Korea Guide Notes

You can carry a sub-250-gram drone into Korea, unregistered and unlicensed, and fly it legally. What you cannot do is take it up over central Seoul — and the weight of the aircraft has nothing to do with why. Quick answer: Korea's rules run on two separate tracks. Weight decides whether you must register the aircraft and hold a pilot certificate. Airspace decides whether you need flight approval — and in a control zone, a prohibited area, or above 150 m, every drone needs approval regardless of weight. Most of central Seoul sits inside prohibited area P-73 . Flying there without approval carries an administrative fine of up to ₩3 million . Verified 2026-08-21 against the Aviation Safety Act and its decrees. Three weights, three different obligations Korean law splits small drones at 250 grams, 2 kilograms and 25 kilograms. Each line switches on a different requirement, and none of them is about where you fly. Drone rules · Korea Weight decides the paperwork. Airspa...

A can of beer on a bench by the Han River, soju with fried chicken on a picnic mat, a paper cup of makgeolli halfway up a mountain trail. In much of the world any of these would get you a fine. In Korea they are ordinary Tuesday behaviour — and, with narrow exceptions, entirely legal. Quick answer: Korea has no general ban on drinking alcohol in public places. Since June 2021 the National Health Promotion Act has let local governments designate specific alcohol-free zones , where drinking carries a fine of up to ₩100,000 — but a zone only exists where a local government has actually designated one. Despite headlines in 2023, Seoul did not ban drinking in Han River parks; its ordinance only created the legal groundwork. Verified 2026-08-18. What the law actually says There is no nationwide statute making it an offence to drink in a park, on a street or on a train platform. What changed in June 2021 was an amendment to the National Health Promotion Act (국민건강증진법) giving cities, count...

If your guidebook says Bulguksa costs ₩6,000, throw that page away. Since 4 May 2023, admission to Korea's most famous Buddhist temples has been free — including Bulguksa and Seokguram in Gyeongju, Haeinsa, Tongdosa, Beopjusa and Jeondeungsa. The fee had been collected since 1970. Quick answer: 65 temples of the Jogye Order stopped charging the cultural heritage admission fee (문화재관람료) on 4 May 2023. The temples did not simply give up the income — the government now reimburses them, with ₩41.9 billion budgeted for that purpose in 2023. Five temples still charge, because their heritage is province-designated and falls outside the national scheme. Verified 2026-08-18. TEMPLE ADMISSION · JOGYE ORDER Sixty-five temples stopped charging. Five did not. Cultural heritage admission fees at Jogye Order temples after 4 May 2023. The government reimburses the temples instead. Free since 4 May 2023 65 Still charging admission 5 0 20 40 60 number of temples Source: Jogye Order / National Her...

On 28 June 2023, nearly every person in South Korea got younger — one year younger for most, two for some. Nobody aged in reverse; the law changed. Korea abolished its traditional age-counting system for legal purposes and switched, officially and everywhere in administration and law, to the international one. Quick answer: Korea historically counted age three ways. Korean age (born at 1, +1 every New Year), counting-year age (birth year maths only), and international age (만 나이 — what your passport says). Since the '만 나이 통일법' took effect on 2023-06-28, legal and administrative age means international age. But three visitor-relevant things still run on birth-year rules: buying alcohol and tobacco, school entry, and military service . For a bar, the question is not "are you 19?" but "were you born in 2007 or earlier?" (in 2026). Verified 2026-08-18. The three ages, one table System How it works Status today Korean age (세는 나이) Born at 1; everyone +1 on ...

Stand at almost any Seoul intersection and count the cafes you can see without turning your head. Two is normal. Four is not unusual. First-time visitors assume they have wandered into a coffee district; the truth is that the whole country is one. Korea's national statistics agency counted 107,029 coffee shops in its most recent census — roughly two for every convenience store in the country. Quick answer: Korea's cafe count doubled in six years (51,551 in 2016 → 107,029 at the end of 2022, per Statistics Korea), while the four big convenience chains together run about 55,000 stores. There are even more registered coffee brands (886) than fried-chicken brands (669). For a visitor this is excellent news: you are never more than a short walk from a clean seat, a toilet, fast Wi-Fi and air conditioning — for the price of one drink. Verified 2026-08-18. COFFEE REPUBLIC · SHOP COUNTS Korea has twice as many cafes as convenience stores. Coffee shops doubled in six years. The conv...

It is 6:58 on your first morning in Korea. Your phone — set to silent, because you are jetlagged and civilised — suddenly produces a noise you have never heard it make, over a wall of Korean text. Around you, a hundred other phones are doing the same thing. Nobody looks alarmed. Welcome to 재난문자, Korea's emergency alert system, one of the most aggressive in the world — and one of the most misunderstood by visitors. Quick answer: there are three tiers of Korean emergency alerts. The highest (위급, for things like air-raid warnings) sounds at 60 decibels or more and cannot be turned off . The middle tier (긴급 — terror, extreme rain) alarms at 40dB and can be disabled in settings. The lowest and by far most common (안전안내, safety advisories — heat, cold, dust, lost persons area notices) rings like a normal message and can also be disabled. Nearly everything that startles you will be this third kind. Verified 2026-08-18. The three tiers, in one table Tier What it covers Sound Can you opt...