I am Unnie. I was born and grew up in Seoul, I live in Sydney, and I fly home to Korea once a year. That once-a-year rhythm is the whole reason this site exists: I am close enough to know how things really work, and far enough away to notice everything that has changed since last time.
I have lived in Australia for twenty years now, and I still get caught out every time I land at Incheon. A card I used last year has been replaced. An app wants a Korean phone number it did not need before. The queue I always joined has moved. If it trips me up — and I am Korean — I kept thinking about how it must feel for someone arriving for the first time.
Why I started this in August 2025
More people are travelling to Korea than at any point I can remember, and a lot of the English-language advice out there is either translated from Korean without the context, or written by someone who spent four days here. I sit in an odd middle spot. I know which market stall is worth the queue, and I also know what it feels like to compare a Seoul price to a Sydney one and wonder which is the good deal.
So in August 2025 I started writing it down. Not a diary — the practical parts. What a thing costs, whether you need to book, what I got wrong the first time, and when the famous option is not the one I would pick.
How I actually write these guides
This is the part I would want to know about a stranger’s travel blog, so here it is plainly.
- I go, then I write. Most of the photos on this site are mine, taken on my own trips. When a photo is not mine, I say so underneath it.
- I use real numbers. Prices, opening hours and travel times come from what I paid and what I saw, and I note when something is likely to change.
- I say when I have not done something. If I am writing about a hotel I have not slept in or a class I have not taken, I tell you that and explain what I judged it on instead. I do not write it up as though I had been there.
- I include the downsides. A recommendation with no drawbacks usually means nobody looked hard enough.
- I go back and fix things. Korea changes fast. When a price or a rule moves, I update the guide rather than leaving it to age quietly.
What you will find here
Four things, roughly, and they are the four I get asked about most.
- Getting around — airport transfers, T-money and transit cards, the subway, taxis. The unglamorous part that decides whether your first day is good or awful.
- Neighbourhoods — Seongsu, Hongdae, Myeongdong, Namsan and the rest, written as walks rather than lists of pins.
- K-beauty — what is actually on the Olive Young shelves, what I have used long enough to have an opinion about, and what I would skip.
- Food — markets, Korean BBQ, and how to eat the same food back home in Australia once the trip is over.
What I do not cover
I write about Seoul and the places I actually get to. I am not the person to ask about a two-week countryside tour, and I do not pretend to keep up with every new cafe opening. Visa rules and entry requirements change constantly and I am not qualified to advise on them — always check the official Korean government sources for those.
How this site pays for itself
Some links here are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you book or buy through them, at no extra cost to you. It does not change what I recommend, and it never buys a good review — if I did not get on with something, that is what the guide will say. The full detail is in the privacy policy.
Get in touch
If something here is out of date, or you are planning a trip and cannot find the answer, tell me. I read everything, and I would rather fix a wrong price than leave it sitting there. The contact page is the fastest way to reach me.
Thanks for reading. I hope the trip is a good one.
— Unnie