Almost every successful person begins with two beliefs: the future can be better than the present, and I have the power to make it so. – Anonymous

As the peak season of travel for South Korea and much of the world approaches in the Spring and Summer months, I wanted to share several pieces of advice for those seeking to visit the country of my birth, South Korea! I know that several of the apps listed below are not specific only to South Korea or travel, but these can be utilized with specific tips that many first-time and even seasoned international travelers often forget, so think of this as maybe a friendly reminder or refresher before traveling abroad.
I will explain as to why these can not only be necessary, but how they can be used effectively, especially in regards to Korean Adoptees #KADS that might be coming to Korea for the first time. Also, you would be surprised at how many people will delete important apps from their devices to make more storage space for photos and later realize that was a huge mistake! As a budget traveler I've learned that in order to gain more free cloud storage is to have multiple Gmail accounts, Drop Boxes, backup photos to social media, etc foregoing the need to pay for more cloud storage.
Let's begin, shall we...
KAKAO TALK: This is the MOST important app for South Korea because people do not use traditional text messaging through their mobile/cell phone service providers. Everyone from young people to the elderly use Kakao just as other countries may use WhatsApp, Line, WeChat, etc. in Korea Kakao is KING! This also uses far less bandwidth than FB Messenger so you can actually keep text messaging conversations going while riding the subway unlike FB Messenger or Skype. You are able to still do all the normal functions such as send photos and videos, make both voice and video calls on to other users, and more. The reason you MUST download this prior to arriving in Korea is because you will need the SMS verification code to activate your Kakao account. Yes, for tech savvy individuals such as myself I can get around this small quark, but too many others arrive short or long-term and realize why they aren't getting invited to things, because EVERYONE uses Kakao. On a side note I've learned to download ALL types of communication apps because you never know when you'll meet a new friend from China, Australia, South America, etc and I want to keep in touch with others around the world when I can. You can also download this app to your PC or Mac!
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This is another app that EVERYONE in Korea uses, whether they have grown up in Seoul their entire life or not. I use this daily and love the fact that it can be used both online and offline. Besides being available in both English and Korean, most subway stations will provide you with both the English subway station and the Korean name without the need to change the language settings. One example is that for Hongik University Station it is pronounced and referred to as Hongdae (홍대) which I know confuses many people, including myself when I first arrived because I wanted to ensure that I was arriving at the correct station.
The other reason this app is so important is because the subway in Seoul, like many other cities throughout Asia, it does not operate 24/7 and on weekends the subway actually reduces the normal commuting routes and therefore on Fridays or Saturdays people are often always concerned about when LAST TRAIN is and this app will provide not only that information, but it also will provide you accurate information of the depart and arrival times as well as how many transfer stations and/or fastest route and many other features that can save you time and make your visit to Seoul a much more pleasant experience. |
Yes, there are NUMEROUS free apps that allow for VOIP (Voice of IP) and for international readers you will need to find an app that may allow you to have a constant local phone number from your home country to use while abroad. I have numerous ones that allow me to have several U.S. dedicated numbers for texting and calling. This is valuable because if you ever download something or need to make a call back to your home country to a landline for example you can do so by taking just a little bit of time to research which free or paid VOIP app may best meet your needs.
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While living in Korea on and off, where all of my clients insist we use English to communicate (no surprise lol) I've found that learning Korean takes time of course and by comparing other translation apps such as Google translate to this Naver app, Koreans agree that this is much more accurate than Google Translator, however, I know that this app may not be the most easy to navigate for the technologically inept, but if you take the time to download this app and try it out, this can be an enormous difference in asking directions or ordering beef instead of steamed larvae!
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Whether you are a world traveler or not. Someone that understands currencies well or not. I still find any free currency exchange app to be helpful not only for accurate rates but also to see how that currency has been producing or losing value.
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I know it's been a while since I've been back to the States, but I believe you need to download Skype through a verification system and therefore again leave this app on your smart phone or mobile device, since most people know how to use Skype.
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