12 things you must do / book before you fly to Korea

Planning a South Korea trip? Lucky you – whilst it is good to be spontaneous sometimes, there are certain requirements to consider before you arrive.

Plus there are several popular South Korean activities (including Busan Blueline Sky Capsules) that always sell out and which are advisable to book in advance so you don’t have to worry.

From forms to fill out before you leave home to tours and treatments, here are 12 things you need to consider / book before you arrive in South Korea.

PS You might also like our South Korea packing list suggestions >

South Korea checklist

We love using agoda.com, expedia.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels, and Hostelworld for booking hostels.

For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, Trazy or Klook.

For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >

Find safe storage spaces across South Korea with Bounce (and get 5% discount).

Check out our South Korea travel booking resources >

All set for South Korea? Do one final check with our Seoul first timers guide and our South Korea packing list

Here is our step by step guide on how to complete the Korean online arrival card >

As of 24 February 2025, Korea introduced the e-Arrival card, allowing visitors to submit their entry information online in advance.

This is instead of the current paper arrival form system, which is being phased out. You can submit the e-Arrival card upto 72 hours / 3 days before you arrive.

The link to the official Korea e-Arrival card can be found here >

K-ETA applications require your passport details and can take up to 72 hours to process.

The official K-ETA website for applications can be found here – be wary of unofficial / third party K-ETA websites that charge much higher fees than the original 10,000 Won.

The Korean Q-Code health declaration still needs to be completed by citizens of over 20 countries as of July 2026 including selected USA States – and also if you have done a stopover in one of those countries.

Managed by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), “Q-CODE” is a quarantine pre-entry screening system that has to be completed by foreign travellers to South Korea who are coming from certain countries.

From an updated list of the countries that require Q-Codes in Korea still in 2026 to how to complete the Korean health and quarantine form, here is our Korean Q-Code guide – last updated summer 2026 to reflect the latest changes.

If required to do so, you can complete your South Korean up to 7 days before your scheduled arrival via the official KDCA Q-Code website here >

Healthcare in South Korea is generally cheaper than Western countries like the USA, as are private healthcare check-ups – however, in extreme emergencies, the cost of repatriation and specialist treatment can be huge so travel insurance is a must buy before you travel.

It will also cover you if you have flight interruptions, lose baggage, have items stolen (unlikely in South Korea) and want coverage for sports and extreme activities.

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You might like – Our 7 day South Korea itinerary >

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4. Korean eSIMs and SIM Cards

Make sure you get the right South Korean SIM or eSIM for your travels – they are surprisingly inexpensive but prices can vary greatly (particularly eSIMs).

You can easily reserve your SIM card in advance before you travel and collect at the airport, or you can download an eSIM before you travel so you can switch on data as soon as you land in Seoul.

Alternatively you can always consider a portable Wi-Fi router / egg should several of you want to share.

There are lots of eSIM brands and suppliers that have packages compatible in South Korea – the ones mentioned most frequently in our South Korea Facebook group are Airalo, Ubigi, Saily and MobiMatter. You can check out our guide to buying the right eSIM or SIM card for South Korea >

5. Transit Tours (only applicable for transit passengers)

If you have a layover at Seoul Incheon Airport, take advantage of the free Seoul tour (half day) available to transit and transfer passengers.

There are several half day transit tours from Incheon Seoul Airport departing from 9am until 3pm – the 9am morning tours last 5 hours, whilst the afternoon departure tours at 3pm last 3 hours.

There are four tours to choose from (departing from T1 and T2) including Royal Palaces and the DMZ (Odusan Unification Observatory /  Imjingak) but places are very limited. Check out this official Incheon Airport transit tours link or email transferinfodesk@gmail.com.

Alternatively if you have a few hours in Seoul you could choose to stay at one of these Incheon Airport hotels including Capsule Hotel ‘Darakhyu’ Terminal 1 or in Terminal 2.

6. Hotels

As regular travelers to South Korea who spend long periods of time there, we stay in a lot of different hotels, reviewing them for this website and our Facebook group.

We would recommend booking hotels well in advance to secure the best rates, especially in Seoul and Busan – last minute rates in those cities tend to be high.

We monitor Seoul hotel rates quite closely prior to our trip and rooms can double, triple or either quadruple last minute compared to the rates we lock in early.

Some South Korea hotel booking tips:

• Peak season in Korea is generally classed as the summer months but you’ll also find room rates are likely higher in the winter because of Christmas in Seoul, public holidays and cherry blossom season (usually in April).
• We find agoda.com and booking.com have the best room rates for South Korea / Myeongdong hotels. Use the Agoda code TAIWANDERERS for a discount.
• Online rates for South Korea hotels are generally better than booking in person.
• Consider making use of the ‘cancellable’ / fully refundable room options that some hotel booking sites have like Agoda.

Check out South Korea hotels hub with accommodation recommendations for all budgets, including Myeongdong, Gangnam and Incheon Airport.

7. KTX / Korail Tickets

South Korea has one of the best transport infrastructures in the world and it is easy to navigate  – you don’t always need to book train tickets in advance but we have found that if you leave it too late, the more popular times and routes may have sold out – this is especially true of weekends.

South Korea has two BIG public holidays where you really do need to plan in advance or limit travel – Chuseok in September and Seollal / Lunar New Year (in January or February).

Trains and buses are nigh on impossible to book during these periods as local citizens get priority over foreigners for Chuseok Korail / KTX tickets. So consider booking internal flights in advance or not travelling during these periods.

KTX / Korail train tickets can generally be booked in advance from 30 days before the date of travel.

If you are planning to travel outside of Seoul, make sure you take advantage of the Korail Pass which offers unlimited access to all South Korean trains, including the high-speed KTX.

You can buy a Korail unlimited train pass for 3 or 5 consecutive days, or 2 or 4 flexible days within a 10-day travel period. Find out more about the Korail pass here >

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You might like – best things to do in Seoul including going to a baseball game

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South Korea Activities to book in advance

8. DMZ Tour (Seoul)

One of the most common day trips from Seoul, a DMZ tour is a must visit when in South Korea (The Korean Demilitarized Zone) – as it is a heavily controlled area, all tourist visits to the DMZ must be accompanied with a professional tour guide either as a group or private tour.

The DMZ is the heavily controlled border separating North Korea and South Korea. DMZ tours from Seoul have various border elements you can visit including the tunnels, Freedom Bridge and the Dora Observatory where you can peer into North Korea using powerful binoculars.

We’d recommend you book DMZ tours at least a few days in advance as they usually sell out, especially on Sundays and Tuesdays as most tours don’t operate on Mondays so those days get busy – if you are going in peak season, you might want to book a few weeks in advance.

Please note most DMZ tours close their booking slots 2 to 3 days before the day itself due to security checks. This is not something you can book the day before.

Book your DMZ tour with Klook >

DMZ tours with Viator >

Read our full guide to the DMZ including all the different types of tours >

9. Haeundae Blue line Park

You might get a sense of deja-vu when you first see the Haeundae Blue Line Park – the multicolored Sky Capsules (monorail) that travel along the coast with incredible sea views are very popular on social media.

As with the DMZ, the topic of trying to secure Sky Capsule tickets before they sell out is a common one in our Facebook group. Sky Capsule ticket sales usually open 4 weeks in advance every Tuesday at 7am (Korean time).

The journey takes place between Mipo Station and Cheongsapo Station, taking about 30 minutes, and gives stunning views of East Busan’s coastline.

We last rode the Haeundae Blueline sky capsules in April 2026 – here is our Busan sky capsules guide (including tips on how to ride it if you don’t have a reservation).

Get your Blueline tickets in advance with Klook >

10. Book your hanbok photography

Seoul is a rich mix of old and new – and there is no better way to capture this than a Seoul hanbok photography session at an ancient palace or hidden alley with a local photographer.

Good hanbok photographers book out well in advance – we’ve teamed up with one of the most recommended Seoul photographers Nilo to offer you 10% off when you use our exclusive promo code “HALLYU” – read our guide to hanbok photography here using Nilo’s hanbok photography >

Or check out these hanbok rental and photography experiences – use our discount code CKTRAVELS to get up to 10% off (selected countries only).

Hiring a private guide gives you a wealth of local knowledge, authentic recommendations and with the best guides, you can work and agree a personalized itinerary based on your own Seoul and South Korea highlights.

If you are short on time and don’t mind paying a little extra, it is much better to hire a private guide especially if there are several of you in the group – often, if there are more than four of you, it is possibly cheaper to hire your own guide than do a group tour.

Seoul private 4 hour tour with a Korean buddy (over 1,000 booked via Klook) >

The best private tours with Get Your Guide >

Top Seoul private sightseeing tours with Viator >

There are many advantages of booking a K-beauty session in advance through providers like Klook, Get Your Guide or Trazy like knowing your treatment is guaranteed (with instant confirmation in many cases), checking the reviews and being able to use international debit /credit cards.

So from colour analysis to booking apps, skin tests to scalp treatments, here is our guide to the best Seoul  / South Korean K-Beauty treatments and Korean beauty experiences >

Please note some of these salons may try to upsell you K-beauty products but feel free to decline and seek them potentially elsewhere – depending on your treatment, you may also need to allow time to recover before flying or for follow-up appointments.

South Korea hallyu tip – The number 1 Korean beauty app is UNNI, which has over 1 million reviews and recommendations from visitors and patients who have undertaken K-Beauty procedures.

You can book procedures via the app plus get real-time consultations – however a few users online have reported what look to be fake reviews plus higher than average prices so always do your research before booking on UNNI.

More useful Korean apps and travel apps to download >

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