Moving to Seoul: What to Sort Before You Fly (2027 Checklist)

Have these to hand before you work through the list:

• Your passport, valid for your whole stay, plus a scan on your phone.
• Your SharedHomies lease and the house address in Korean. We send both.
• Your visa or visa-free status. Know which one you're entering on.
• Your move-in date and arrival airport (Incheon or Gimpo).
• About an hour per step. None of this is hard; it's just easy to leave too late.

1. Check whether you need a visa or a K-ETA

If you're entering Korea on a visa (for example a D-2 student visa, a D-4 language-trainee visa, an E-7 work visa or an H-1 working holiday visa), the visa is your entry approval and you don't need a K-ETA. If you're entering visa-free, the K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorization) is the online approval you may need instead.

Korea has run a temporary K-ETA exemption for visitors from a list of countries that includes the United States. According to the Korean Ministry of Justice notice published by the Korean consulate, that exemption runs until 31 December 2026. When we checked in November 2026, no extension into 2027 had been announced. So if you land visa-free on or after 1 January 2027, plan to need a K-ETA unless an extension is announced before then. Check your own passport on the official site, k-eta.go.kr: the application tells you if your nationality is exempt.

• Expected outcome: you know exactly what document gets you through Incheon passport control, and you have it.
• Common pitfall: applying on a third-party "K-ETA service" site that charges extra. Use the official k-eta.go.kr site only. If you're coming on a digital nomad visa, the Korea digital nomad visa guide covers that route.

2. Get ready to book your ARC (Alien Registration Card) visit

If you're staying longer than 90 days, you must register as a foreign resident and get an ARC (외국인등록증, now officially called the Residence Card) within 90 days of arriving. Registration is in person at the immigration office that covers your address, and visits are booked online through HiKorea. Seoul offices get busy, so make your HiKorea account now and book the earliest slot you can after your move-in date.

Bring your passport, a passport photo, your proof of residence and the fee. A 2025 university immigration notice lists the issuance fee as ₩35,000; it rose from ₩30,000 on 1 January 2025 (checked November 2026). Students also bring an enrolment certificate from their school.

Proof of residence is on us. We fill in and sign the confirmation of residence (거주/숙소제공 확인서) that immigration asks for, with a copy of the lease. Message the house manager a week before your appointment and it's ready.

• Expected outcome: a HiKorea account and a booked (or ready-to-book) ARC slot inside your first few weeks.
• Common pitfall: waiting until you land to look. By then the nearest slots may be weeks away, and until your card arrives you can't open a full bank account or a postpaid phone plan.

3. Get a multi-currency card and some cash

Most Korean banks won't open a full account for you until you have your ARC. That gap can be a month or more. Bridge it with a multi-currency card such as Revolut or Wise: load it in your home currency, convert to won, and pay by tap almost everywhere in Seoul. Order it a month out so the physical card arrives in time.

Bring some cash for week one too. Traditional markets and some small shops prefer cash, and T-money transit cards are topped up with cash at convenience stores.

• Expected outcome: a working card in your wallet and enough won to cover your first week.
• Common pitfall: relying on one card. Bring a backup card from a different bank in case the first one is blocked for "unusual activity" on day one.

4. Sort your phone: travel eSIM first, monthly SIM after

Buy a travel eSIM that covers your first week or two, and switch it on when you land. Once you're settled, move to a monthly prepaid SIM; a full postpaid plan usually waits for your ARC. Ask your home carrier to unlock your phone before you leave.

5. Install the apps Seoul runs on

• KakaoTalk. Korea's messaging app. Your house group chat, landlords, classmates and colleagues all use it.
• Naver Map or KakaoMap. Google Maps works for public transport in Korea, but its walking and driving directions are limited. Use a Korean map app for door-to-door routes.
• Papago. Translation, including from photos. Point it at a menu, a letter or a washing-machine panel.
• Coupang. Korea's big online shopping app. Install it now and browse so you know where things are and what they cost. Ordering needs a Korean phone number and a Korean payment card, so you can't buy yet.

SharedHomies tenants can order anyway. Send your house manager the link (Coupang, groceries, even Amazon abroad), and we order it for you and add the exact cost to your rent. No markup, no fee.

• Expected outcome: you can message, navigate and translate from the moment the eSIM connects.
• Common pitfall: installing Korean apps only after landing, then hitting verification steps on airport Wi-Fi. Install and set them up at home.

6. Check the weather for your month

Seoul has four very different seasons. Check the forecast for your arrival week in our weekly This Week in Seoul series, then pack for the month using the table below. Temperatures are Korea Meteorological Administration 1991–2020 averages for Seoul, as listed in the Climate of Seoul table.

Rain follows the same pattern: July averages 414 mm and August 348 mm, against 17 mm in January (Climate of Seoul). If you land between December and February, also read how the Korean boiler and ondol floor heating work and what the winter gas bill looks like.

7. Check your plugs and voltage

Korea uses Type C and Type F plugs (the two round pins used across most of Europe) at 220V, 60Hz, per The Seoul Guide's electricity page (checked November 2026). Coming from the US, UK, Australia or anywhere with different sockets, bring one or two adapters. Then check the small print on each charger: most phone and laptop chargers say "100–240V" and only need an adapter. Hair dryers and straighteners made for 110V markets often don't, and will burn out on 220V.

8. Know what's already in your room

Your SharedHomies room comes furnished. Per your lease, it has:

• a bed with a bedding set
• a wardrobe
• a desk and chair
• a lamp and a mirror
• a dresser or drawers

The house has a shared kitchen, living room, bathroom(s) and a laundry area. Internet and water are included. So don't pack bedding. Do bring your own towels and toiletries. The guide to what fully furnished means in Korea explains how this compares with other housing types.

• Expected outcome: one suitcase packed for the season, with adapters in your carry-on.
• Common pitfall: packing for "Asia" instead of Seoul. A Seoul January is colder than many visitors expect.

You'll get by in English in central Seoul, but these 15 phrases cover the convenience store, the café, the taxi and the street. The romanization follows the official Revised Romanization of Korean, split into syllables so you can say it.

Papago will handle the rest. If you want more than survival Korean, the guide to housing for Korean language school students covers the schools many of our tenants attend.

9. Buy a T-money card at the airport convenience store

T-money is the tap card for Seoul's subway, buses and AREX train. Buy one at any convenience store (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven), including those at Incheon Airport. VisitKorea puts the card itself at ₩3,000–5,000 depending on design (checked November 2026). Top it up with cash at the counter; the card price itself isn't refundable, but leftover balance is.

10. Take the AREX train into the city

For Hongdae and Mapo, take the AREX all-stop train (일반열차), not the express, which runs non-stop to Seoul Station only. Per the AREX fare table, it's ₩4,650 from Terminal 1 to Hongik Univ. Station with a transit card, and about 51 minutes (checked 29 October 2026). Our full Incheon and Gimpo airport to Hongdae and Mapo guide has every option, including the limousine bus and late-night routes.

11. Show taxi drivers the address in Korean

Seoul taxi drivers navigate by the Korean address, and few will read an English one. Save your house address in Hangul as a screenshot (we send it with your move-in details), show it, and say "이 주소로 가 주세요". Taxis take cards.

• Expected outcome: you're at the house with your key, a working phone and a charged T-money card.
• Common pitfall: boarding the AREX express because it says "airport railroad" on it. Check for 일반열차 (all-stop) on the platform signs.

Week one is about settling in. Learn the trash system on day one (it's the first house rule everyone asks about), using the guide to throwing out trash in Korea. Book or attend your ARC appointment, then open a bank account once the card arrives. For the full first-month list, read the first 30 days in Seoul checklist and the wider moving to Seoul survival guide. Curious how your rent compares? See what internationals pay for a Seoul share house.

Questions before you fly? Reply to your move-in email or message your house manager on KakaoTalk. We'd rather answer them now than at the airport.