The Everyday Logistics Nobody Explains Before You Land in Korea
Daily life in Korea runs on a phone number, a bank account, and an ARC card, and none of the three exist until you've already dealt with the other two — so most new teachers spend their first two weeks improvising.
Park English2026-09-193 min read
Nobody tells you this before you land: almost every daily task in Korea assumes you already have an Alien Registration Card. Delivery apps want a Korean phone number. Phone plans want an ARC. Banks want both. So the order you do things in actually matters, and getting it wrong just means a slower first two weeks, not a disaster.
What comes first, and roughly when
Most hagwons handle the ARC application for you, filed at the local immigration office after you arrive. In our experience it takes anywhere from ten days to a month depending on the district — Yangcheon and Mokdong offices in Seoul tend to move faster than the regional ones, but that's anecdotal, not a rule, so ask your school what they've seen recently.
Until the ARC clears, this is what works:
- SIM card, week one. Buy a prepaid tourist SIM at the airport or a convenience store (KT and LG U+ both sell them) so you have a number for KakaoTalk and delivery apps. Switch to a proper plan once the ARC arrives.
- Bank account, once the ARC is issued. Kakao Bank lets you open an account through the app once you have an ARC number, which is faster than a branch visit to KEB Hana or Woori. Your first paycheck goes here.
- T-money card, day one. Sold at any convenience store, no ID needed. Use it before anything else works.
- Delivery apps, once you have a Korean number. Baemin and Coupang Eats both need a Korean phone number and an address entered in Korean — ask a co-worker to help set the address once, and it saves you every time after.
Hospitals and pharmacies
Pharmacies (약국) handle far more than they would back home — sore throats, mild fevers, stomach trouble — no appointment, no prescription needed for a lot of it. For anything bigger, national health insurance (which your school enrolls you in) covers roughly 70% of outpatient costs, so a GP visit usually runs a few thousand won out of pocket. Seoul has hospitals with English-speaking international clinics, Severance and Samsung Medical Center among them, but a translation app and a patient nurse get most teachers through a smaller local hospital just fine.
Where teachers actually gather
Waygook.org is still where a lot of teachers ask logistics questions first, though it skews public-school. City-specific Facebook groups — search "[your city] foreigners" — are more useful for hagwon teachers finding meetups, secondhand furniture, and roommates. Physically, Itaewon and Hongdae in Seoul, and Gwangalli in Busan, are where the expat bars and language exchanges cluster, but plenty of teachers build their whole social life through co-workers instead.
What the first month actually costs
| Item | Typical range (KRW) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Prepaid SIM | 30,000–50,000 | one-time, first two weeks |
| Phone plan (post-ARC) | 30,000–55,000/month | varies by carrier and data |
| T-money top-ups | 20,000–40,000/month | depends on commute |
| Groceries + eating out | 400,000–600,000/month | roughly, varies a lot by city |
| Hospital/pharmacy | 10,000–30,000 per visit | after insurance kicks in |
| Housing deposit | 0–varies | many hagwons provide the apartment |
Those numbers move with the city and the school's housing setup, so treat them as a planning range, not a promise.