Travel preparations

I started planning the trip in the Wanderlog app. The trip is scheduled for September 8-22, 2026, and my travel companion is a former colleague.

I booked accommodations through Booking: 4 nights in Seoul, 4 nights in Busan, then back to Seoul for 4 nights, and the last night before departure will be in Incheon.

The next step was purchasing KTX tickets, which I bought via the Korail+ app exactly 30 days before the trip. The tickets open at 7:00 AM Korean time, meaning I had to purchase them at midnight. Buying the Seoul-Busan ticket in the app took 18 minutes, as I first struggled a bit with the registration, and then entering my credit card information was a bit tricky because the system switched to its own numeric keyboard, which advanced by one after entering each number. This was somewhat cumbersome on a mobile device, but in the end, I managed to get the tickets for the fastest train. I purchased the Busan-Seoul ticket on my iPad, making it much easier and I finished in 8 minutes. Incidentally, I tried to open the website for the first time, but it just showed a white screen.

I bought some tickets in advance on Klook, which allowed me to get a few things at a better price.

In my case, the transportation card is clearly the T-money card, as from April they enabled foreign visitors with iPhones to use this card with their phones. To use it, you need to download the T-money app, and you can then add the virtual card to the Apple Wallet through it. The top-up is done via Apple Pay and the 10,000 KRW was deducted in dollars. Moreover, it immediately sets the card to express mode. For my travel companion (and I will have one too), I chose the NAMANE card. This card is somewhat more expensive than others, much more well-known, but it can easily be topped up from a mobile device, although there will be a small fee for this. Additionally, this card can be personalized. It is also good for purchasing. The amount initially goes into this paid pocket, from where it can be transferred to the transportation pocket.

After extensive research, I chose the Ubigi e-sim for internet access. I purchased the 15-day unlimited internet through the app and paid in euros. The e-sim can be activated in a matter of moments through the app, which will only start its actual operation once I turn on mobile data in South Korea.

Additionally, a few important mobile applications have also been added to my phone:

NAVER Maps, KakaoMap - for navigation

Papago - translation

K.ride - taxi services specifically for foreigners (KakaoTaxi)

Uber - transportation

KUANG - a stamp collecting application

KORE - shows public toilets