[Korea Life / Korea Trip Tips] Best Apps to Make Life in Korea Easy

I have always meant to do this post, but have just never gotten around to doing it.
Since I am now planning my own trip back to the motherland, I realized I needed to download all my Korean daily use apps again.


This is my list. It's not exhaustive, obviously, but just ones I found useful. If you have other apps you want to recommend, leave a comment below!

Also, if you would like a tutorial about how to create a TicketMonster TiMon or Coupang account, please let me know. I'd be happy to prepare one for you!

Travel tips:
Buy your SIM card: Prepaid 4G/LTE Sim Card: Unlimited Data+Voice call+SMS (5/7/10/15/30 days)
Get a great view of Seoul: Discount Seoul City Tour Bus Ticket
Great Korean (traditional and modern) culture and cooking classes
Book a food and shopping tour.

If you are going to be in Korea for a slightly extended amount of time, you probably have to download KakaoTalk, Korea's chatting app of choice. (Click here to see posts about Kakao Friends)

KakaoTalk: iOS Android

1. Maps!

Google Maps works, but it does have its limitations in Korea.

Luckily, because of the 2018 Olympics, many of the Korean map apps have been made more English-friendly.

Which one you use depends on your own personal preference. I usually use Naver, but that's because I like the Naver interface better and have a Naver cafe account, etc.

NAVER Map: iOS Android

Kakao Map (formerly Daum Map): iOS Android

2. Transportation!

Uber is available, but it's very expensive compared to the Korean alternative, KakaoTaxi.

Kakao T (Kakao Taxi, Driver, Parking, Navi): iOS Android

* If you are going to drive when you're in Korea, Korea has this service called 대리운전, which is basically a service where you pay someone to drive your car for you if you've been out late drinking. So, Kakao Driver is that same service.

** You must have an activated Kakao account to use Kakao Taxi.

Kakao Metro: iOS Android

Kakao Bus: iOS Android

Subway Korea: iOS Android

*This app works offline and is available in English

3. Food!

MangoPlate: iOS Android

*This is like Yelp for Korea.

KakaoPlace: iOS Android

4. Shopping!

Coupang: iOS Android

TicketMonster: iOS Android

Interpark: iOS Android
G9: iOS Android

11St: iOS Android

Gmarket English: iOS Android

5. Language!
Google Translate: iOS Android
*Obviously, use some common sense and mental editing with Translation apps

Naver Dictionary: iOS Android
Daum also has a Dictionary, but I don't like the UI as much as Naver: iOS Android

Memrise: iOS Android
*My friend recommends this app to learn the basics of Korean. I haven't personally used it fully, but I did do a couple of levels and it seems useful so far.

Korean Dictionary: iOS Android
*This app is available offline.

6. Misc.

KakaoCheez: iOS Android

*This is how your Korean friends get cute Kakao filters for their photos.

Travel tips:

1. Buy your SIM card: Prepaid 4G/LTE Sim Card: Unlimited Data+Voice call+SMS (5/7/10/15/30 days)
2. Get a great view of Seoul: Discount Seoul City Tour Bus Ticket
3. Great Korean (traditional and modern) culture and cooking classes
4. Book a food and shopping tour.

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*FTC Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links which means, at no additional cost to you, I may earn a commission if you click through the links provided and make a purchase.*