About

Hi, I'm Jay, a local in Korea. 👋

Experience Korea is where I help first-time visitors get through their first days in Korea without the stress. I make short comic stories about Korean culture, beauty, food and history, and on this blog I put everything that doesn't fit into a 60-second Short: step-by-step routes, floor plans, timetables, price ranges and the exact Korean phrases you'll need (always with the pronunciation).

What you'll find here

  • First Day in Korea: a comic series following my friend Mia from Canada, from Incheon Airport to her first night in Hongdae.
  • Practical guides: SIM cards and Wi-Fi, airport trains and buses, where to eat, shop and rest, with maps redrawn in English.
  • Korean you can actually use: short phrases written in Korean, with the romanization and the English meaning.

How I check things

I check details against official sources, like airport.kr, AREX and Seoul Metro, and I give prices as a range because they change. Still, things change, so please double-check before you travel. If you spot something out of date, leave a comment and I'll fix it.

Watch the comics

New episodes go up every morning on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

또 만나요! (tto man-na-yo) = See you again!
Jay

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Popular posts from this blog

Incheon Airport to Hongdae by Train: Take the BLUE One, Not the Orange One

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Full of bibimbap, Mia turned to me and asked, “Okay, how do we actually get to Hongdae?” Easy, we take the train. But there’s one mistake I see first-timers make all the time, and it can send you straight past Hongdae. So let me walk you through it the way I walked her through it. ▶ Tap the picture to watch the 40-second short on YouTube ▶ Subscribe on YouTube Watch this episode on YouTube 1. Follow the train signs from the food street From the B1 food street in Terminal 1, just follow the signs with the little train on them. You’ll hop on a moving walkway (Mia loved this) and it drops you at the Transportation Center . The station hall is right there, still on B1. 2. Grab some cash if you need it There’s a bank right in the station hall, so you can exchange money before you go through the gates. Mia swapped her Canadian dollars there. I stood a few steps away and studied the ceiling, as you do. 3. Top up your T-money card Find the kiosk, tap English , then Top up , and pop your cash i...
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Free Side Dishes?! Your First Korean Meal at Incheon Airport (T1 B1 Food Street)

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Mia’s stomach growled so loudly I swear the people at the next café heard it. She went bright red. I’d promised her lunch was on me, so off we went. And then the best part. We sat down, ordered, and before our food even came, six little plates of side dishes landed on the table. Mia’s face. “We didn’t order all this!” Nope. And you don’t pay for them either. ▶ Tap the picture to watch the 40-second short on YouTube ▶ Subscribe on YouTube Watch this episode on YouTube Where to eat: Terminal 1, B1 food street Head down to the basement level (B1). It’s before security, so anyone can go. You’ll find Korean places along the west side and the middle, while the east side has stuff like pork cutlet, tacos and Chinese. Over by the Transportation Center there are burgers, pho and Korean snack food too. Most menus have photos, so you can just point. Mia picked Jeonju bibimbap because, in her words, “it looks so Korean.” Great call. I went for pork gukbap. A few Korean restaurant things nobody te...
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Need Coffee at Incheon Airport? Where to Find It in T1 (and Why Koreans Leave Their Bags Outside)

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Freshly washed up and feeling like a new person. But Mia had one more thing on her mind: “Okay. I need coffee… and something sweet. Like, now.” Fair enough. ▶ Tap the picture to watch the 40-second short on YouTube ▶ Subscribe on YouTube Watch this episode on YouTube Terminal 1: the cafés are right outside arrivals Good news: you don’t have to go hunting. When you come out of the arrival gate in Terminal 1, just look up for the letters B , D or E above the exits. You’ll find a café right by each of them. Easy. Here’s a quick top-down sketch so you know exactly where they are. My own top-down sketch, simplified from the official Incheon Airport map . Not to scale. Cafés in the T1 arrival hall (1F) Where Café Hours Near arrival exit B Tous les Jours, Mimi Dandan 06:00 to 22:00 Between exits B and C Hollys Coffee Open 24 hours Near arrival exit D Paul Bassett 06:00 to 22:00 Near arrival exit E Angel-in-us Open 24 hours Near arrival exit E Normalo Coffee 06:00 to 22:00 Near door 10 Kri...
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