General Information on South Korea

It is always good to understand a little more about the country's culture, tradition and background before you travel. Below are some quick facts about Korea, ranging from boring ones to quick facts!

1. South Korea is also known as Republic of Korea. Democratic People's Republic of Korea refers to North Korea so please do not be fooled by the word "Democratic".

2. South Korea is one hour ahead of Singapore, UTC+9.

3. In Korea, we prefer to write our dates in the following format, YYYYMMDD which is the reverse of Singapore.

4. Our currency is Korean Won (KRW) or denoted as ₩. For a quick conversion to Singapore Dollars (SGD), you can simply take the last 3 zeros away. i.e. ₩3,000 = S$3.

5. Capital of South Korea is Seoul and our main international airport is located in Incheon. (I have seen some websites indicating it as Seoul Airport but it refers to the Incheon Airport) We have several small airports within Korea that allows you to fly to other cities.

6. Our driving side is on the right, which means the driver's seat is on the left. This is the opposite of Singapore so please look right first then left when you are crossing the road!

7. South Korea values courtesy and respect to those who are older or to even people that you have first met. It is good to show your mannerism through a simple bow when you say thank you or when you greet someone older.

8. Most of you will be travelling in groups. Korea, especially cities such as Seoul, is a crowded country and people move very fast. Please be a little more self aware when you meet in crowded places like the subway stations and refrain from blocking the way!