Handy Apps for Living in Korea
Korea’s technology has advanced so much, to the delight of all of us. With a variety of choices and options, we are spoiled with endless possibilities. As we always have our smartphone by our sides, they have become almost like our lifeline. From shopping, to games, to banking, all are just a few clicks away. Still, we need to be wise in selecting the right apps to use. Here are a compilation of my favorite apps. I hope you find them useful while living here.
Messenging: No further details needed, without a doubt, Kakao Talk takes first place among messaging applications in Korea. Almost everyone with a smartphone will have this program installed, and it has an English version, too. This application is very useful to communicate with your Korean friends and colleagues. With this app you can also send gift icons as well as shop and make friends with your favorite brand stores through Kakao Plus Friends.
Transportation: Wherever you are in Korea, I recommend you to use Kakao Bus and Kakao Taxi. It gives you information in real time about the nearby taxi and bus schedule. I also use Kakao Navi for my car navigation, as I find it simple and easy to use
Weather: Worrying whether or not you should do your laundry today or want to find out the dust volume that is expected outside? Although the weather application pre-installed in your phone is good enough, Wongi-nalssi (원기날씨, Wongi Weather) is my recommended apps as they provide better details on an hourly and weekly basis, by cities and even by neighborhoods (dongs). I also find the fine dust information so we can see whether we should stay outdoors or best indoors.
Shopping: Now, where should we even begin? With so many shopping apps available, we are absolutely spoiled. Personally, I use Coupang because I love their one-day delivery guarantee Rocket Delivery benefit. I also love their Rocket Fresh benefit where I can just simply buy groceries and have them delivered in front of my door before my sons are even awake!
Dining: Feeling hungry, yet too lazy to go out or cook? Use the food delivery apps to avoid the hassle of calling a restaurant! Yogiyo (요기요) and Baedal Minjok (배민 for short), are the most common food delivery apps. Just simply set your house address, and the application will search for all nearby food types that match your preference. Again, I also use Coupang Eats, as you can track the delivery and it has more restaurants available near my neighborhood. You can also opt for pick-up (with no delivery fee), and few times the restaurants also give discounts.
Language and Education: Wondering what that Korean word means in English? We find Naver Dictionary (네이버 사전) to be the most extensive program, with more than 30 languages available and with a translation feature collaborating with Papago. I also use Google Lens, for translation through photos and cameras.
I recommend that you try several applications with similar features to compare their performance. Please note that only a few of these apps have English versions, so basic Korean or at least the ability to read Hangeul helps a lot to fully use the Korean version. Just do not forget to update your apps occasionally, and have fun!
This article is first published in Gwangju News.