Maps, taxis, food, transit, payment and help.
Since 4 June 2026, foreigners with a passport issued outside Korea can verify their identity in Naver with the passport, using only a smartphone and no Korean phone number. That opens Naver Map reservations, orders and payments.
Naver says it will expand the services covered step by step.
Naver's translator covers 14 languages and takes text, image and voice input, so you can photograph a menu or a sign.
A taxi app for international visitors. You don't need a KakaoTalk account, and you can register a credit card from overseas or use Alipay+. It comes in English, Japanese and Chinese.
VisitKorea also lists TADA (sign up with an international mobile number, pay by credit card), TABA (sign up with a mobile number or a Google or Apple ID) and MOVV (book with a credit card).
Since 17 March 2026, 440 ticket machines at 273 stations on Seoul Subway Lines 1–8 accept Visa and Mastercard cards issued overseas for fares. The Mobile Tmoney app supports international Mastercard, American Express and UnionPay cards. WOWPASS, a prepaid card for foreigners, works on buses and subways once its Tmoney balance is topped up separately.
Seoul's Climate Card can only be bought and charged with cash or a Korean-issued card. The 30-day pass ended on 1 October 2026; 1- to 7-day passes are still sold.
Without signing up, you can order food after verifying an overseas phone number by text message. Baemin supports overseas payment methods and offers English, Chinese and Japanese.
Baemin and the Seoul Metropolitan Government signed a partnership on food delivery for foreign tourists (announced 5 August 2026).
Korea's standard QR codes, based on Zeropay, connect to 17 overseas mobile payment services such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, so you can pay with the app you use at home.
Look for the standard QR code at the counter. This comes from a November 2024 government announcement.
Foreigners staying in Korea for less than 6 months can get the tax refunded at the till in Tax Free shops. Each transaction must be at least ₩15,000 and under ₩1,000,000, and the total must be ₩5,000,000 or less.
Purchased goods must leave Korea within 3 months.
Call 1330 in Korea or +82-2-1330 from abroad. Seoul City lists the hotline as available 24/7.
Languages: Korean, English, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Vietnamese, Thai, Malay and Indonesian. Hours may differ by language.
The government's safety app gives real-time emergency alerts, safety guidelines, embassy contacts and evacuation shelter locations. Alerts come in English, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai.
In an emergency, call 112 for police and 119 for fire and ambulance.