Going to South-Korea in April

Hello everyone!
As I mentioned in last blog post, I'm going to South-Korea in April! Going to stay there a little over two weeks and I'm excited even though it's my 4th time in there :P
I have flights booked but I'm still looking for a hostel to stay. Two weekends I'm staying at my boyfriend's place and weekdays I'll be in Seoul (except for the first weekend when I arrive). If anyone have some recommendations for me as to where to stay (hostels), please let me know~ I already got one tip from Anniina and gonna check it out if they have rooms available but I'd like to compare before booking any. I have always stayed in Hongdae area so this time I want hostel from someplace else.

Many of my friends have already asked to meet and I'm happy that at least I'll not be bored~ Even though I'm used to travelling alone, I still miss company and it's more fun to experience things with someone. I still have no idea what I'm going to do though xD But I have at least one sight I want to see finally; Bukchon hanok village in Seoul. Sometimes my friends are like "you still haven't visited there, it's like one of the first things to visit when you're in Seoul" :,D I admit, my loss but I'm finally gonna visit there for sure!

Anyway, because I have visited Korea before, I thought I could do listing for you guys what to remember when you go to Korea. This will be useful for first timers :)

1. Vaccinations. If you go to Seoul it's pretty safe area but if you're travelling anywhere else you should check if your vaccinations are still valid.

2. T-Money. When you get to Korea, search convenience store at airport and ask for T-Money. It's their equivalent to finnish "matkakortti." So it's basically a travel card where you can load money and your travel expenses in public transports will be a bit cheaper than when you're buying a regular ticket. Public transports in Korea are very cheap, I have usually put something like 30,000won (about 23€) and it has been quite enough for travelling two weeks inside Seoul. You can load t-money either in convenience store or if you forget to put money for the card there, they have loading machines for example near subway station.
I use subway alot in Korea(I rarely use bus in Seoul) because it's convenient and takes you basically anywhere. So it's so nice I don't have to spend alot of money for ticket payments!

3. If you want to end up staying center of Seoul from where you can access lots of places, here's couple areas that will fit you perfectly: Dongdaemun (whole), Jongno (whole), Myeongdong, Hongdae, Ewha, Hyehwa, Sinchon.
My favorites are Hongdae and Myeongdong. Hongdae is good especially for younger people.

4. Cash! Korea uses won. In most shops foreign cards will work, even my visa electron has worked in pretty many places. But be aware that especially in smaller, individual shops that don't belong to any chain, your card might not work. So it's good to have cash.

5. Learn at least few words in korean. About in 90% places in Korea, they don't speak english. And especially if you go anywhere outside Seoul. If you at least know few words, you will be treaded more friendly instantly. Koreans will be happy you have spend time to memorize at least few words.

6. If you don't know hangul (korean alphabet) and you have friends who do, have them translate most common foods in restaurants for you. This will help you alot and you don't have to guess everytime what you ordered :P Because in many many restaurants, they have menus only in korean.
But no worries if you don't know hangul or don't have friends who know either, you can just pretty much point pictures (usually many restaurants have pictures of their foods on walls) or then just point some other customers food.

7. When you give your card/cash for payment and when you receive it back with receipt and change, hold your left hand under your right hand (preferably under elbow but under wrist is ok too if you're in hurry). It's respectful gesture when you're receiving something. If you receive only with one hand, it's considered disrespectful. If you're receiving present from elder person, always receive with two hands! They forgive if you don't remember this because you're foreigner but they will be happy and surprised if you remember. And I put this here because sometimes for example when I was standing at bus stops random elder people gave me food like fruits xD they're really kind in korea that way~

8. Take mosquito repellent with you, even in winter. Mosquitos in Korea are like ninjas, you almost never hear them, just get stinged xD They have mosquitos even in winter... I don't know how they survive... And if you're sensitive to mosquito noises, take earplugs especially if you're staying in guest house. In my experience, guest houses have them the most.

9. Pack lightly when you leave your country. In South-Korea it's pretty cheap, especially for those who live in western countries are like in heaven when coming to Korea lol. Clothes, make-up, food... did I mention you can get warm meal with only 2€. Of course Korea has also expensive places but basically most of places are really cheap.

10. Do rough travel plan. Especially if you're only staying in Seoul. Because Seoul is big, it's impossible to see everything if you're planning on staying only one or two weeks. It's also important to do plans for different days because sights are scattered all around and it's more convenient to see sights close to each other in one day. Because for example if you take one sight from left side of Seoul and second sight opposite side, you may end up travelling over 1 hour in subway.

So here was my tips to Korea~ I have learned from some mistakes and I'm glad to help others for their travel plans :) If you have any questions for me, comment below.

And lastly, some useful short info:

• You don't need adapter (if you're from Finland). They use the same as us.
• Road signs are mostly romanized or in english. 
• When you're travelling in a bus, you have to beep your t-money card when you're entering bus and when you're going out. They have machine in city busses near center doors so you have to tap that before going out or next time your ticket payment will be a bit higher (something to do with penalty fee of not tapping out).
• Cosmetics are popular in Korea, they have many of their own brands. They're cheap but good!
• At least in cosmetics shops they give you freebies. It varies how much you'll be getting freebies and samples from where you're buying. (buying from areas with lots of tourists you get less).
• Korea has two airports in Seoul area (Incheon and Gimpo). If you're flying domestic it's propably leaving from Gimpo.
• Only places where customer service speaks good english are in airport and in hotels. And in some stores in myeongdong and insadong (very popular shopping place among tourists).
• If you visit Busan, T-money works there. But note; you can't load it in Busan.

I hope this helps! I can't wait for my trip, a little over 2 months to go >3< I'm excitedly waiting for matka2016 to get some more travelling tips for my trip~

Until next time :) see you!