South Korea Travel Information

The currency is the Won.

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)
To find out the locations of ATMs in South Korea , click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Business hours

Banks: from 9.30 to 16.30, Monday to Friday, from 9.30 to 13.30 on Saturdays.

Transportation

Road
The highway network is small but effective. The quality of the secondary network is poor because of the climatic conditions. The traffic is very dense and it is difficult to drive in big cities such as Seoul or Pusan (important traffic, no street names and building numbers...). There are two sorts of taxis: the cabs and the black taxis (can give you a receipt). The cabs may take another passenger during the ride, if he/she is going the same way. In case of an accident, any foreign person involved is often considered responsible. In case of a slight accident, it is not unusual to pay in cash and on the spot an estimation of what the repairs would cost.

Rail
The railroad network is old. Trains are slow but comfortable and ensure a good service with reliable connections between the main cities of the country.

Air
The aircrafts of Korean Air reported a series of incidents lately. Air France decided to suspend on May 18, 1999, and for one year, its agreements on sharing codes with this airline.

Internet

The Internet suffix is: .kr

Basic conversation guide

Yes = Ye
No = A-nim-ni-da
Thank you = Kam-sa-ham-ni-da
Hello = An-nyong Ha-se-yo
Goodbye= An-nyong-hi Ka-ship-sio
I do not understand = Chal Mo-ru-ge-sum-ni-da
What's the price? How much does it cost? = Igo-sun Ol-ma-im-ni-ka?
I would like to buy ...= rul (ul) Sa Go Sip-sum-ni-da.
Do you accept credit cards? = Shin-yong card-rul Pa-du-shim-ni-ka?
Where is...? =... O-die Isum-ni-ka
Airport = Kong-hang
The station = Ki-cha-yok
Post office = U-che-kuk
The bank = One - Heng
The police station, the police force = Kyung-chal-so
The pharmacy = Yak - kuk
One ticket to..., please. = ...ro-ka-nun Pyo Han-jang - Jang Chu-ship-sio
Would you have any vacancies for tonight? = Bin-bang Isum-ni-ka.

Languages spoken 

Official language: Korean. Commercial language: English. Korean is completely different from all other Asian languages. The Korean alphabet, called Hangul, was created about 540 years ago. It is a phonetic alphabet which can be learned rapidly. English is generally understood and spoken in business as well as in administrative fields. Highly educated people often speak other foreign languages.