If you are visiting South Korea anytime soon and in particular visiting solo or as a Black woman this guide is for you! This is based on my personal experience of travelling solo in South Korea but can be related to anyone.
I visited Seoul and Busan for 9 days(6 days in Seoul and 3 in Busan) but this can be structured as you like. There are so many other places to visit such as Gyeongju, Jeonju, Jeju Island, Mt Seorak, Nami island etc. Where you go depends on the season you visit and what you like so make that decision for yourself. This guide will focus on Seoul and Busan and hopefully will be of use to you in your travel planning and booking stages.
This post contains affiliate links, where if you click and purchase I will make a commission. Click here for the full disclosure statement.
Preparing For Your Trip To South Korea
Here are some things I recommend you do before your trip to make sure you have a great trip.
- If you are still looking for your flights I flew in with China Southern Airlines and was impressed by my experience. I recommend using Skyscanner to look for flights.
- Make sure you have the right entry requirements. As a British citizen you normally have to do the K-ETA but in 2025 it has been waived so make sure to check this.
- I recommend opening a KRW account in Wise it came in handy when I needed to pay a Korean bank account
- Download the app Kakao Taxi which is Koreas taxi app and connect your card to it. You can also use Uber in Korea.
- Download Kakao Maps or Naver Maps to help navigate your way but also keep Google Maps because even though these apps have English versions they still show some places in Korean. Google maps will show you the Korean and English names of places. I recommend using Kakao or Naver maps and Google maps together.
- Have travel insurance! Whether you get that through your bank or purchase via platforms like StaySure.
- Get an esim – you can buy it before hand, get it at the airport or if you are getting the Seoul Pass you can actually get a mobile pass with an esim which you can set up before you land. Now whether the Seoul Pass is worth is another discussion which I talk about below. I personally used SK telecom but I also use airalo when I travel.
- Most foreign bank cards will work at stores – all of my cards worked.
Things To Know
- You need to buy a Tmoney card or the other equivalents such as climate card etc to get onto public transport. You also can only top them up with cash so be prepared to come with cash or take out money at atms on your trip. If you get a Tmoney card you can use it in Busan too.
- As much as I think a lot of Koreans in Seoul and Busan can speak decent English I recommend having a translation app of some sort, even if its Google translate.
- Learn how to say hello, thank you etc in Korean, I think it is just nice.
- If you plan on buying the KTX train tickets (high speed rail) from Seoul to other cities they can sell out so buy them on time directly from the KTX website – korail.com.
- If you are travelling between cities and don’t want to take a huge suitcase you can leave it at luggage lockers in the stations or there are specific companies. I used Storr in Seoul when I travelled from Seoul to Busan.
- At the airport there is a service where you can send your bags to your hotel – ask at the information desk and they can direct you in the right direction.
- When booking activities, platforms like Klook and Trip are your go to apps/websites for South Korea. Get YouGuide is great but honestly Klook and Trip.com have Asia in mind and have a lot more for the region.
Must Do Things To Do In Seoul
You can first check out this blog post: HERE
Now that you have read the above post, other places and things I think you should do are:
- Day trip to the DMZ
- Visit more food markets such as Gwangjang Market and Myeongdong Food Market
- If you love shopping, Lotte World Mall, Myeongdong, Gangnam and Seongsu may be a places you want to visit
- Visit Cafes: such as Cheongsudang Cafe, Cafe Pokpo, Rain Report Cafe & more
- Museums: National Contemporary History Museum, The Folk Museum and the War Memorial of Korea
- Visit Skincare Shops: this depends on what skin brands you love but you will see them everywhere! A very popular one is Olive Young.
- Rent a hanbok to visit Gyeongbokgung – the palace for a photoshoot! The Photoshoot I did from Airbnb Experiences is HERE.
- If you love afrobeats. amapiano, dancehall etc there is an Afrovibes club in Hongdae called Ska! You can find out more info here
Must Do Things in Busan
You can first check out this blog post: HERE
- Busan X – this is an observatory which is newer than Busan tower and is better to visit for the beautiful views. You can do both if you would like.
-
Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, this temple has beautiful sea views.
- Eat seafood, you are by the sea! You can check out Jagalchi Market.
- Busan Beach Train & Sky Capsule – the sky capsule is very popular! Are they worth booking? You can read more about them HERE
You may want to purchase a Busan pass and are wondering if its worth it? You can find out about my experience of using one below.
Where To Stay In Seoul
There are different areas you can stay but you need to factor in what you want to do in Seoul. Either way the transport system is good in Seoul but some places may take an hour to get to if depending on where you stay.
I stayed at 4 affordable/budgets hotels in Seoul located in Myeongdong, Dongdaemun and Jogno Gu.
There are much higher end hotels and I will list some of them below if you are looking for somewhere like that.
Affordable Places in Seoul
- Hotel Daam – this is a Hanok style hostel/hotel (Korea traditional style house) and honestly it is so nice and is considered a higher end boutique hostel. They do have premium and private rooms. It’s also super close to Buckhon Hanok Village, Ikesondong etc
- Hotel Marguerite – boutique hotel located in Myeongdong which is such a great location
- Glue Hotel – boutique hotel next to Dongdaemun which is also a great location
- Snowflower Guesthouse – more like a cabin/goshiwon close to Changgyeonggung Palace and Changdeokgung Palace
The above hotels are extremely affordable and great for solo travellers. The locations are also awesome and honestly can personally recommend all of them as I stayed at them. (Individual hotel reviews coming soon)
Higher End Hotels
Where To Stay in Busan
I stayed at Best Western and Hotel 1 Busan and can recommend them for an affordable stay.
Affordable Places in Busan
- Best Western ,Haeundae – very minimal but very affordable
- Hotel 1 Busan – Beautiful Views of Gwangalli beach and bridge
Higher End Hotels
If you are wondering whether you should stay at Haeundae Beach or Gwangalli Beach then let this guide HERE help you make a decision.
Where To Eat Solo
Seoul
If you are looking for where to eat solo here a few recommendations based on my trip and where I ate!
- Hongjojib – Korean BBQ place with a solo grill
- Any of the food markets (Myeongdong, Gwangjang market etc)
- You can probably eat at most places solo but you can just ask if you are unsure. PS. Korea is a social/collective type of society so people normally eat with others, be prepared to see most people around you will be with someone else but you will be fine solo.
- Korea House, Lotte World Mall – I ate here with a friend but I could have definitely eaten here alone.
- Convenience stores – believe it or not if you need a quick cheap meal they sell things like kimbap etc
Busan
- Haeundae Street Food Market
- OSULLOC Tea House Haeundae
- Cloud Mipo
- BIFF Market Square
Travelling Solo in South Korea as a Woman
Travelling solo in South Korea was completely fine for ME but I will make a point that I can read Hangul and understand really basic Korean. I also have friends in South Korea so it helps a lot. In this age of technology you can use google translate or whatever app you like.
Another thing to consider is where to eat since eating out together is very popular in Korea. Eating dinner alone is not really as popular but it is fine and you can see the food suggestions above that I went to alone.
In terms of booking things I did it all on my own and whatever you are looking for you can book easily online most times.
Transport is easy to figure out and honestly you should be fine travelling solo as a woman, take the normal precautions as a solo woman. I always travel with a door lock and door wedge alarm.
Being a Black Woman in South Korea
Honestly being a Black Woman in Korea in general is hit and miss. For the most part you will be fine especially in tourist areas as South Korea gets a lot of tourists. You may just get elders asking where you are from. I feel there may be some places that are just not the most friendliest to foreigners and you may also meet some people who could be racist. I personally did not have any issues, in fact I met very friendly taxi drivers etc but everyones experience is different.
Seoul & Busan Pass
I bought both the Seoul Pass and Busan Pass and had issues with both unfortunately.
The Seoul pass will allow you to visit a number of sites based on the number of days you purchase and I bought the Seoul pass directly from the official website. With the Seoul pass the app was not showing my qr code which is needed in most places to exchange to get a ticket for a specific place. This meant my Seoul pass was mostly useless until it started working on my final day so I used it to get a Hanbok to wear for a photoshoot. The Seoul Pass is only really worth it if the places you visit are worth more than the price you paid for the pass.
When it comes to the Busan pass I also struggled purchasing it on the official website and customer service told me to purchase it on an alternative website like Trip.com. I purchased my 24 hour pass on Trip.com for $39 and from there it was fine. I used it for the Beach train, Busan X, Songdo Cable Car and SpaLan. Everything I did cost more than the $39 meaning it was well worth it!
Just like the Seoul Pass, the Busan Pass is only really worth it if the places you visit are worth more than the price you paid for the pass.
I actually think the Seoul pass would have been great if it worked for me and I thought the Busan pass was worth it for me since I was able to use it properly, You can purchase the Seoul pass HERE and the Busan pass HERE
Overall, I hope this mini guide helps with your upcoming trip to South Korea.
Other Posts
If you are interested in reading more of my Korea posts you can check them out HERE
Here are things to do in Seoul and things to do in Busan for your next trip!
Looking to buy a gift for a loved one who loves Korea? Check out my 40+ Korean Gift Ideas HERE
