What Korea Sidekick is
Korea Sidekick is a practical local guide for foreign travelers in Korea. We help visitors understand Korea through clear, useful guides on maps, transport, food, payments, places to stay, shopping, and everyday travel situations.
Our goal is simple: to make Korea easier to figure out, without the guesswork. Every guide is written for real travel moments — the kind where you are standing in a subway station, looking at an app that does not work the way you expected, and you just need a clear answer.
Why I started Korea Sidekick
I’m a dad of two, born in the 1980s, and I’ve loved travel for as long as I can remember.
I started back when there were no smartphones and no Google Maps — just a guidebook and the flimsy paper map folded into the back of it. I found my way through countries where I didn’t speak a word of the language, getting by on hand gestures and a lot of pointing. That, to me, was travel.
These days, anyone with a phone and Wi-Fi can get almost anywhere with ease. But if we all end up in the same spots eating the same things, that starts to feel less like travel and more like a well-organized game.
So I wanted to show visitors the Korea I actually know — unfiltered, the real thing, the good parts and the awkward ones alike.
The whole site really comes down to one question: if a friend from abroad came to visit, where would I take them, and what would I want to eat together? That is the spirit I started this with — honest, and meant sincerely.
You will find a few places everyone knows here, and some you have never heard of. All I hope is that you leave with something useful, get a peek at where locals actually go — and that even if you never make the trip, you come away thinking, “huh, I did not know Korea had places like that.”
What we actually do
Most travel content about Korea falls into one of two buckets: stiff official tourism pages, or emotional “hidden gem” blog posts. Neither helps much when you are trying to get from the airport to your hotel at 11 p.m. with a suitcase.
So we focus on the practical middle. Each guide tries to answer one real question, give you the short answer first, and then walk through the steps, the costs, the common mistakes, and the local tip that saves you time or money.
- Maps and apps — how to navigate Korea when Google Maps behaves differently than at home.
- Transport — airports, subways, buses, trains, and intercity travel.
- Payments — transit cards, mobile payments, cash, and what foreigners can actually use.
- Food and places — how to order, what to expect, and where locals actually go.
- Stays and itineraries — choosing where to base yourself and how to plan realistic days.
How we write
We aim for honest, checked information rather than hype. When something can change — a price, a schedule, a rule — we say so and add the date we last checked. When we are not certain, we say that too, instead of guessing. You can read more about this in our Editorial Policy.
Who we are not
Korea Sidekick is not an official tourism organization, and we are not affiliated with the Korea Tourism Organization or any government body. We are an independent travel information site, created to help foreign visitors make better decisions before and during their trip to Korea.
Get in touch
Found something out of date, or have a question we should answer? We would genuinely like to hear it. Reach us through our Contact page.