Do I need a Korean SIM to use these apps?

Not for the apps above: they sign you up with email, Google, Apple or your passport. You still need mobile data to use them on the go.

What if an app rejects my foreign card?

Try Apple Pay where the app supports it, a second card from another network, or pay on site. Our foreign card guide lists where cards usually work.

Can someone book a phone-only restaurant for me?

Yes. While it is in beta, NowHitz can call a restaurant or venue in Korean for you. See Call help.

VISITOR GUIDE

Which Korean apps work without a Korean phone number?

Most of the ones you need. Naver Map, the k.ride taxi app, CatchTable for restaurants, NOL World and Melon Ticket Global for tickets and KORAIL's English site work without a Korean number, and Baemin delivery takes foreign cards through Apple Pay. The hard spots left in 2026 are K-pop fan-club presales, phone-only restaurants and Korean pay wallets.

Updated 2026-10-25

Maps: Naver Map first

Naver Map runs in English, Japanese and Chinese, with English navigation, and you don't need a Korean number to search, check transit or get directions. Since June 5, 2026 it also lets visitors verify with a passport and a live face check to book restaurants, clinics and other places that take reservations through Naver. Korea approved Google's use of detailed map data in February 2026, but check in the Google Maps app what actually works before you rely on it for walking routes.

Taxis: k.ride or Kakao T

k.ride, Kakao Mobility's app for visitors, lets you sign up with Google, Apple or email and pay with a foreign card, and it translates your chat with the driver. It only offers the pricier ride types. Kakao T itself needs a Kakao account and SMS verification, but accepts overseas Visa, Mastercard, Amex and JCB cards.

Restaurants: CatchTable and Naver Map

CatchTable, Korea's biggest restaurant booking app, says on its App Store page that no Korean phone number is needed: you sign up with an email, pay deposits with your own credit card and search in 20 languages. You can also join a waitlist remotely. For places that aren't on CatchTable, try Naver Map's Booking tab with the passport check. Small neighbourhood restaurants that only take bookings by phone are still the hard part.

Food delivery: Baemin with Apple Pay

Since June 2, 2026, Baemin accepts foreign-issued Visa, Mastercard, JCB and American Express cards through Apple Pay, the first Korean delivery app to do so. The app works in English, Chinese and Japanese. Because it goes through Apple Pay, this route is for iPhone users.

Tickets: use the global sites

For concerts, musicals and attractions, use NOL World or Melon Ticket Global rather than the Korean pages, and verify your account with your passport days before the sale. Many K-pop agencies now hold a domestic fan-club presale that checks Korean residency with a Korean phone number or i-PIN, followed by a separate global fan-club presale, so plan for the global presale or the general sale.

Trains: KORAIL's English site

KTX and other KORAIL trains can be booked on KORAIL's English website or the KORAIL+ app, at station counters, or with a KORAIL Pass for foreign visitors. If online booking doesn't work for you, buy at a station counter.

Where visitors still get stuck

Three gaps remain in 2026: K-pop fan-club presales that check Korean residency, restaurants and small shops that only take bookings by phone in Korean, and Korean pay wallets such as Naver Pay, which still ask for Korean verification (Naver says a passport check is coming step by step). For the phone-only places, NowHitz can make the call in Korean for you while our call help is in beta.

Sources we checked

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