Wow, I am 69 and planning my 1st trip to Seoul in March. These all are VERY helpful! Some I had already seen but tips, Tcard & photos you posted were my favorites.
I am so excited for you, and I think you're going to love it, especially if some blooms are popping out by then. Be sure to do physical prep before you go. I went with 20 yrs younger friends when I was 63, and I don't think I would have survived if I hadn't practiced stairs and brisk walking for a couple of months before. The upside of all that walking and stairs is that I ate everything I wanted and still lost several pounds! 🥙🍱🥘🍲🍛🍜🍝🍣🍤🥟❤
@@CarolHoladay thank you so much for that reply! Yes, I am very excited. I am furiously trying to learn some Korean before I go. I’m a little worried about the walking and stairs issue because I have had a re-placed knee but I’m going to take it easy and use a taxi whenever possible 😁. Just being there for the street food in and of itself will be such a treat. If you think of anything else you would recommend, don’t hesitate to answer back and I can get you my email as well. Are you in the US?
2:14 Papago has built-in OCR functionality, meaning you can take a picture and translate it. No need for google translate whose Hangul OCR is, in my experience, worse than Papago. If you have Google pixel phone though, using google lens is a lot quicker and gets the job done.
I never bothered with Papago's OCR function because taking a picture then translating was too long of a process for me. I've tried it again just now, and it appears at some point they added real-time translation. It's not as fast as Google, but it might be more accurate, so it's worth trying.
Oh my gosh... I can't thank you Enough for this video~~! 🎉 You answered so many of the questions I had about travelling to South Korea snd re-assurred me completely! Thank you~~ I was very nervous about many things to do with travelling there, and I didn't know much about day-to-day things in Korea like, breakfast/food/restaurants/snacks/drinks (water to stay hydrated), travel (walking), transportation (busses, taxis, trains, maps, ect.), restrooms, rubbish bins, and things. Everything I was nervous about, you answered my thoughts and questions and explained it all perfectly! And it is excellent timing for this video, because I'm looking at travelling soon! I was nervous I'd have a hard time in South Korea because I can't speak it fluently yet.. 😢 But I think your videos will help with me getting better at Korean~ You explain things in a really good and easy to understand, way👍 If some Koreans can speak even a little English or use a translator to allow for easier understanding of one another, then that takes away my biggest fear and doubt about travelling there! On a side note; How does accommodation booking work in South Korea? I only found you couple of hours ago, but I really, really like your explanations and videos! They are so helpful👏 Thank you!
Hi. I'm Korean. I'm living in Paju, Korea near Seoul, If you need help from Korean who live in Korean, I can help you if you want when you come to korea. Don't worry I'm a normal person. I'm the person who really enjoy talking to people around the world. And korean people glad to help others. Maybe you know that.
Thank you so much for everything Billy, that’s very interesting! I was planning on going to South Korea actually but I’d like to finish your Korean beginner course first
For me, the most helpful tips are definitely the T-money cards and knowing that most restaurants/food joints aren’t open until noon (or later!). I’m very much an early bird, I like to get as much done during the day and retire early at night, but that’s definitely harder to do in Korea! So plan for coffee or pastries, or grab a snack at a convenience store if you’re an early bird like me! The apps were also incredibly helpful for navigating and communicating, be sure to download them.
고맙습니다 선생님. 🙏👍 이것은 매우 도움이 됩니다. 저는 3주 후에 비행기를 타고 한국에 갑니다. 처음이에요. I am very excited to see Seoul, Busan and Jeju-do. Your tips have all been helpful for my preparations.
This was wonderful! I fell in love with my T-money card and using Papago when we really needed it. My friend and I had a Papago conversation with a Taxi driver about taking the premium bus to Busan or using the train. It worked really well and he had good arguments for the train. We didn't listen, got on the wrong bus (very NOT premium), ended up in Daegu (at least in the right direction), and were escorted by our bus driver (we kept calling him 선생님 so he couldn't stay annoyed at us) to the office and from the office to a bus to Busan and seated on a bench (everyone was very nice). We felt a bit like preschoolers, but I caught a lot of Pokemon in the bus station while we waited for our bus to Busan. 👾👾👾 Adventure win!
The guy in this video, I just went up to him and he was actually sitting there as you see him, and I explained what I wanted to film and asked if he'd be a part of my video. He surprisingly knew about the movie!
Didn't know that most restaurants don't open until lunch time. I had the idea that you could get breakfast in Korea like in HK or Thailand where shops open at 8 am or earlier for breakfast.
It's frustrating when you want to get an early lunch at 10:30 or 11, and *still* many places aren't open. I'm someone who skips breakfast and goes for lunch, but it can be difficult to wait until after noon or 1pm to eat something I want.
Thanks did get tips. I think I read about most of it already. I’m so surprised that breakfast isn’t a ‘thing’ in South Korea. The struggles I had trying to book hotels that offered free breakfast and I’m flying there next week.
Thank you, I think the transportation card, translation and taxi app was most helpful. I am going to SK next March. I am trying to learn Korean and am only on your lesson 14. Its really slow going.
They all do, but not usually in the places you'd need them to be. I've found they're often inconvenient to locate and walk to, versus just taking the stairs (if you're able to take the stairs).
@GoBillyKorean That's true. It is difficult to locate because they were built as an addition to the pre-built compound. Thank you, all foreigners, for still loving to come!
When we were there with our kids, we would get something the day before (usually a baguette and cream cheese) to have for breakfast in the morning, so we weren't running around trying to find something. Some of the bakeries do not have baguettes ready very early. (I can't eat sugar so that was a good option for me!)
I still do that whenever I'm planning to leave early the next morning. Bread from the convenience store makes a great breakfast when I'm trying to catch an early train.
Wow! This was really interesting! It was kinda like watching "Rick Steves Eurpe" but for South Korea! Could you consider doing more useful tips and even some more history and culture videos about South Korea? Thank you Billy! Love your work!
The essentials 👍 ~ very important to know & very helpful! Thank you. 😊 If I'm ever able to travel to SK what I would especially love to experience is a beautiful mountain temple retreat ~ preferably an organized retreat that also offers guided hiking, tours...🙏😊
Carry hand sanitiser and TOILET PAPER. Many toilets either don't have it or have run out and not been replenished. Also if you travel outside of Seoul, there are more than one kind of T-Money card and some transports use different ones - even at the same bus station...weirdly...
I've found these days most restrooms do have toilet paper, but several years ago that wasn't the case. It's kind of a recent improvement that most places will have soap + toilet paper. But if you're visiting anywhere outside of a major city, then definitely carry both of these around.
@@GoBillyKorean Hehe, I live in the remote country, so I guess I still see these things. I rarely visit the big cities. I like my small community. I just carry small packs of tissues in my bag.🤣
Great tips. Our biggest problem, beside breakfast and trash cans was actually purchasing a sim card for our mobile phones. I wanted one for me and one for my daughter so that we would be able to find each other when we got separated. We never managed to buy them. And we lost each other on the subway.
Most phones support esim cards, my wife and I both got them when we landed in Korea, used free wifi at the airport to register the Sim and now we have data on our phones for the trip.
Cafes will usually have cake, and small sandwiches. Some cafes might have bread items that kind of work as a quick meal for breakfast. But most of them are just small dessert items to eat while you drink something, and not really a separate meal.
I didn't include break time because it's different everywhere. Some places just randomly have hours of break time, but others don't at all. I think it's important to just check the hours before you go anywhere, if you're planning to visit a specific place.
@@GoBillyKorean The Kakao Metro App is very good in Seoul. The app shows which door I should use to get the shortest way to my connection train or exit. The numbers of the train door can be found on the floor before the train comes. For example Transfer 8-4 in the app says car 8 door 4 is the best for transfer. And Nearest Exit 10-4 tells me, car 10 door 4 is the shortest way to the exit of the station. It's the best metro app on earth and I love it.
Thanks for this, Billy! The tip about stairs, lack of trash cans were really helpful. Korea also has a strict recycling, composting policy right? Do you need to segregate trash accordingly at the subway stations? How about hotels?
At the subway stations, there'll just be a general trash bin and a recyclables bin. But the workers will sort stuff out, so you don't have to separate it beyond that.
I think people should be prepared for many of the toilets not accepting toilet paper, which must instead be deposited in a trash can by the toilet. Not a huge adjustment, in all honesty, and no one wants to be the person who clogs up the sewer system on their trip.
That's for older bathrooms in smaller areas (especially in the countryside), but as of a while back most bathrooms now accept toilet paper as usual. You don't have to worry about that anymore in most areas, but when I used to live in Korea that was still an issue.
I ordered a simcard before arriving via internet. It was not expensive and it worked fine. I got it directly at the airport. BUT I got Corona and must stay 7 days in my hotel. When I tried to order something online this simcard was not accepted. I could not choose the simcard-company in the list of the phone companies on the websites or in the apps. And for registration and login to the services I need a phone company which was on the list. McDonalds delivered via their webpage, this was not a problem. But getting Korean food was a problem and did not work. Maybe you could tell us which simcards are accepted in the main delivery services and how expensive they are.
I've never purchased a sim card before in Korea, so I can't give any advice about that. Many phone carriers have free data roaming in Korea, so I just use that whenever I'm there.
I plan to go next year so this is all really helpful! If wanting to go outside of Seoul, do you recommend knowing more of the language? And also, where do you get cash from?
You want to get cash either in advance from your home bank, or from the airport. But almost all places accept card, so you're going to be fine except for some small purchases. You likely won't need much cash even if you stay for a month. Just carry some.
이건 도움이 매우 됐어요! 감사합니다! 🤗 The title card for no breakfast made me feel like my heart was dropping 😩 Ya girl LOVES breakfast. So that was actually super helpful to me, lol. That, the Naver Maps, & taxi part! We appreciate you, your help, & your humor, Billy! 😂💛
I didn't mention this in the video, but McDonald's in Korea also has breakfast, and it's pretty much the same as you can get in the US. But usually I try to avoid places like that if it's a shorter trip.
@GoBillyKorean Thank you!! I agree with you. I feel like I'd go to McDonald's only to see what novel items they offer on the menu over there. Otherwise, I'll just enjoy what the 카페들 has to offer 😌
@_filifjonkan4290 Oh wow! Imma keep that in mind! I actually love to visit the big subway/train stations in cities I go to. It's nice to walk around & see what eateries/shops they have ☺️
@@KelahCash Buying breakfast there was actually a very Korean experience. People were orderly waiting in line and were very quick to order and pay. We Belgians were very clumsy not knowing what to choose and paying just a few seconds slower than the others. It seemed to get on some people’s nerves (palipali). I remember a Korean business man waiting in front of me who was dressed very stylishly, wearing glasses without glasses, just the frame.
This was so helpful! Thank you! I am going for 2.5 weeks in October 🥰 the only thing i can't find is if i still need to fill out the qcode form 3 days before arrival and if I do, do i need a Korean phone number for it? We have a pocket WiFi rental but no aim card for our trip. Should i change it if i need a Korean phone number for a qcode?? Thank you 😊
I'm not sure if Billy or anyone else can answer this question, but if you get a tourist visa, could you do digital remote work, getting your income from outside of Korea? Or do you absolutely have to get the working holiday visa for this? Thanks in advance!
Learn the names, be polite, carry business cards, use honorifics. A lot of foreiners that come here seem at a loss on how to make friends. Can you make video on how to approach Korens for friendship. I recommend interest class like surfing. But most need guide detail. So IDK :( First impression so important. Koreans are like cats, western are a bit more ... intrussive like puppies. Respectfully, it is hard.
One tip about the T-Money card: I'd advise against buying the ones that are square shaped rather than rectangular (e.g., the BTS ones). Since they're smaller than normal, they can get stuck inside a taxi driver's card reader, and he won't be too happy about that. Speaking from experience.
@@GoBillyKorean the tap function wasn't working on this guy's reader unfortunately... we had to go with him to the mechanic shop to get the reader taken apart lol
