South Korea is a magical place. In winter, it’s even better. It’s cold, yes. But does it turn into a winter wonderland? Absolutely. The festive lights and decorations transform the already bright streets into a crisp, frost-covered delight.
And don’t worry if the cold turns your skin into a nightmare—we all know Korea is the world’s #1 for skincare.
Still, it is icy cold, and the locals won’t always speak your language, especially if you’re in more remote areas. Below, we’ve put together a pre-travel checklist for your winter holiday in Korea to make life so much easier.
Your Clothes Checklist
In the north of South Korea, the average temperature is 0-10°C. If you go a bit further south, it’s between 5 and 10 degrees. Nighttime temperatures frequently drop below 0. Whether you’re in the south of South Korea or further north, it’s still cold.
We’d recommend packing:
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- Thick socks
- Hats
- Gloves
- Scalves
- Coats
- Jumpers
- Walking boots or boots instead of trainers
- Anything to help you layer clothing
And if you’re wearing too much and you feel too hot, you can always take a layer off. It’s better to be too warm with the option to cool down than too cold with no layers.
Your Essentials Checklist
South Korea is pretty well connected. It’s quickly becoming a popular tourist area. That said, you want to take your essentials so everything is as convenient as possible when you arrive:
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- An eSIM like the Holafly eSIM in Korea
- Travel adapter (Korea uses Type C and Type F power plugs)
- A portable phone charger with a wire for your phone
- A physical bank card and an app like Wise or Revolut for exchanging your currency for Korea’s local currency (the won) It also helps to know how to send money with debit card in case you need to access or transfer extra funds while traveling.
The rest, like your passport and getting the required visa before you go, is self-explanatory. You must apply for a Korea Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) before you travel. It’s a relatively simple process that you can do online.
Your Accommodation Checklist
There are so many amazing accommodation options in Korea. The benefit of traveling during winter is that it isn’t the peak season, so you shouldn’t struggle to find a great deal.
To ensure everything goes as planned, we’d recommend:
- Booking your accommodation in advance on apps like Airbnb or Booking.com
- Making sure you have your passport ready for every hotel check-in
- Consider how far the accommodation is from everything you want to see because of the cold.
- Learn where the public transport system is to your accommodation in case you can’t get an Uber.
- Don’t leave it until the last minute to book accommodation, in case the one you’re interested in sells out.
The rest is up to you to decide how you would like to plan your trip in terms of what to see and things to do. There are so many incredible areas to visit, from Seoul to Gyeongju. Whatever you do in Korea, always consider the weather and how you’re going to get from A to B in the cold.