: Founded Samsung in 1938 - **Chung Ju-yung**: Founded Hyundai and built much of the postwar economy - **Koo In-hwoi**: Founded the chemical company that became LG - **Nam June Paik**: Artist who invented video art - **Lee Ufan**: Painter and sculptor central to the Mono-ha movement - **Do Ho Suh**: Installation artist known for full-scale fabric houses - **Hwang Sok-yong**: Novelist of The Guest and At Dusk - **Kim Young-ha**: Novelist of I Have the Right to Destroy Myself - **Yi Mun-yol**: Novelist of Our Twisted Hero ## Must-try Korean food - **Bibimbap**: Rice under vegetables, egg and chilli paste, mixed at the table. - **Kimchi jjigae**: Sour aged kimchi stewed with pork and tofu. - **Samgyetang**: Whole young chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng, eaten in high summer. - **Sundubu jjigae**: Silken tofu stew that arrives still boiling. - **Bulgogi**: Thin beef marinated in soy, pear and sesame. - **Budae jjigae**: Army stew, a postwar mix of ham, noodles and gochujang. - **Samgyeopsal**: Pork belly grilled at the table and wrapped in lettuce. - **Galbi**: Marinated short ribs, cut at the table with scissors. - **Dakgalbi**: Chicken stir-fried with cabbage and rice cake on a hot plate, a Chuncheon dish. - **Makchang**: Grilled pork intestine, a Daegu speciality. - **Naengmyeon**: Cold buckwheat noodles in iced broth, sharpened with vinegar and mustard. - **Jjajangmyeon**: Wheat noodles under black bean sauce, the standard delivery order. - **Kalguksu**: Knife-cut noodles in a clear anchovy or chicken broth. - **Janchi guksu**: Thin wheat noodles in warm broth, the banquet noodle. - **Jjamppong**: Seafood noodles in a red chilli broth. - **Tteokbokki**: Rice cakes in a sweet-hot gochujang sauce, the stall standard. - **Gimbap**: Rice and fillings rolled in seaweed, sliced for the road. - **Hotteok**: Griddled dough filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. - **Eomuk**: Fish cake on a skewer, sold with a cup of its own broth. - **Twigim**: Battered vegetables, squid and dumplings, fried to order. - **Kimchi**: Fermented cabbage with chilli and salted shrimp, on every table. - **Japchae**: Sweet potato noodles tossed with vegetables and sesame oil. - **Pajeon**: Spring onion pancake, ordered whenever it rains. - **Gyeranmari**: Rolled omelette, sliced into rounds. - **Bingsu**: Shaved milk ice under red bean, fruit or condensed milk. - **Bungeoppang**: Fish-shaped pastry filled with red bean, sold in winter. - **Yakgwa**: Honey and sesame-oil cookie, pressed into a flower shape. - **Soju**: Clear grain spirit, poured for the table, never for yourself. - **Makgeolli**: Cloudy unfiltered rice wine, shaken before pouring. - **Sikhye**: Sweet malted rice drink, served cold after a meal. ## Films - [Seoul by Night, Namsan to Myeongdong](https://wimup.com/watch/seoul.md), 40:06 ## FAQs ### How many days do you need in South Korea? Eight to twelve days covers a first trip comfortably. Give Seoul four or five nights, then take the KTX south for Busan and Gyeongju. With under a week, stay in Seoul and take day trips. ### When is the best time to visit South Korea? April to May and September to November. Spring brings blossom and mild air, autumn brings clear skies and foliage. June and July are the monsoon, and August is hot, humid and the domestic holiday peak. ### Do you need a K-ETA to visit South Korea? Most visa-free travellers do, but the Ministry of Justice has temporarily exempted nationals of a set of countries until the end of 2026. Check your own passport on k-eta.go.kr, which is the only official place to apply. ### Is it easy to get around South Korea without Korean? Yes. Subway stations, KTX platforms and intercity buses are signed in English, ticket machines have an English mode, and translation apps handle the rest. Hangul is phonetic, so learning to sound out signs takes an afternoon. ### Do you need cash in South Korea? Rarely. Cards work in taxis, convenience stores and almost every restaurant, and a T-money card covers transit nationwide. Keep a small amount of won for traditional markets and street stalls. ## Related countries - [Japan](https://wimup.com/country/japan.md) - [India](https://wimup.com/country/india.md) - [All of Asia](https://wimup.com/asia) Part of [Asia](https://wimup.com/asia.md) ## Sources - [Tourism board](https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Visa](https://www.k-eta.go.kr/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - [Getting around](https://www.letskorail.com/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral) - Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.