Kakako Taxi is widely used, however, Uber will be fine too. Uber recently launched Taxi XL, which supports carrying up to 3 luggages. If you want to know how to use Naver Map in English, please refer the following post: Link.

I was just in Seoul and we Ubered everywhere. Much easier than hailing a taxi. Depending on time and location, we managed to get a ride anywhere within 2 minutes, up to 10 minutes of wait time.

I'd vouch for downloading the Kakao T app(taxi hailing app), Uber in Korea isn't what it is in other countries, it's just a taxi hailing app, but you'll probably have a better chance at finding a ride through Kakao t since not many taxi drivers are registered under Uber. Depending on where you'll be staying in seoul, I recommend using the airport express train from the airport to seoul station. Depending on where in seoul you'll be staying, it may simply be a subway stop or two to your hotel(seoul subway is decently accessible from what I've noticed). Speaking of getting around, ditch Google maps. Instead, download naver maps(for navigation) and Kakao maps(for more honest reviews on restaurants)

After 10 bus will still be available but better check when's the last bus. Uber is a good option but most commonly, people use kakao taxi but not sure if you need a Korean number for an account.

I have a US phone number but i was able to download Kakao Taxi and use my US based credit card for payment in Korea. I also used Uber in Korea with the same app I have in US. Both worked great in Korea. I saw Kakao Taxi’s everywhere and they were easy to book. Uber Taxi’s I didn’t see as much but when requesting an Uber, it did not take that long either. If there are mobility issues and money is not a problem, just use Kakao Taxi or Uber. With 2 people taking a taxi, the cost is not that much more than two people taking the subway. And the taxis will take you front point A to point B to the doorstep. I took a large black minivan taxi from Seoul to Incheon airport because I had 4 very large suitcases and did not want to lug them to the bus stop or the train. Cost was about 100,000 won but well worth it for us.

I visited Korea in April 2024. Everyone recommended the Naver Map to me. I used that app, and it worked perfectly. 😊 It’s also worth downloading the Papago app, which helps with translating text from Korean to English. I suggest purchasing a physical T-money card. You can only load it with cash, but you can top it up at any convenience store, and then you just need to tap it every time you board or exit public transport. 🙂

I exchanged cash at the airport, but I only needed it for public transportation. Everywhere else, you can pay with card.

for map, you should download "Naver Map" or "Kakao Map"
in Korea, we use a system called "T-Money"

Due to fee/commission issues, Apple Pay currently doesn't support T-Money. It would probably be better to buy a physical T-Money card.

If you look at the station on a map app it'll tell you the schedule.

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Just use T-Money because you will need to use it to travel to Incheon.

Using climate card may be cheaper if you take a bus within Seoul a lot ( More than 6-7 times per day).

But in the end, you might save only $5 from your 2-day trip.

climate card : 62,000 KRW (another 3,000 KRW for physical card)
t money card: 3000 KRW (for physical card)

you cannot take shinbundang line, and subway stations not in Seoul

subway minimun fare : 1,400 KRW
bus minimun fare : 1,400 KRW (for city bus), local shuttle bus 1,250 KRW

if you take more than 67 times? climate card
less than 67? t-money

you can buy t-money card at any convenience store at korea, (card OK, apple pay OK)
But only cash is available for charging t-money card.

if you use t-money card, i recommend you to buy one for each person.

You can also get a transfer discount, and the subway can only be used by one person with one card (the bus can be used by multiple people with one card)

I visited Seoul last week for 4 days with wife and 2 kids and found it difficult to hail a taxi and ended up using Uber to request one, which worked well for us.

EDIT: I got the T Money Card and it worked great for us. You can purchase one at the CU (convenience store) at the airport but must load it with Korean won.

Remember that you need Korean won (cash) to load T-money cards

Mostly Google maps, but smartex for Shinkansen west of Tokyo and also the JapanTransit app for searching for modes of transportation for out of town stuff.

This feels like an advertisement for an app...

But I use yahoo 乗換案内 to get alerts on my routes to work. It also can give you directions for stops. It's all in Japanese though.

I'm not entirely sure why you need that view, might help if you explained the need.

But you can get the functionally in Google Maps. If you search for "nearby public transport", it shows you a list of nearby stops/stations in the hit list, and the lines are drawn in on the map. You can then click a stop, either on the map or in the list, to see the what lines stopping at that station in the near future.

Nope, that doesn't show where the transit stops are by me, and typically is slow at refreshing GTFS data for all worldwide transit systems. I use transit multiple times a day, nearly every day of my life. I'm looking for something to help me figure out where close by me is – not just plan journeys. It's a different use case from GMaps.

It doesn't do the "stops nearby me" thing which is my #1 most-desired & needed feature, as mentioned in my OP! Any ideas for that?

Master / Visa should work almost every time. As for e payment apps idk if Apple/Samsung Pays count?

You shouldn't worry about using cash though cuz there are literally no pickpockets in Seoul.

Most kakao taxis I have been on let you pay with card tho and my foreign card has always worked! Also I think many food delivery apps dont let you pay in cash anymore because of covid, but not sure if that is still accurate.

Most people in Korea don't use the big apps from the US like Uber, instead they have an equivalent made by Korean for Korean. Sadly most of those apps simply does not accept foreign credit card, and with a touristic visa, you can't open a bank open or get a Korean credit card.

So the solution is to pay cash. Almost no alternative. KakaoT allows you to order a taxi and pay cash, same with 요기요 for ordering food (they don't have English app, but they have a website so you can use Google Translate on it).

I heard Gmarket (equivalent for Amazon) accept foreign cards, but haven't tried it myself.

Last solution would be to ask a friend with a Korean card to order for you and you pay him/her cash, that's what I did when I wanted to order clothes from Naver.

Papago is better than google translate Trazy if you looking for tours or things to do Yogio for takeout but many places no longer take cash so it’s a hit or miss. it’s also all in Korean Intercity bus/ tx-bus so you can check bus times city to city. it only takes domestic cards

The subway app!! It’s super helpful with planning your trip via subway and even tells you which train door to use to transit between lines

1330 Korea travel helpline. Free person who can help you translate or guide you with anything travel related and I believe it is 24/7.

KakaoMaps seems to be better for a live bus schedule. I use NaverMaps in case I need to find the address of a place in Korean.

Mangoplate app for restaurant seeking Really great , u can find what's around you And can specific which type of food u want

Kakao Map (good for walking and bus directions), Korea Subway (super convenient), Papago (if needed for translations), and of course YogiYo (food delivery)! Those were some apps I used as a student and just when traveling there a few times. Also for t card I still just reloaded my card manually but I think things may have changed? Not sure! Hope this little bit of info helps. Oh and MangoPlate is a good app for looking at highly rated restaurants near you!

Papago

Coupang

코레일톡

Naver maps (English)

McDelivery Korea

Kakao T

Air BnB

Any decent VPN

I used to use samsung pay a lot

KakaoTalk KakaoMap KakaoT Papago Coupang 배달의민족 NAVER MangoPlate HanaEZ AirVisual EmergencyReadyAPP

Also, not an app, but I’ve found various Facebook groups to be really helpful.

If you want to buy and sell locally, akin to Craigslist, I'd recommend 당근.

Kakaomaps and Seoul Subway

Trip Pass is legitimate but maybe still getting mature, they finally made their physical card slightly easier to get by making them available at GS25. Their original intention was to register your passport and make it easier to purchase with tax refund (that only works at limited stores), or make entry into a casino or hotel check in faster.

Edit: TripPass will require a slightly more intrusive passport and selfie/face scan, keep in mind if you are concerned about those things

The basics of all of these cards are pretty much the same, just small differences in their services, hopefully the competition means they will be adding features and services. In general, if you have a credit card and cash, these cards are not a neccessity but maybe nice to have (as a backup, easy to top up transport card, if you don't have a physical credit card, need a local korean payment, want the small discounts at some stores, or other niche reasons).

There's tons of pro's and con's but if you ask me for one sentence for each:

• Wowpass - Good if you have foreign currency/cash and also want to refund your balance easily
• Namane - Good if you are in a group, want to manage multiple cards
• TripPass - If you want to shop at the tax refund stores they support, but less popular than the first two

I wouldn't compare pure transport cards like TMoney and Climate card to these other cards which are payment+transport. BTW, there's many other cards for payment options: EZL(the IC version that supports store payments, not the transport only RF version), Korea Travel Card, HanPay, Sendpay, BCL prepaid cards, and others I am probably not aware of.

T money doesn't expire and you can use anywhere in the country

Climate card is for Seoul only, geared more towards visits

Get a T money card or Climate card.