Navigation and transit
Global map apps have historically had gaps in Korea for walking/transit directions specifically, so a Korea-specific map or navigation app is genuinely worth adding alongside whatever you normally use — search for the current best-reviewed option before you travel, since this is exactly the kind of ranking that shifts often.
Translation
A translation app with camera-based scanning (point your camera at a menu or sign and see a translated overlay) solves a large share of daily friction — see our language basics guide for the phrases worth knowing on top of it.
Food delivery and ride-hailing
Korea's dominant food delivery and ride-hailing apps are genuinely useful even for a short visit — for late-night food, for a taxi when the subway has stopped running, or simply when you don't want to walk in bad weather. Some require a Korean phone number or local payment method to fully set up, so check requirements before you rely on one.
Currency and budgeting
A simple currency converter that works offline is worth having for quick mental-math sanity checks on prices, especially early in a trip before you've built an intuitive sense of the exchange rate.