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Free palace entry in a hanbok, one card for everything, and the maps app that isn't Google
South Korea makes a few things easier than travellers expect and one thing harder. Easier: most visitors are currently exempt from the K-ETA travel authorisation, a single card covers nearly all transport and a lot of shopping, and wearing a hanbok gets you into the royal palaces for free. Harder: Google Maps barely works for directions here, so locals navigate on other apps that need a live connection. This guide covers the entry rules, the transport card, the money, that palace perk, and why data matters more than in Europe.
Wear a hanbok, enter the palaces free
Visitors dressed in hanbok, traditional Korean clothing, get free admission to Seoul's royal palaces, including Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Deoksugung and Changgyeonggung. Korea's tourism authority runs this as an official programme, and rental shops cluster by the palace gates, so a single rental can cover several palaces in a day.4
Our take: rent the hanbok near Gyeongbokgung in the morning, do the changing-of-the-guard there, then walk to Changdeokgung and its secret garden on the same outfit. The rental pays for itself across two or three palaces.
One T-money card covers almost everything
A rechargeable T-money card works across the subway, city buses and most taxis, and also pays at convenience stores. On the subway you tap in; on buses you tap on and off so the distance-based fare is calculated; and transfers between them within 30 minutes are free. You top it up with cash at any convenience store or station machine, and it holds Korean won only.3
Our take: buy a T-money card at the airport convenience store on arrival and load a chunk of won onto it. It removes the single-ticket fumble at every gate and turnstile, and it works the moment you land.
VAT is 10% and already in the price
South Korea's value-added tax is a flat 10%, administered by the National Tax Service, and it is included in displayed prices, so the figure on the tag or menu is what you pay. Foreign visitors can often reclaim it on eligible retail purchases through the tax-refund scheme, with many stores offering an on-the-spot refund at checkout.5
The currency is the won
Prices are in Korean won (KRW). Cards and mobile payments are accepted almost everywhere, and a T-money card covers the small stuff, so you rarely need much cash, though a little is handy at traditional markets.
Most visitors are exempt from K-ETA through 2026
Korea has extended its temporary exemption from the K-ETA travel authorisation for 22 countries and regions, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore and most of the EU, through 31 December 2026. Nationals of those places do not need a K-ETA to enter visa-free for tourism during this period.1
Exempt, but you still complete an arrival card
Travellers who use the exemption fill in a paper arrival card on the way in. If you would rather skip that, you can still apply for a K-ETA voluntarily, which exempts you from the arrival card, but it carries a fee, so most short-stay visitors simply do the card.1
1330 is the traveller's helpline
The Korea Tourism Organization runs the 1330 travel hotline free, around the clock, with staff in English and other languages. It handles travel information, phone interpretation and complaints, and it is the number most worth saving as a visitor, separate from the 112 police and 119 fire and ambulance lines.2
The card is your small-purchase wallet too
Beyond transport, a T-money card pays at convenience stores, some vending machines and many taxis, so topping it up doubles as loading a small-purchase wallet. It is the smoothest way to handle the many tiny cash-like payments a Korea trip involves.3
South Korea has fast, near-universal mobile data, including deep in the subway, but none of that reaches your wallet for free: Korea is outside every regional roaming zone, so home-plan roaming here is billed whatever your country, and a local eSIM is what keeps data at a predictable price. There is a Korea-specific reason data matters even more here: Google Maps is restricted for driving and walking directions in Korea for regulatory reasons, so locals and savvy visitors navigate on Naver Map or KakaoMap instead, and both need a live connection to be useful. Add the online entry steps, the translation you will lean on, and the transit and payment apps, and a working data plan stops being a convenience and becomes the thing that makes the trip run. Get connected at the airport rather than after, because your first tasks, a map that works and a ride into the city, both need to be online.
Probably not right now. Korea has extended a temporary K-ETA exemption for 22 countries and regions, including the UK, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Singapore and most of the EU, through 31 December 2026, so nationals of those places can enter visa-free for tourism without one. You still fill in a paper arrival card on the way in unless you choose to apply for a K-ETA, which then exempts you from the card but carries a fee.1
For regulatory reasons, Google Maps is limited for driving and walking directions in South Korea. Locals use Naver Map or KakaoMap instead, which give full transit, walking and driving routing, and both need a live data connection. It is a good reason to arrive with a working Korean plan rather than relying on the maps app you use at home.
It is a rechargeable card that covers the subway, city buses and most taxis, and pays at convenience stores too. Tap in on the subway; tap on and off on buses for the distance-based fare; transfers within 30 minutes are free. Top it up with cash at any convenience store or station machine. It holds Korean won only.3
Usually not. South Korea sits outside every regional free-roaming arrangement, so roaming on a home plan is billed, often expensively, whatever country you come from. A local eSIM keeps data at a predictable Korean price, which matters more here because you will rely on it for maps, translation and payments.
Every price, date and rule above is taken from the operator, museum, city or ministry that sets it, and was checked against that source on September 5, 2026. Lines marked "Our take" are our own recommendation, not a sourced fact. Fares, fees and opening hours change — confirm anything your trip depends on before you book.