Life in Korea

1. Currency and prices

▪The won (KRW, ₩) — a card/mobile-payment society more than cash

Korea is one of the countries with the highest share of card payments in the world, so you can get by without carrying much cash. From convenience stores, restaurants, and traditional markets to taxis, almost everywhere accepts credit and debit cards, and mobile easy-pay services such as Kakao Pay, Samsung Pay, and Naver Pay are widely used as well. Even small street stalls and snack shops often take cards or easy-pay, so foreigners adapt quickly. That said, to get a card or bank account in your own name in Korea, you first need an alien registration card. For that reason, it is convenient to keep a little cash on hand during your first days after arrival.

5,000–7,000 won

1 cafeteria meal

8,000–12,000 won

1 ordinary restaurant meal

300,000–700,000

Studio monthly rent

Around 1,300 won

USD 1 exchange rate (May 2026)

Korea's currency unit is the won (KRW, symbol ₩). In daily life people often drop the unit and say only the number (e.g., at a restaurant they call "8,000 won" just "eight thousand").

A sense of exchange rates — as of May 2026, USD 1 ≈ around 1,300 won, CNY 1 ≈ about 180 won, VND 1,000 ≈ about 50 won. Rates change a lot over time, so check again just before arrival.

Payment culture — a society that barely uses cash

Korea is one of the countries with the highest share of card payments in the world. From convenience stores, restaurants, and markets to taxis, almost everywhere accepts credit/debit cards and mobile payments like Kakao Pay, Samsung Pay, and Naver Pay. Cash-only shops are rare, seen only at some street stalls and traditional markets.

However, to get a Korean credit/debit card, foreigners usually need an alien registration card first (conditions vary by bank). In the early days it's common to carry both your home card and exchanged cash, then open a Korean account and card after registering as a foreigner.

A sense of living costs (as of May 2026)

Korean notes & coins — memorize by figure and color

A sense of your currency ↔ won (as of May 2026)

Exchange rates change daily. For exact values, check Seoul Money Brokerage (smbs.biz) or your home commercial bank's rate just before arrival. The numbers above are rough figures to give you a sense.

How much does an international student usually spend in the first month?

Comparison of 4 payment methods used in Korea

FAQ — currency & payments

2. Transit system

Dense public transit that takes you anywhere without a car

Korea has a very dense public-transit network, so you can reach almost anywhere without a car. Subways and buses connect not only the cities but also the areas around campuses, and over 90% of international students get by on the subway and bus alone. Services run frequently and route information is well signposted, so even if you don't know your way you can move around without much trouble. Best of all, paying is simple: with a single T-money card you can cover the subway, bus, and taxi, as well as purchases at convenience stores, all at once. Transfer discounts also apply, so switching from a bus to the subway adds far less to your fare.

Getting around the city — subway · bus · taxi

Taxi — Seoul base fare 4,800 won (1.6km). 20–40% late-night surcharge (22:00–04:00). Calling via Kakao T reduces language difficulty, and payment is handled automatically in the app.

Traveling between cities — KTX · SRT · bus · plane

New infrastructure — Seoul has the Ttareungi public bikes (from 1,000 won), Busan has "Tabanna," and Daejeon has "Tashu," similar services. You can rent them via the Kakao T app or a dedicated app.

3 transit apps every foreigner should know

Seoul subway line colors — lines foreigners ride often

Ahead of the 2002 Korea–Japan World Cup, the line colors were standardized to reduce confusion for foreign tourists. The design lets you find transfer stations by color alone, even without knowing Korean.

Inter-province travel — which mode suits you

Foreigner-only transit cards — Korea Tour Card · M-PASS

FAQ — transport

3. Food culture

"Rice + soup + side dishes" full table · chili-powder heat

Koreans' tables look quite different from the "Asian food" people often picture back home. The biggest feature is the han-sang structure, in which a single meal is set out with rice, soup, and several side dishes together. The heat, too, is built on chili powder and gochujang, so even spiciness has a different flavor from what you ate in your home country. Many restaurants also serve basic side dishes like kimchi and seasoned vegetables for free — and refill them endlessly — a custom that often surprises newly arrived foreigners. If you're not used to spicy food, you can ask for it to be made milder, and it's a good idea to start with gentler dishes and adjust gradually.

• Full table setting

  Rice, soup, kimchi, and 2–5 side dishes come out at once. You use a spoon and chopsticks together.

• Heat — chili-powder based

  Kimchi, tteokbokki, ramyeon, buldak. A different kind of heat from Vietnamese chili or Uzbek pepper. "Please make it not spicy" works well.

• Endless side-dish refills

  At most restaurants, kimchi and basic side dishes are free to refill. "Excuse me, more kimchi please" sounds natural.

• Group dinners & drinking culture

  Soju and beer are common, and workplaces/clubs hold group dinners often. Even if you don't drink, pressure to do so is declining.

Where students often eat

Group dinners & drinking culture

Korean universities, departments, clubs, and workplaces have a culture of "hoesik" (everyone gathering for dinner and drinks). Typical examples are the start-of-semester department dinner, club MT (membership training trips), and graduation after-parties. The culture of forcing alcohol has declined a lot compared to the past, but being urged to "have a glass" is still everyday at these gatherings.

If drinking is hard for you, or you can't for religious or health reasons, clearly saying "I can't drink alcohol" is respected by most people. Often they'll pour you a soft drink or cider instead.

Holiday and special-occasion foods

• Seollal (Lunar New Year, lunar Jan 1) — you eat tteokguk (rice-cake soup). There's a joke that eating a bowl makes you a year older
• Chuseok (lunar Aug 15) — you eat songpyeon (half-moon-shaped rice cakes). A holiday like Korea's Thanksgiving
• Birthdays — you eat seaweed soup (miyeokguk). It comes from mothers eating seaweed soup after giving birth

Food-culture questions foreigners often ask

8 staple foods Koreans eat often

These are foods every foreigner runs into at some point in Korea. We've marked the heat level and the per-meal price range, so if you're not strong with spicy food back home, check the heat level before choosing.

Korea's 5 levels of heat

The heat common back home (Vietnamese chili, Indian masala, Uzbek pepper) is a different kind from Korean heat (chili powder, gochujang). If you're at a lower level, say "Please make it not spicy" in advance at the restaurant.

Basic etiquette at Korean restaurants

How to find Muslim · vegetarian · halal food

Food-culture questions foreigners often ask

4. Education system

The school year starts in March · two semesters a year

The biggest difference to know before going on to a Korean university is that the semester starts in March. A Korean university year is divided into two semesters: the first begins in March and the second usually begins in September. Because this differs from most countries — Vietnam, China, the US — where the new school year starts in September, your entire admission and academic schedule revolves around this Korean-style calendar. As a result, the timing of your visa application, dorm move-in, and tuition payments all need to be prepared around the March start. There can be a gap between when you finish school in your home country and when you enter in Korea, so it's wise to check the schedule in advance.

A Korean university year (semester system)

4-year university vs. junior college — two paths

This site focuses on studying at a junior college (2–3 years). Junior colleges teach skills you use right away in the field — hotel, culinary, nursing, beauty, media, aviation, automotive, and more — with a strength in landing a job or earning a certification right at graduation.

Class-year · senior-junior · club culture

• Hakbeon (class year) — a hierarchy by entrance year. E.g., the 2026 entering class is called the "'26 class." Same class year = peers; those who entered earlier = seniors
• Senior-junior honorifics — use Korean honorifics with any senior, even one year above. Foreign students who know this culture adapt to their department faster
• Clubs & MT — gatherings of students with the same hobby or major. An MT (Membership Training) is a one-night bonding trip a department or club takes together at the start or end of a semester
• Festivals & sports days — school festivals are common in May and September, and departmental sports days in the fall

How you're graded

Korean university grades combine attendance + midterm + final + assignments + presentations + participation. It doesn't end with a single exam — you have to keep up steadily all semester.

What's especially decisive for foreign students is Korean ability. Lectures, textbooks, exams, and presentations are mostly in Korean, so having at least a TOPIK level 3–4 before enrolling is the safe bet (required levels vary by school).

Using your diploma back home — apostille / consular confirmation

To have your Korean junior-college diploma (associate degree) recognized as a qualification back home, you need an apostille or consular confirmation. The procedure differs by whether your country is in the Apostille Convention (partly applied for China, not yet joined for Vietnam, etc.), so check with your home country's education ministry or overseas mission in advance.

Korean academic calendar — at a glance by month

If you're used to a September start back home, Korea's March-start, August-break cycle feels unfamiliar. You have to align your visa issuance, dorm move-in, and flight booking with this flow.

The scale of junior colleges — the picture in numbers

7 categories of junior-college departments

Korea's standard higher-education classification usually uses 5 fields — humanities & social sciences, natural sciences, engineering, arts & athletics, and medicine — and these are sometimes split into 7 by separately highlighting health and nursing. How open each is to foreign students varies by department and school, so be sure to check the admission guidelines before applying.

Class-year · senior-junior · forms of address (in detail)

Clubs · MT — a great channel for foreigners to make friends

Education-system questions foreigners often ask