📱 Living in Korea (3): Essential Apps You Must Download in Korea


 

📲 Essential Apps You Must Download in Korea (2026 Guide)


In Korea, most daily activities revolve around smartphone apps.

From navigation and food delivery to transportation and shopping,

a large part of everyday life is handled through apps,

so it is important for foreigners to know essential apps in advance.

🗺 Navigation Apps


Since Google Maps works only partially in Korea,

most people use the following apps instead.

  • Naver Map
  • Kakao Map


These apps provide excellent public transportation, walking directions, and place search features,

making them essential for daily life in Korea.

🌐 Translation Apps


  • Papago

It supports text, image, and voice translation,

and is extremely useful for understanding menus and signs.

🍔 Food Delivery Apps


Korea has a highly developed food delivery culture.

  • Baemin (Baedal Minjok)
  • Coupang Eats

However, most services require a Korean phone number and payment method.

🚕 Transportation Apps


  • Kakao T

This is the most commonly used taxi-hailing app in Korea,

allowing you to quickly request rides based on your location.

🛒 Shopping Apps


  • Coupang → wide range of products / fast delivery
  • Market Kurly → fresh food / premium grocery-focused

🧺 Lifestyle Convenience Services


Recently, lifestyle convenience services have also become very popular.

  • Oneul Sugo → garbage collection service
  • Laundrygo → laundry pickup and delivery service

⚠️ Common Difficulties Foreigners Experience


Since many apps require a Korean phone number and identity verification,

having a Korean phone setup is extremely important.

Many foreigners also experience difficulties during account registration and payment setup.

💡 A Practical Way to Prepare


Many foreigners prepare in the following order:

  1. Phone setup
  2. Install essential apps
  3. Set up payment methods

Some people also use services like Hanamichi

to make the process of phone setup and initial settlement easier.


📌 You can find more detailed guides and useful information about living in Korea on the official Hanamichi blog.

🔗 https://hanamichi.kr/en/blog/living-in-korea-3-essential-apps-korea

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