This comes up in our chat almost every week, usually right before someone books: "I don't speak any Korean — is that going to be a problem?" The one-line answer is no. But that's not really what people are asking. They want to know what happens at the restaurant, in the taxi, at the pharmacy at 9 pm. So here's the honest version.

Where English works fine

• Subway and buses — signs, maps, and announcements are in English. You can get across the city without a word of Korean.
• Airports — staff, signage, and ticket counters are all English-ready.
• Tourist districts — in Myeongdong, Hongdae, Gangnam, plenty of shop and café staff handle English comfortably, and menus often have English or photos.
• Younger Koreans — many can hold a conversation in English, especially in Seoul. Ask politely and people genuinely try to help; that part of Korea's reputation is earned.

Where English runs out

• Neighborhood restaurants — the good ones, the ones without a line of tourists outside, often have Korean-only menus and staff who don't speak English. This is often where the food is best.
• Taxis — most drivers speak little English. Saying your destination rarely works.
• Pharmacies and clinics — labels and dosage instructions are in Korean, and "is this for a stomach ache or a headache?" is a bad guessing game.
• Anything unplanned — a closed shop, a changed exit, a "sorry, we're fully booked." Improvising is where the gap actually costs you time.

What your phone can fix

• Papago (by Naver) beats Google Translate for Korean. It's trained on Korean, and it shows: point the camera at a menu and 삼겹살 comes back as "pork belly," while Google has been known to offer "three layers of flesh." (official: https://papago.naver.com)
• Camera translation works well for menus, signs, product labels, and packaging. This alone solves most of the restaurant problem.
• Kakao T for taxis — you set the destination in the app, so no talking required. Also keep your hotel address saved in Korean text to show a driver. (official: https://www.kakaot.com)

Honestly, with these three you can travel Seoul solo just fine. Plenty of people do.

What your phone can't fix

Translation apps convert words. They don't do the parts that make a day good:

• Recommendations. A camera can translate the menu; it can't tell you that the second item is what everyone actually orders here, or that the place next door does it better.
• Back-and-forth. Asking a follow-up question, adjusting an order, dealing with "we're out of that" — app ping-pong kills the rhythm of a conversation, and the other person usually gives up before you do.
• Reading the room. Whether a place is worth the wait, whether the staff just told you something important, whether that queue is for the food or the photo spot.
• Phone calls and reservations. Some of the best small places take bookings by phone, in Korean, only.

What changes with a Crew member

This is the part we can speak to directly: we communicate in English before and during your meetup, and your Crew member handles all the Korean for you. In practice that means they order, they translate the menu, they ask the questions you'd have to type out, and they handle the taxi, the pharmacy, and the "actually, let's go one street over" moments.

You're not hiring an interpreter — you're spending the day with someone who happens to remove the language problem as a side effect. Most travelers stop noticing it by lunch. If you'd rather ask about a specific situation before you book, just say so in chat. "My hotel is in Jongno, will the crew help me get to the airport?" is a completely normal question and we answer it every week.

Want to learn a few words anyway?

Most travelers still learn a few basic phrases — it's fun, and Korean staff visibly light up when you try. We write short phrase guides for exactly this, five phrases at a time with pronunciation:

5 Korean Phrases for Ordering Food

5 Korean Cafe Phrases

5 Korean Taxi Phrases

5 Korean Street Food Phrases