Tips for Travelling in Korea

Having travelled to Korea this March, I've noticed certain unusual things that was not that well mentioned when I was researching for the trip. Below are some of my guidelines, as well as reminder for my next trip there.

1. Avoid wearing white, or any light coloured clothing

This may sound strange, but for a not-so-cautious eater like me, this is extremely important. Korea's cuisine mainly revolves around Gochujang (Korean red pepper paste). Trust me on this tip, I've had it on my T-shirt, on my pants, or anywhere possible when it comes to contact with food. If you are travelling for quite a while and have no time to do your laundry, this is most likely going to stay on your clothes for quite a while. On an instance, I got Gochujang on my white blouse. I immediately wet a piece of tissue with hot water and dabbed on it as I couldn't find my wet wipes. Although there were still faint stains on it before I left the restaurants, it miraculously disappeared later the day. You could try this if you're stuck in the same situation as me.

90% of the restaurants you go will serve Kimchi and this is a killer as well.

2. Unless you're a runway model, avoid heels

Sounds like common sense, you'd think? Obviously, while travelling, heels is one thing that you should not wear at all costs, unless you want a massive ache on your legs at the end of the day. What I really want to bring across is the amount of steps (stairs) in Korea. They are EVERYWHERE. At the subway stations, around town, even for us when going back to our accommodation near Seoul Station. It was horrible. Wear comfortable shoes with good inner soles. Unless you are actually fit, don't even try.

Taken from google

3. Know some basic Korean

I thought Japan was hard enough to navigate, but Korea brought it to another level as I can't recognise the Korean characters. Korea is definitely not English friendly at all. Out of the many people we talked to, there were only perhaps 3 people that could speak perfect English. This was out of the hundreds of people whom we asked for directions. If you are mainly shopping for skincare, you don't have to worry as almost every shop speaks English or Chinese (for Singaporeans/Mainland Chinese). Other than that, you really need to know the basics such as "Yes" or "No", the numberings, and perhaps asking for discounts/directions. It will be helpful. I found this app on the app store "Learn Korean" to be quite useful, do check it out. Ah, not to mention that half the restaurants that you go will not have an English menu. Most will have pictures, but once we visited one with only a few pictures, NO English menu, ONLY in Korean.

The restaurant in Busan that we were at, with only a Korean menu. Luckily, the Ahjumma loved Singapore and patiently explained in her slight command of English to us the menu.

4. Plan your itinerary well

As a tourism student, I've got to say that Korea really does not embrace foreigners much. Why so? To begin with, Korea has two address system. There is the old and new address system as explained on this blog over here. I honestly have no idea how it is like still, and it confuses me a lot. Especially when showing the taxi drivers the address to our accommodation wasted a lot of time. Next, the signages on the streets are not very clear as well, perhaps indicating how far ahead in metres for the destination would be better. Most of the time, we relied on asking for directions which isn't really ideal if you're a shy person like me, or if you don't know the language. So, research well and make sure the exits of the subway station to your destination is correct and set aside ample time to get "lost".

5. Don't buy Skincare products from Myeongdong

This tip is for more for the girls. I've came across this tip only once while browsing the different blogs, but this is of utmost importance if you are in Korea mainly for the skincare products. I have my stand for this as well. 

First, the staff at Myeongdong couldn't care less. A few examples to note: Innisfree business was so good that, they didn't have to send any staff outside of the shop to lure them in with samples, unlike some other brands. When you're inside, there is no one to tend to you because they are busy serving those customers who will spend more than hundreds of thousands of won. Another point noted by my friend was that if you go in to a shop in a group, they will only give samples to the first person walking in. They refused to give my friend at the back samples although they went in to the shop as well and has an equal tendency to purchase their products. This happened with Nature Republic. If we were at another district, for instance, Namdaemun Market's Nature Republic, we would each have 1 sample when we walk in. Same company, different treatment. This could be due to that Myeongdong is already labelled as a district well known for skincare brands there and unknowing tourists only buy from there, hence they don't need to go the extra mile to make you stay.

Instead, I will be introducing to you which other districts to get your skincare products at a better service, with more samples. Probably will write up a more intensive guide on this, so do check out my blog soon or I will link it here when it's up.

The streets of Myeongdong

6. Get a Tax Refund

Purchases above 30,000 won in a shop with Tax Refund would usually give you at least 1,500 won return in cash. Upon purchase, you will have to inform the cashier that you want a tax refund, and they will issue you another receipt for you to fill in your particulars, alongside with an envelope to put the invoices in. Note that as you will probably be having many transactions, it will be better to fill in the particulars at the end of every day so you won't be overwhelmed at the airport (unless you arrive 5 hours earlier like we did). 

Upon arriving at the airport, follow the instructions on the envelope to proceed with your tax refund. Apparently we didn't go according to the steps but still got our refunds anyway. You should get the stamp of the authorities on your invoice, ensure that you inform the check in counter of your tax refund and finally get your refund in cash. One thing I really love about Incheon Airport was the tax refund machine. It literally dispenses cash once you have registered and completed the necessary procedures for your tax refund. Though it may not be much, but who doesn't want free cash?

That is all I have for now, I am hoping that these information are delivered to you while my mind is still fresh from the trip. The further I delay from penning down my thoughts, the more inaccurate my information will be. Hopefully this article has helped you to make your trip smoother.

Disclaimer: These are all my own views and are not in any way meant to defame or disregard anyone. I still really enjoyed Korea as a whole and would love to go back there.