Everyday practical information for South Korea

Local rules worth taking seriously

• Defamation is criminal, and truth is no defence. Under Article 307 of the Criminal Act, a statement that damages someone's reputation can be prosecuted even if it is entirely accurate. A bad restaurant or hotel review posted publicly is enough to expose a visitor to a fine or worse. Complain to the business, or through the 1330 tourist helpline, not on a review site.
• Photographing or filming people without consent is a criminal offence, prosecuted under Korea's illegal-filming laws with serious penalties. Every phone sold in Korea makes a shutter sound that cannot be turned off - an industry standard in place since 2004, adopted precisely because of covert photography. A foreign phone can be silent; the law still applies to you.
• Drugs: zero tolerance, and it includes CBD. Possession or use of cannabis, CBD oil or any recreational drug leads to detention and deportation. Prescription medicines containing stimulants such as methylphenidate, and strong opioid painkillers, need approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety obtained before you travel, or they are confiscated at the airport.
• Drones are realistically not an option for a visitor. Anything over 250 g must be registered on the drone one-stop portal, and registration requires Korean identity verification and a Korean phone number, which a tourist does not have. Aerial photography needs a permit applied for at least four business days in advance. The area around the government complexes in Seoul is a hard no-fly zone, greater Seoul sits inside a restricted buffer needing military authorisation, and the northern border areas are closed. Fines reach the low millions of won.
• Smoking outdoors is restricted and enforced. Cigarettes and e-cigarettes are allowed only in designated smoking areas; most major streets, and everything within 10 metres of a subway entrance, are non-smoking. On-the-spot fines run to 100,000 KRW, with some districts charging 50,000 for a first offence.
• Waste sorting is a legal requirement, run through paid volume-based bags with general waste, food waste and recyclables strictly separated.
• Etiquette - cover shoulders and knees at Buddhist temples, do not point at people or sacred objects, and hand or receive anything - a card, money, a glass - with both hands when the other person is older.

Everyday practicalities

• Power - type C and F sockets at 220 V, 60 Hz. Continental European plugs fit without an adapter; British, American and Australian ones do not.
• Tap water is safe to drink, though hotels usually also provide bottled water.
• Time - UTC+9, with no daylight saving.
• Opening hours - shops and malls roughly 10:00 or 10:30 until 20:00-22:00; banks 09:00 to 16:00; convenience stores around the clock.
• The holidays that stop the country are Seollal and Chuseok. Most shops close, domestic transport is jammed, and KTX tickets sell out weeks ahead.
• Public toilets are free, clean and in every metro station and public building.