There are plenty of travel apps to help you plan and make the most of your upcoming trip to Korea. Seoul is a massive city with many outstanding landmarks and countless activities scattered throughout the city, and you will need a bit of help navigating your way around! Here are the best Korea travel apps to plan your trip to Seoul and all across the land of the morning calm.

Recommended Phone SIM Card and Pocket Wifi for South Korea

To be able to use these Korea travel apps mentioned below, you’ll need access to data. For most travelers coming to Korea the easiest and most cost-effective option is to either get a travel SIM card or rent a pocket wifi device.

Click on the links below to help you find the best pocket wifi or sim card for your trip to South Korea:

• South Korea 4G Pocket WiFi (KR Airports Pick Up)
• Global eSIM (immediately usable via QR code) by Xplori

Best Apps to Get Around in Seoul and other Cities

While Google Maps is a great navigation app in most countries, it does not work great in South Korea. This is because local laws prohibit the storage of topographical data on foreign-based servers. That’s why it’s best to rely on local map apps like Naver Map or KakaoMap. Both of them are also available in English and are one of the most useful Korea travel apps. 

Naver Map App

Android – iOS

This is the navigation app that I use most frequently. You can save places you want to visit later and it also works great for driving.

KakaoMap App

Android – iOS

Kakao Maps is the most popular map app in Korea. It shows all available routes and schedules for public transportation and it’s easy to share routes and places with the Kakaotalk messaging app.

Subway Korea App

Android – iOS

If you’re looking for a For a subway-specific app, I recommend Subway Korea. It works in 5 large cities in Korea: Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Gwangju and Daegu.

Seoul Subway App

Android – iOS

If you only travel to Seoul, you can use the Seoul Subway app to navigate the different subway lines in the city.

KakaoBus App

Android – iOS

KakaoBus is an app to check city buses across Korea if you don’t want or can’t use the subway.

Kakao T App

Android – iOS

Kakao T is great for calling taxis. This app finds available taxis in your vicinity and leads them straight to you. You can also pay directly via the app when you enter your payment information. It’s sort of like Korea’s Uber.

Korail App

Android – iOS

For traveling between cities by train, check out the Korail app. You can look up train schedules and book tickets. The only downside is you cannot book your seats if you have a Korail Pass.

To book train tickets in Korea, I can also recommend using the website Rail.Ninja.

The Best Translation App for South Korea

Even though English is a mandatory language in schools in Korea and many Koreans attend English language schools (hence the many English teaching jobs in South Korea), many people do not speak English fluently.

The best translation app to use when traveling in Korea is Papago.  Papago is a multilingual machine translation service provided by Naver. Unlike many other translators, Papago uses a neural machine translation to learn from its mistakes and improve itself. 

The best feature of the Papago app is its image recognition. This means you can take a photo of a Korean restaurant menu or street sign and it will translate it into your desired language.

If you’d like to read some more about Korean, here are 20 helpful Korean travel phrases to know!

Apps To Help You Find Out What To do in Seoul and Korea

There are several handy apps to find activities, tours, and fun places to explore in Seoul and around Korea. My favorites are listed below:

Klook App

Android – iOS

I love the Klook app! It’s a super convenient way to book tours and other experiences for your South Korea trip! The app also works as your ticket, providing scannable QR codes for your experiences. Have a look at Linda Goes East’s recommended Korea tours and experiences on Klook here.

Trazy App

Android – iOS

In a nutshell, Trazy is like Groupon for Asia. Similar to Klook, you can book tours and schedule activities in different cities around Korea and other parts of Asia. I recommend checking out both Klook and Trazy as they offer slightly different experiences.

Visit Korea App

Android – iOS

This app was developed by the Korea Tourism Organisation and provides reliable travel information for South Korea. You can find details for individual attractions, search for accommodations, festivals, and even restaurants.

I Tour Seoul App

Android – iOS

This is Seoul Metropolitan Government’s official travel app. It’s great to make the most out of your trip to Seoul. Find popular tourist attractions, authentic restaurants, and the best hotels.

Other Useful Apps for Your Trip to Korea

We’ve covered navigation and public transportation apps, talked about translation apps and useful apps to find things to do in Korea. Now let’s have a look at some “nice-to-have” apps that can prove to be very helpful when traveling in Korea.

IQAir AirVisual

Android – iOS

South Korea, and Seoul in particular, is infamous for having subpar air-quality days. For the locals, checking the air quality is as normal as checking the weather in the morning. This app will show you how bad the air quality is and if you should wear a mask to escape the fine dust.

Emergency Ready App

Android – iOS

The Ministry of Public Safety and Security launched this app to inform foreign residents in Korea about various natural disasters. The government automatically sends alerts for earthquakes, blizzards, missing persons, and smartphones in Korea. This app translates these alerts to allow non-Korean speakers to be able to receive the messages as well.

XE Currency App

Android – iOS

The currency used in South Korea is called the Korean Won. Download the XE Currency app to help you convert prices into your home currency to better understand the price of things.

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