Before your trip to South Korea, it is important to be prepared and that includes downloading phone applications that can be helpful during your trip.
If you’re planning an exciting trip to South Korea, you must plan it thoroughly. If it’s your first time in this country, then you might have a hard time traveling especially if you don’t know anyone living in Korea or if you don’t speak Korean.
The good thing is, there are actually plenty of phone applications you can use while traveling around South Korea. These applications can offer help that ranges from transportation to tours and tickets to food and restaurants. So if you’re wondering what’s the best app to download before your trip, here’s a list that can be your guide.
Table of Contents
10 Phone Applications You Can Use While in South Korea
1. Naver Map
A traveler’s savior when in Korea. Although Google Maps can still be used, it doesn’t work well since the South Korean government requires that the map data should be stored in local servers for National Security purposes. Naver Map allows you to download the maps in advance for offline use which is a good thing to save your data. It also lets you download and save locations in Hangul (Korean alphabet) just in case you’re lost, you can show the address to a local.
2. Subway Korea
This is a must-download app when you’re in Korea. Subway Korea has a map of five major cities in Korea such as Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Daegu, and Gwangju. The good thing is that this map is in English so it’s really convenient for short time travelers. This app does not only gives you the subway routes but it also lets you see to-the-minute train schedules, and tells you the quickest route. It works offline.
3. Kakao Taxi
If, unfortunately, you can’t use the trains or busses or you’re really in a hurry during your trip. There’s no other way than to use a taxi. In that case, Kakao Taxi could be a big help. This app dispatches a cab within minutes of you setting your location and destination. It is cheap, fast, and convenient.
4. Kakao Talk
Kakao Talk is Korea’s number one messaging app. This app will allow you to communicate with other Kakao Talk users. You can text, call, send photos or videos. If you’ll be staying in South Korea for a short time, this isn’t really necessary. But it can be of big help to contact your host easily if you’ll be staying at an Airbnb.
5. Kakao Metro
Another useful map from Kakao. Kakao Metro lets you search the station and direct you to the best route, how many minutes it would take, and also show you a timetable of each station. The subway station includes locations in Seoul Metropolitan, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju and Daejeon. So if you’re having a hard time understanding the Seoul Subway, Kakao Metro is here to help you.
6. Papago
One of the very useful phone applications that you must download when you visit South Korea. Papago is a translator app by Naver Corporation. It has translations in Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Russian, etc. My Korean friend suggested this to me before and I started to personally use it since then. The translation is more accurate than any translator applications. It also features voice, image, and handwriting translation.
7. Visit Korea
Visit Korea was created by the Korea Tourism Organization to make the life of tourists easier and less hassle. It allows you to get a lot of information about Korea. The weather, exchange rates, and even recommended tour course routes. You can also find delicious foods, transportation, accommodations, awesome attractions, festivals, shopping centers, and more in this application. And since it is managed by an official organization of the South Korean government, it is proven to be more reliable than any other apps.
I think every traveler knows about Klook. This application is really helpful whether you’re going to South Korea or any other destination like China, Japan, Singapore, etc. Here, you can book discounted tickets and unique tours. And if you’re lucky enough you can even book popular attractions tickets that are on a great deal.
9. MangoPlate
Now it’s time to introduce an app that’s helpful for you when you get so hungry while wandering around the country. MangoPlate lets you discover the best Korean restaurants and foods. They have a database of more than 200,000 restaurants in South Korea that include reviews and ratings. The good thing is it’s also available in English.
10. Yogiyo
Of course, when you’re in South Korea it is also an amazing experience to try their food delivery services. As some of you may know, Korea is known to be the heaven of delivery foods. You can literally order almost any kind of food via phone call or application like this. In Yogiyo, you can order your favorite Korean dish while relaxing at your Airbnb, your hostel or just anywhere you are (yes, even when you’re outside).
Now those are the phone applications that we recommend for you to download before you go to South Korea. Those apps will surely make your trip hassle-free and more convenient. Have you been to Korea? Have you tried any of these apps? Or are you interested to use any of these? Which one do you think would be more helpful for you? Share with us your thoughts!
About the Writer
Hi there! I’m Fatima. My first major travel was in 2016 in the beautiful city of Cebu. After that, I got interested in traveling. Now I enjoy learning languages and other country’s cultures. My goal is to visit at least one country each year and to share my experiences with other people through writing or blogging. Witness my journey by following me on Instagram.
The original content (article & images) is owned by Fatima Turla. Visit the site here for other interesting stories.
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