Updated!

Hi guys! I’ve updated a few things, and added directions to EXO Chanyeol’s Dad’s Cafe, 좋은새상만들기 (Joheun Sesang Mandeulgi), also EXO Kai’s older sister’s cafe, KAMONG, Super Junior Yesung’s Mouse Rabbit Cafe, and the eyewear store Y-WHY Style Yesung gave to his dad! Check em out!

Please continue to let me know of changes or renovations etc., and I’ll update the pages as soon as I can!

Some other useful things for you:

The Seoul subway app I use: 자하철 or Jihachul is the best subway app, and it’s available  in Korean, English, and Chinese and you can also use it for Busan, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwamgju!! You just have to change the city/language in the “Settings”.
Here it is on Google Play: Jihachul
Here it is on iTunes: Jihachul

HERE is Visit Korea’s site on subway information, including info on short-term passes, fares, how to use the machines, etc.

The Seoul Bus app is called 서울버스 or Seoul Bus. I haven’t used this one much though, so I’m not as familiar with it, but feel free to download it and have a gander if you think you may use the buses!
Seoul Bus for Androids

T-Money Card tips:
-A T-Money card is your transportation pass card. You can use it on subways, buses, and in some taxis. (You may also see Cash Bee cards in some places, which also work, but T-Money is the best for Seoul). You can get a card or a phone charm (sometimes in cute shapes like Hello Kitty or Rilakkuma), and you load it with however much cash you want, and then you scan it when you enter AND exit the subway, or when you get ON the bus.
-You should be able to get a T-Money card in most subway stations. There are machines where you can issue a new card or refill your current one, and they have English, Chinese and…maybe Japanese options as well. You just tap your language, pick if you want a new card or to refill yours, then follow the prompts. It’s really easy.
-You can ALSO get and refill t-money cards in CU’s and GS25 stores. These are little convenience stores ALL OVER, and you hopefully shouldn’t have any trouble finding one. In my experience, not all 7/11’s seem to support T-Money, but will usually do Cash Bee I think. So you can go into a CU or GS25 and ask for a T-Money card, and they’ll show you their options and you can pick which one you want. You’ll have to pay for the card/charm, and then give them cash for what you want to load on it.

Naver Maps
Naver is Korea’s version of Google. Always, always trust Naver Maps over Google. Google maps is not near as reliable in Korea, as it hasn’t been updated in a long time, and Korea is constantly changing! Naver Maps should have an english option as well. It may take a bit to get used to, but it is wayyy more accurate than most other online map sources.
Naver Maps App for Androids
Naver Maps App on iTunes
Instructions for using Naver Maps (on iPhones)

11 Comments

  1. Hello, I have 2 quick questions. Do you know where I could buy T-money with EXO pictures? I saw Yeol had a soundwave bracelet (I think he recorded a message and they made the pattern of the bracelet based on it). Do you know which store sells it? Thank you so much!

    • Hi! Yeah I’ve seen T-money cards with all kinds of kpop groups on them, but they’re usually sold at the little “underground” stands that sell lots of off-brand kpop stuff. Those places are ALL OVER Myeongdong, you just have to look for them. There are a few places in one subway station that I know has them, and if I remember correctly, it’s Euljiro 1ga, and if not that one, than Myeongdong station. There is a little old lady who has this…”store” near a major subway exit, and it is literally bursting with Kpop stuff. You literally can’t even go INTO the store cuz it’s so packed LOL you basically look at what she’s got outside and if you dont see what you want, you can ask her and she’ll go diving through all the stuff inside haha. There’s another place near it, that sells CDs and posters and stuff, run my a man with a surprisingly high voice haha. THat place is a little more organized haha. I know both of those places have Kpop T-money cards (but the cards themselves may be 15,000-20,000 won O_O). I dont think I’ve seen any official EXO T-money cards though..

  2. hiii! I was wondering if you could also do the directions to Yesung (Super Junior) his café, it’s named Mouse Rabbit, and the store he gave his dad, named Why Style (it’s a glasses store). Also, thanks for all the other information! It will come in handy one day 😀

  4. I’m currently trying to plan my trip to Seoul and thanks to your website it’s going really well however, do you really think naver is better than google? I’ve been using google and find it way easier because it’s in English do you think naver has an English option to make it easier for me even understand anything ahaha

    • In my experience, Naver maps is definitely better than Google Maps in Korea. I don’t think Google has updated their maps of Korea in a while, (pretty sure this is because Google is a foreign company, and Naver is Korean, and Google isn’t really supported there). In fact, I just went to double check, and looked up the corner of Apgujeong where JYP and CUBE are, and neither of them are even listed on Google Maps…where CUBE is, it says GS25, and a church is listed where the dunkin donuts is across from JYP. FNC and SM ent. are also not listed on Google, but they are on Naver. The Baskin Robins that’s kind of a landmark in finding JYP and CUBE is also not on Google Maps, but is on Naver.
      I also looked up the city I lived in in Korea on both google and naver maps, just for kicks, and it was vastly different there too.
      Basically, Google will probably have most of the streets right, and the general layout of the city, but buildings and businesses, and what everything is now will be very inaccurate.
      Supposedly there is an English version on Naver maps, but I never looked for it extensively, since I could understand enough Korean to be able to use Naver maps.
      I would however, strongly suggest that, if you haven’t already, learn to at least read Korean. Its so easy, and really helps with using never, or even just when being in Korea, because you can sound things out and read what things are. A lot of time, the name of a building will be written in English on the building itself, but on maps it’s in Korean,and you can kind of double check where you are sometimes that way. For example, on naver maps, Baskin Robins is spelled 배스킨라빈스, which if sounded out, sounds like “ba-su-kin ra-bin-su,” which obviously is the Korean pronunciation, but still sounds like the name. And the actual building itself has “Baskin Robins” in English. So learning to read, even if you can’t understand all the words, will help a lot. Also, a lot of things are written in Korean, but are actually English words.
      If I figure out how to find the English version on Naver maps, I’ll let you know though! 🙂

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