Korea can be exciting to explore—and surprisingly difficult to navigate. Korea Compass turns healthcare, transportation and everyday systems into clear, practical guidance for international visitors and residents.
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Healthcare in Korea
Understand how Korean hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and prescriptions work before you need them.
Travel in Korea
Plan transportation, payments, food and everyday logistics without wasting time after you arrive.
Living & Practical Tips
Learn how to use local apps, shops and services—and avoid the small problems that can make life in Korea frustrating.
Latest Guides
New and updated guides to healthcare, travel and everyday life in Korea.
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Korea Is So Clean—So Where Are All the Trash Cans?
Korea’s streets look remarkably clean even when public trash cans are hard to find. Here is why—and what travelers should do with cups, wrappers and food waste.
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Apple Watch Tmoney in Korea: Can Tourists Finally Tap In?
Foreign tourists can finally use Tmoney on a compatible Apple Watch in Korea. But the setup route matters—and travelers relying only on Visa may still need a physical transit card.
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Can You Be Admitted to a Korean Hospital Without a Caregiver?
Hospital care in Korea may leave families responsible for everyday bedside support. Learn when to arrange a private caregiver, how integrated nursing wards work, and why English-speaking caregivers should be booked early.
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Lost Medication in Korea? How to Get a Replacement Prescription
Your suitcase never arrived. Your blood pressure tablets, thyroid medication, insulin or seizure medicine are inside—and you may not have enough doses left for tomorrow. Can you show a photograph of the bottle at a Korean pharmacy and buy the same medicine? Sometimes a pharmacist can help with an over-the-counter product. But if you have…
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Olive Young or a Korean Pharmacy? Where Should You Buy Skincare in Korea?
A pharmacy product is not automatically medicine, and Olive Young skincare is not automatically weaker. Here is how to choose the right store in Korea.
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Why Korean Sunscreen Feels Different—and Why America Is Finally Catching Up
In June 2026, the FDA approved the first new sunscreen ingredient added to its OTC system since the late 1990s. Korean products had already been using it. Here is why the formulas can feel so different.
Guidance Built from Real Experience
Korea Compass is edited by Michael Han, a Korea-based international healthcare professional with more than 15 years of experience supporting foreign patients and working with Korean medical providers.
Our guides combine firsthand knowledge of Korean systems with current public information and clearly identified sources. The goal is simple: to explain what international visitors and residents actually need to know before making a decision.