Money in South Korea: currency, ATMs, cards and tipping

How you pay barely changes with your passport — the won is the only currency in circulation and cards are accepted the same way from everyone. What changes is how you get won, what your bank charges for it, and how much of your daily budget is cash versus card.

Two seasonal factors move your money more than your nationality: holiday weeks (Seollal, Chuseok, and the late-December to early-January period) lift hotel and flight prices by 20–50%, and summer on Jeju and the coast does the same for beds. In those weeks, book and pay ahead by card rather than hunting for cash deals.

Start with a small amount of cash. Change ₩50,000–100,000 at Incheon airport or withdraw it from a Global ATM on arrival — enough for the airport train, a SIM or eSIM top-up and your first meals. Don't change a large sum at the airport; rates there are usually worse than a city ATM.

Use your card as the default. Visa and Mastercard are accepted in taxis, convenience stores, cafés, department stores and most restaurants. Some stalls and small markets are cash-only, which is what the ₩30,000–50,000 in your pocket is for. Keep small notes: a ₩50,000 note can be awkward at a ₩4,000 kimbap counter.

If a machine or terminal refuses your card, don't assume your card is broken. Foreign cards fail at some Korean ATMs and in-app payment systems. Look for the Global sign — convenience stores, KB, Shinhan, Woori and Hana machines usually carry it — or load a prepaid tourist card such as WOWPASS, which takes foreign cash or cards and doubles as a T-money transit card.

For transit, get a T-money card at a convenience store and top it up in cash or by card. It covers the Seoul subway, buses and many taxis, and it removes the need to carry coins. Fares are small: a Seoul subway ride is around ₩1,550 (check).

For shopping, ask about tax refunds at participating stores — you normally need your passport and a minimum spend, and you claim at the airport. Keep receipts. This is worth doing on electronics, cosmetics and department-store purchases.

Tipping is not part of Korean culture. Restaurant bills include service, taxi meters are the fare, and hotel and salon staff do not expect a gratuity. Leaving coins on the table is more likely to confuse than please. The one place a service charge appears is some upscale hotel restaurants and a few tourist-facing venues, where it is added to the bill automatically — you don't add more.

Card security is good, but tell your bank you're travelling so a foreign transaction doesn't trip a fraud block. Keep a second card separate from the first. If you use a prepaid tourist card, check the load fee and any expiry before you commit a large amount to it.

Cash is still king in a few places: traditional markets, some street food stalls, temple donation boxes and small rural shops. Outside Seoul, Busan and Jeju's main towns, carry a little more cash than you would in the capital.