Back in August 2022, I had the opportunity to visit South Korea. I was in Busan for work and spent a few extra days in Seoul afterwards, for a total of nine days. Here are some photos and some of my impressions from this excellent trip.

Travelling and staying in South Korea was relatively straightforward for me as a European visitor travelling on a German passport. That is because South Korea uses the same power plugs as in Europe (type C and F). In particular, these are the same as those in Germany. The main power’s voltage (220 V) and frequency (60 Hz) are compatible. Hence, all my electrical devices worked without any problems.

Another thing that makes South Korea very convenient for European visitors is that you can pay electronically (by card) in almost all shops. Using my UK and German credit cards indeed worked without problems. I only took out a small amount of cash to pay street vendors and for emergencies.

Entering the country was easy, as I did not need a tourist visa, only an electronic travel authorisation called K-ETA. I applied for this online and paid a small fee. The authorisation was granted within a few hours. The trip happened in August 2022, i.e. towards the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a precaution, the authorities still required two negative attested COVID PCR tests, one within 48 hours before the flight and one on the first day in South Korea. By then, some of the official COVID test providers that specialised in pre-travel attestation had already closed in Manchester. Ultimately, I had to take my supervised PCR test at a Randox shop at the Trafford Centre, which was slightly further away. This was easy, and the (negative) result arrived quickly, but the test was reasonably expensive for what it was. I booked a slot at Seoul airport near the arrival terminal for the PCR test after arrival. The test there was straightforward and quick to arrive, too.

My outward flight connection was supposed to be Manchester – London – XXX – Seoul. Unfortunately, there were severe problems with the baggage handling and excessive delays already in Manchester, so we already had a significant delay when I arrived in London. In addition, an unexpectedly large number of people were queuing for the security checks at London Heathrow. The combined delay meant that it was impossible for me to catch my connecting flight. This happened to hundreds of travellers that evening. British Airways arranged overnight accommodation for us in hotels close to the airport. The provided airport hotel was reasonably decent.

The next day, I took the early morning bus to the airport in anticipation of my replacement flight connection via Warsaw. Unfortunately, I could see that the outward flight was already delayed again by more than an hour, and it was clear that I would not make the new connecting flight in Warsaw. I did not want to be stuck at the relatively smaller Warsaw airport (in comparison with London Heathrow). After much back and forth with the BA personnel, they finally booked me on a BA-operated flight to Doha, which was only a few hours later that day and had reasonable connection times (> 3-4 hours). This was the third replacement flight connection that they organised for me. And indeed, it worked out without issues this time. Ultimately, my outward flight connection was Manchester – London – Doha – Seoul, with a reasonable layover time of about 4-6 hours in Doha.

XXX

The weather in Busan in early August was extremely hot and humid. You can (and should!) avoid the heat by walking through the underground markets or climatised buildings. The locals do not like the heat and do precisely the same. They sometimes used umbrellas or hand-held fans to keep cool.

In Busan ⁠and Seoul, convenience stores (e.g. GS25), coffee shops, and small supermarkets are on every corner. There is definitely no shortage of them, i.e. for buying drinks or snacks on the go.

The shops and restaurants, to a smaller extent, often have 1+1 offers, where you get two items for the price of one or at a reduced price.

Google Maps did not work correctly or not at all in South Korea at that time. That is apparently because South Korea is still officially at war with the North so that official map material should not be distributed. As a replacement, you can use a local Korean mobile phone application called “Naver Map”, which has similar functionality to Google Maps. I had a good experience using the international application “Maps.me” to plan public transport connections and short walks. Navigation with it was accurate. The application works even if you do not have mobile data. I believe that any application or service that is Open Street Maps-based should work fine.

Taking the ⁠subway in South Korea is relatively straightforward. You can buy a rechargeable travel money card that also works for the bus network. This seems to be the best option. However, purchasing single journeys, return trips, or day tickets is easy too. Once on the subway, the previous and next stations are clearly displayed. The station names are also shown in the Latin alphabet, which helps a lot.