Three practical things worth sorting before you fly: what to pack, how much Korean you actually need, and how the time difference will hit you.
What to pack
- Shoes you can walk all day in — and slip on and off easily, for temples, guesthouses and some restaurants.
- Layers for the season — summer is humid (breathable clothes, a compact umbrella); winter needs a proper coat, hat and gloves.
- A plug adapter — Korea uses 220V, 60Hz, with round two-pin Type C/F sockets (same as most of continental Europe). See the connectivity & plugs guide for the full breakdown.
- Any regular medication in its original packaging — some over-the-counter drugs elsewhere are restricted here.
The language barrier
Korean (한국어) is the only official language, and outside hotel staff and younger people in Seoul, day-to-day English fluency is limited. In practice, this matters far less than it sounds.
Subway systems, major roads, and tourist sites are signed in English (and often Chinese and Japanese too) as standard. Menus at most restaurants aimed at any foot traffic — not just tourist spots — increasingly have English or photos.
Apps do most of the work:
- Papago (Naver's translation app) handles Korean noticeably better than Google Translate, including photo translation of menus and signs.
- Naver Map or KakaoMap for directions — Google Maps' turn-by-turn transit directions are unreliable in Korea; these two aren't.
- Kakao T to call a taxi without needing to say your destination out loud.
A handful of phrases go a long way:
- Annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요) — hello
- Gamsahamnida (감사합니다) — thank you
- Juseyo (주세요) — please (give me) — added after pointing at a menu item works fine
- Hwajangsil-i eodiyeyo? (화장실이 어디예요?) — where's the bathroom?
If you get stuck, the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline connects you to an English-speaking operator who can translate for you over the phone with a taxi driver, shopkeeper, or pharmacy on the spot — genuinely useful in a pinch, not just a formality.
Timezone & jet lag
Korea runs on a single timezone nationwide: Korea Standard Time (KST), UTC+9. There's no daylight saving, so the offset from home doesn't shift with the seasons the way it might with parts of the US, UK or Australia.
Roughly, at a glance:
- US East Coast: Korea is 13–14 hours ahead (14 during US daylight saving, 13 during US standard time).
- US West Coast: Korea is 16–17 hours ahead.
- UK: Korea is 8–9 hours ahead (8 during UK daylight saving/summer, 9 during UK winter).
- Australia (Sydney/Melbourne): Korea is usually 1–2 hours behind, since Australian daylight saving shifts the gap — check the exact offset for your travel dates.
- Japan: same time as Korea — no adjustment needed at all.
Always double-check the live offset for your exact dates rather than relying on a fixed number — daylight saving elsewhere (Korea itself doesn't observe it) is what moves the gap around.
A few things that actually help with jet lag:
- Try to shift your sleep schedule a little in the days before you fly.
- On the flight, set your watch to Korean time immediately and sleep/eat on that schedule rather than your home one.
- Get outside in daylight on arrival — even a short walk — rather than heading straight for a dark hotel room and a nap.
- Give yourself an easy first day. Don't schedule an ambitious itinerary for day one; the second and third days are usually when you actually feel normal again.