Top 5 Must-Have Apps in Korea
Just South Korea… I don’t really know about North Korea.
Living in Korea, especially in a city like Seoul, as an English speaker is actually very easy to navigate. Most college-aged students and young adults speak a fair amount of English and as long as you have a couple of applications with you, it should be fairly easy to get around.
I could have stopped this list at two, as I really only needed the first two apps, but it never hurts to have a few more just in case.
Kakao Talk —
This one is non-negotiable, you have to download this if you’re going to Korea. This is the main messaging app that people use, and it works even if you don’t have a SIM Card/Korean phone number. You can just sign up and start using it immediately and if you’re living in an area with lots of free WiFi (Seoul) you may never need to get a proper phone number. Users are also able to order food on this app which is a feature I could never enjoy due to my lack of Korean language skills, but it’s still good to know it’s there. I also still use this app today to keep in touch with friends in Korea, it’s really useful!
Subway Map —
When I reflect on my time in Korea, I honestly don’t remember using any navigation apps. The subway system is so amazing in Korea that you can find a route/stop anywhere you want to go. The best part is that this app works 100% without WiFi and has all the routes pre-loaded in. I often would often just look up the closest subway station to where I wanted to go, plug it into this map, and then hop on the next subway! Traveling through the subway is really convenient and affordable, so in my eyes, this app is an absolute must-have!
Kakao Maps—
Now we get into the apps that are a good idea to have but that you could really go without. To be fair I really should have had a map app of some kind with me. I just relied on Google or Apple maps and was able to navigate completely fine as those maps have the names of most places in English already integrated. However, I wanted to showcase a popular Korean App option for travelers. Kakao Maps is by far the most popular map app in Korea, however, I personally found it difficult to use as everything is in Korean, so it’s not super friendly for travelers. It is a good idea to have this map with you just in case though as some locations only have Korean names and if that is the case, a map app such as Google or Apple will have a hard time picking up. When that happens using Kakao Maps should be your go-to.
Air Visual —
This is a great app to have if you plan to live in a big city anywhere in the world especially during their summer season. This app tracks the AQI — Air Quality Index or pollution levels in the air each day. Large cities tend to get a lot of smog and so it’s advised to try to stay indoors if you can on days when the AQI levels get too high. I used this a lot in the summer as smog levels tend to be higher and it’s come in handy in other countries with higher pollution such as China as well.
Naver Papago —
For translations, again I really just downloaded the Korean translation dictionary for Google Translate and relied on that, it does the trick. However to share a Korean App I’ve heard Naver Papago is a more accurate translator. I honestly wish I had used this app while I was in Korea though because the user interface is beautiful. The app is so simple and straightforward to use, they also have text (Don’t forget to add the Korean (hangul) keyboard to your keyboards), voice, conversation, and image options. I believe the developers have integrated Artificial Intelligence algorithms into the app as well, which means it will continuously improve the accuracy of translations. I personally am looking forward to trying this one out the next time I go to Korea.
