Hey! So Last month I had a 6-day vacation in Seoul, Korea... Alone! I had a lot of fun and thought it'll be nice to share some things that I learned about Korea. Unlike most travelers does I would like to focus more on giving some tips on how you can get around Korea comfortably. Before going there I sure did a lot of research but still there are things that I only learned/discovered during my trip. That's the main reason why I'll be posting a couple of tips, hoping that future tourists will come across my post while planning their trip.

So here's my first tip...

Don't we all hate it early morning or late night arrivals? the agony of waiting for the "check in" time to our respective hotels?. The time wasted on going straight to our hotel to leave our luggage before we can jumpstart our trip?. And for some isn't it a hassle to go around pulling our luggage or looking like a turtle with our huge backpacks?

When in Korea you need not to worry about this things anymore :) You can head straight to your travel plans without thinking about your luggage. All you have to do is use the Digital lockers found in Seoul's subway, I tried this after checking out to my hostel during the afternoon for my 10:00 p.m. flight. If only I knew this before I could've used one  before checking in as well, but hey at least I was able to use it before heading back home.

While going around Seoul I noticed that there's this locker like thing in every subway station, so I checked it and found out that it's a Digital locker. At first I was like "Who will use such locker?" I mean it's in the subway where anyone can access it. But I noticed that most of it are occupied, so when I went back to my hostel I asked the owner if it's safe to use and I got a positive reply. He even told me that it's widely used in Seoul specially in the shopping district, which makes sense. He said that it's safe as long as you make sure that you locked it, and if I'm still hesitant just don't leave valuable things (i.e. money, travel docs etc.).

Then I googled it, I found some instructions on how to use it in KTO site (link below) which made me think that it must be safe to use since it's in KTO site.

Here are the details on how you can use the digital locker as stated on KTO site,

Subway Lockers

Many of the subway stations on Seoul Subway Lines are equipped with paid lockers. In addition to storage, these lockers provide diverse services including shipping and receiving, express delivery, and laundry.

• Locker Usage Fees

1. 1. Storage: Small lockers 2,000 won / Large lockers 3,000 won (based on 24 hours; extra charge for additional hours)
2. 2. Home delivery service: Small lockers 2,000 won / Large lockers 3,000 won (based on 24 hours; extra charge for additional hours)
3. 3. Shipping & Receiving
   • - Shipping: General 6,000 won / Jeju Island 8,000 won / Other islands 10,000 won
   • - Packing (separate charge): 2,000 won (extra charge for weights over 10kg)
4. 4. Transferring to another station/storage: 10,000 won per box(based on a small box weighing less than 10kg)
5. 5. Long-term usage: 100,000 won per month (Inquiries: 1588-2625)

• Features of Subway Lockers

1. 1. LCD screen storage & pick-up information
2. 2. T-money Card payment
3. 3. Credit card payment
4. 4. Receipt pick-up
5. 5. CCTV video recording

• How to Store Belongings

1. 1. Locker Usage Options. Select “1 물품 보관하기 (Storage)” on the screen.
2. 2. Locker Selection. Select your preferred locker, and select “확인 (Confirm).” Available lockers are shown in blue boxes.
3. 3. Payment Methods. The first row indicates the locker usage fee. (Picture: 2,000 won for a small locker) Select the method of payment: 1) T-money Card; 2) Credit Card; 3) Cell Phone; 4) Cash. Payment with cell phones may be limited for foreign visitors.
4. 4. Payment. Pay the locker usage fee. (Picture: After selecting payment method #1, place your T-money Card on the T-money Card reader. Make sure there is enough money in the T-money Card balance.)
5. 5. Open Locker. When your locker opens, put your belongings inside.
6. 6. Close Locker. Make sure to put your belongings on the red circle inside the locker. Close the locker, and it will lock automatically.
   * Do not lose the card you used to pay with, as you will need it to open the locker again.

• How to Pick Up Stored Belongings

1. 1. Locker Usage Options. Select “5 물품찾기 (Pick-Up)” on the screen.
2. 2. Pick-up Options. #1: 본인이 보관한 물품 찾기 (Pick up my belongings) / #2: 타인에게서 전달 받은 물품 또는 택배물품, 다른 역 이동 물품 찾기 (Pick up delivery packages)
3. 3. Payment Methods. Select the method of payment you used for storing belongings in the locker.
4. 4. Payment Confirmation. Confirm the payment of the locker usage fee. (Picture: Place your T-money Card that you used for payment on the T-money Card reader)
5. 5. Pick-up Options. #1: 예 (Yes; Pick up my belongings) / #2: 아니오 (No; Restore my belongings). Extra charge applies for extended use of the locker.
6. 6. Open Locker. When your locker opens, take out all your belongings.
7. 7. Close Locker. Take out all your belongings, and close the locker if no longer using it.

Will be back with more "When in Korea" post, hope you liked this one ;)


Reference: KTO