Foreign nationals entering the Republic of Korea are generally required to have a valid passport and a Korean visa. However, many are permitted visa-free entry for a limited time under certain conditions.
Korea's official monetary unit is the won.
The Korean currency consists of a ten thousand, fifty thousand, and one thousand, five thousand won note, and five hundred, one
hundred, fifty and ten won coins.
• Denomination Bills
• Denomination Coins
When you need to exchange your foreign currency into Korean won, visit a bank, exchange service center, or an authorized exchange.
Koreans officially follow the Gregorian calendar, even though there are a few holidays that are based on the lunar calendar. During the
official holidays, offices and banks are closed but palaces, museums, most restaurants, department stores, and amusement facilities are
open.
Seollal and Chuseok are the most important traditional holidays for Koreans, so millions of people visit their hometowns to celebrate
with their families during these times. On Seollal, Koreans hold a memorial service for their ancestors and perform sebae, a formal bow
of respect to their elders as a New Year's greeting.
• 2019 Official Korean Holidays
The standard voltage in Korea is 220 volts.
The outlet has two round holes and is same type as that of which are used in France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Turkey, and many other
countries. If you do not have a travel adapter, you can borrow one from your hotel's front desk. If you want to buy one in Korea, you can
do so at a duty-free shop, convenience shop at Incheon International Airport
At the Emergency Medical Information Center, trained medical personnel (doctors, nurses and paramedics) are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in 12 locations nationwide. Upon receiving an emergency call, a medical staff member gives basic first aid instructions over the phone or calls an ambulance to transport patients to a medical center for further emergency measures
• Information Service International Call 00794International service '00794' is a telephone operator service that provides any information related to making international calls including foreign subscription number, national codes, area codes, etc
• International Call Service 00799International call service '00799' is a telephone operator service used to make international calls from Korea. The Service features station -to-station calls (forwarding the receiver's number to the operator for direct connection), collect or reverse charge calls (charging the receiver for the international call) and interpretation calls (having interpretation during the international call).
• Tourist Complaint Center 02-735-0101Tourist Complaint Center strives to resolve complaints from tourists in Korea as well as to improve tourism services by informing and providing consultation to relevant agencies. Complaints and inquiries can be filed via email or fax
Countries & Regions Granted Visa-Free Entry under Principles of Reciprocity and National Interest
Country (Period) |
Africa & Middle East | - Bahrain (30 days) - Egypt (30 days) - Kuwait (30 days) - Lebanon (Diplomatic/Official: 30 days) - Mauritius (30 days) - Oman (30 days) - Qatar (30 days) - Republic of South Africa (30 days) - Saudi Arabia (30 days) - Seychelles (30 days) - Swaziland (30 days) - United Arab Emirates (30 days) - Yemen (30 days) |
---|---|---|
Americas | - Argentina (30 days) - Canada (6 months) - Ecuador (30 days) - Guyana (30 days) - Honduras (30 days) - Paraguay (30 days) - United States (90 days) - Uruguay (30 days) | |
Asia & Oceania | - Australia (90 days) - Brunei (30 days) - Fiji (30 days) - Guam (30 days) - Hong Kong (90 days) - Indonesia (Diplomatic/Official: 14 days) - Japan (90 days) - Kiribati (30 days) - Macao (90 days) - Marshall Islands (30 days) - Micronesia (30 days) - Nauru (30 days) - New Caledonia (30 days) - Palau (30 days) - Samoa (30 days) - Solomon Islands (30 days) - Taiwan (30 days) - Tonga (30 days) - Tuvalu (30 days) | |
Europe | - Albania (30 days) - Andorra (30 days) - Bosnia-Herzegovina (30 days) - Croatia (30 days) - Cyprus (30 days) - Italy (60/90 days)** - Monaco (30 days) - Montenegro (30 days) - San Marino (30 days) - Serbia (30 days) - Slovenia (90 days) - Vatican (30 days) |
'» Visa period applies to diplomatic, government official, and ordinary passport holders, unless otherwise specified.
** Italy: 60 days under Visa Exemption Agreement / 90 days under Reciprocity Principles (Effective June 15, 2003)
Countries under Visa Exemption Agreement: Diplomatic/Government Official/Ordinary Passport Holders
Country (Period) |
Africa & Middle East | - Algeria (90 days) - Benin (90 days) - Egypt (90 days) - Iran (3 months) |
---|---|---|
Americas | - Argentina (90 days) - Belize (90 days) - Bolivia (90 days) - Ecuador (Diplomatic: Unlimited, Official: 90 days) - Paraguay (90 days) - Uruguay (90 days) | |
Asia & Oceania | - Azerbaijan (30 days) - Bangladesh (90 days) - Cambodia (60 days) - India (90 days) - Japan (3 months) - Kazakhstan (90 days) - Kyrgyzstan (30 days) - Laos (90 days) - Mongolia (30 days) - Myanmar (90 days) - Pakistan (3 months) - Philippines (Unlimited) - Vietnam (90 days) | |
Europe | - Belarus (90 days) - Croatia (30 days) - Cyprus (90 days) - Russia (90 days) |
'» Visa period applies to both diplomatic and government official passport holders, unless otherwise specified.
* Generally, 3 months = 90 days & 6 months = 180 days
Countries under Visa Exemption Agreement: Diplomatic/Government Official/Ordinary Passport Holders
Country (Period) |
Africa & Middle East | - Israel (90 days) - Lesotho (60 days) - Liberia (90 days) - Morocco (90 days) - Tunisia (30 days) |
---|---|---|
Americas | - Antigua and Barbuda (90 days) - Bahamas (90 days) - Barbados (90 days) - Brazil (90 days) - Chile (90 days) - Colombia (90 days) - Commonwealth of Dominica (90 days) - Costa Rica (90 days) - Dominican Republic (90 days) - El Salvador (90 days) - Grenada (90 days) - Guatemala (90 days) - Haiti (90 days) - Jamaica (90 days) - Mexico (90 days) - Nicaragua (90 days) - Panama (90 days) - Peru (90 days) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (90 days) - Saint Lucia (90 days) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (90 days) - Saint Lucia (90 days) - Suriname (90 days) - Trinidad and Tobago (90 days) - Venezuela (Diplomatic/Official: 30 days, Ordinary: 90 days) | |
Asia & Oceania | - Malaysia (90 days) - New Zealand (90 days) - Singapore (90 days) - Thailand (90 days) | |
Europe | - Austria (Diplomatic/Official: 180 days, Ordinary: 90 days) - Belgium (90 days) - Bulgaria (90 days) - Czech Republic (90 days) - Denmark (90 days) - Estonia (90 days) - Finland (90 days) - France (90 days) - Germany (90 days) - Greece (90 days) - Hungary (90 days) - Iceland (90 days) - Ireland (90 days) - Italy (60/90 days) - Latvia (90 days) - Liechtenstein (90 days) - Lithuania (90 days) - Luxembourg (90 days) - Malta (90 days) - Netherlands (90 days) - Norway (90 days) - Poland (90 days) - Portugal (60 days) - Romania (90 days) - Slovakia (90 days) - Spain (90 days) - Sweden (90 days) - Switzerland (90 days) - Turkey (90 days) - United Kingdom (90 days) |
'» Visa period applies to diplomatic, government official, and ordinary passport holders, unless otherwise specified.
** Italy: 60 days under Visa Exemption Agreement / 90 days under Reciprocity Principles (Effective June 15, 2003)
Countries under Visa Exemption Agreement: Diplomatic/Government Official/Ordinary Passport Holders
Country (Period) |
Asia & Oceania | - Turkmenistan (30 days) - Uzbekistan (60 days) |
---|---|---|
Europe | - Ukarine (90 days) |
'» Visa period applies to diplomatic passport holders, unless otherwise specified.
Countries under Visa Exemption Agreement: Diplomatic/Government Official/Ordinary Passport Holders
Country (Period) |
Africa & Middle East | - Algeria (90 days) - Benin (90 days) - Egypt (90 days) - Iran (3 months) |
---|---|---|
Americas | - Argentina (90 days) - Belize (90 days) - Bolivia (90 days) - Ecuador (Diplomatic: Unlimited, Official: 90 days) - Paraguay (90 days) - Uruguay (90 days) | |
Asia & Oceania | - Azerbaijan (30 days) - Bangladesh (90 days) - Cambodia (60 days) - India (90 days) - Japan (3 months) - Kazakhstan (90 days) - Kyrgyzstan (30 days) - Laos (90 days) - Mongolia (30 days) - Myanmar (90 days) - Pakistan (3 months) - Philippines (Unlimited) - Vietnam (90 days) | |
Europe | - Belarus (90 days) - Croatia (30 days) - Cyprus (90 days) - Russia (90 days) |
'» Visa period applies to both diplomatic and government official passport holders, unless otherwise specified.
* Generally, 3 months = 90 days & 6 months = 180 days
Countries under Visa Exemption Agreement: Diplomatic/Government Official/Ordinary Passport Holders
Country (Period) |
Africa & Middle East | - Israel (90 days) - Lesotho (60 days) - Liberia (90 days) - Morocco (90 days) - Tunisia (30 days) |
---|---|---|
Americas | - Antigua and Barbuda (90 days) - Bahamas (90 days) - Barbados (90 days) - Brazil (90 days) - Chile (90 days) - Colombia (90 days) - Commonwealth of Dominica (90 days) - Costa Rica (90 days) - Dominican Republic (90 days) - El Salvador (90 days) - Grenada (90 days) - Guatemala (90 days) - Haiti (90 days) - Jamaica (90 days) - Mexico (90 days) - Nicaragua (90 days) - Panama (90 days) - Peru (90 days) - Saint Kitts and Nevis (90 days) - Saint Lucia (90 days) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (90 days) - Saint Lucia (90 days) - Suriname (90 days) - Trinidad and Tobago (90 days) - Venezuela (Diplomatic/Official: 30 days, Ordinary: 90 days) | |
Asia & Oceania | - Malaysia (90 days) - New Zealand (90 days) - Singapore (90 days) - Thailand (90 days) | |
Europe | - Austria (Diplomatic/Official: 180 days, Ordinary: 90 days) - Belgium (90 days) - Bulgaria (90 days) - Czech Republic (90 days) - Denmark (90 days) - Estonia (90 days) - Finland (90 days) - France (90 days) - Germany (90 days) - Greece (90 days) - Hungary (90 days) - Iceland (90 days) - Ireland (90 days) - Italy (60/90 days) - Latvia (90 days) - Liechtenstein (90 days) - Lithuania (90 days) - Luxembourg (90 days) - Malta (90 days) - Netherlands (90 days) - Norway (90 days) - Poland (90 days) - Portugal (60 days) - Romania (90 days) - Slovakia (90 days) - Spain (90 days) - Sweden (90 days) - Switzerland (90 days) - Turkey (90 days) - United Kingdom (90 days) |
'» Visa period applies to diplomatic, government official, and ordinary passport holders, unless otherwise specified.
** Italy: 60 days under Visa Exemption Agreement / 90 days under Reciprocity Principles (Effective June 15, 2003)