Author: Sam Konneh

The KTX reaches Gangneung from Seoul Station in about 2 hours for roughly ₩27,600, on the line built for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Seomyeon — Dwaeji Gukbap Alley for pork bone soup; best late-night eats in the city

Most travelers from the US, UK, EU, Canada, and Australia need a K-ETA (₩10,000, valid 3 years) before flying though Korea waived it for 22 nati…

KTX from Busan takes 28–35 minutes (~₩14,600); from Seoul, ~2h 30min (₩35,000–70,000)

Jeju is 73 km east to west — plan by geographic circuit, not attraction ranking, or you’ll spend half your trip in the car.

Tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and eomuk (fish cake skewers) are the cheapest and most ubiquitous — both under ₩2,000 as of 2026.

Tteokbokki (₩3,000–5,000), odeng (₩1,000–1,500), and hotteok (₩2,000) are the essential Seoul staples — skip Myeongdong and head to Gwangjang or Mangwon…

I tapped through Seoul’s gates on all three over a week, reloading at CU and GS25 counters, to work out where each one actually saves money and where …