Ordering Food (and other items) in Korea

Living in Korea is all about convenience!  You can get just about anything, big or small, delivered to you at home, quickly, and usually remarkably cheaply, and if you’ve been here a while, you’ve undoubtedly seen delivery trucks all over every neighborhood in Seoul.  But like many other situations in Korea, many things done on-line or via apps are more difficult if you don’t have a Korean bank account and credit card.  So here are some pointers if you don’t have those.  (It is worth noting that all this convenience also leads to enormous amounts of packaging waste in Korea, so you might try to keep that in mind before you go crazy with your home deliveries!)  

Food Delivery

Many tourists who come to Korea have ordering food delivered to their lodgings or to the middle of a park for a picnic on their bucket list.  This is one of those quintessentially Korean cultural experiences, and I’ve encountered lots of visitors who are eager to try it.  Back when you had to call a restaurant on the phone to place an order, this was a huge obstacle, as speaking on the phone in a foreign language is one of the hardest things to do, particularly when you’re talking to busy restaurant workers.  But we now have apps that can eliminate the need to try to communicate over the phone.  Here are some options that you can consider:

Coupang Eats:  This is the most widely used food delivery app, and is easy to navigate, with a fair amount of information in English.  Unfortunately, Coupang does not allow you to use a foreign credit card, so it’s likely impossible for shorter term visitors to use, unless you have a Korean friend who can help you. If you’re lucky enough to have a Korean credit card, lucky you!

Shuttle is a food delivery app started by a foreigner, trying to solve exactly this problem, and it will allow you to pay with your foreign credit card, and the interface is in English. The downside is that there aren’t nearly as many restaurants signed up with Shuttle, so you don’t have as much choice as you would if you could use Coupang.  Delivery fees are a bit higher and wait times tend to be longer as well.  But, this is probably your best choice if you’re determined to have Chimaek delivered to your door.

Yogiyo is another food delivery app, which for some restaurants will allow you to pay the delivery person directly.  The downside is that the site is entirely in Korean, which may make it a little more difficult to navigate, and the direct pay option isn’t available for all restaurants, so you have to do a little more work to figure out if it will work for you.

Other items

Some sites/apps that are immensely helpful if you’re in Korea longer term and find yourself needing other kinds of household items are Gmarket and Coupang.   

The Gmarket site can be navigated mostly in English, and is pretty easy to use, though sometimes delivery dates are a little off.  But with Gmarket, even items that are coming from overseas can be ordered, though they may get hung up in customs for a bit. 

For some reason, though Coupang Eats will not allow you to use a foreign credit card, Coupang will, though only through the mobile app, not the on-line web-site.  (Maybe Coupang Eats will come around?)  But the app is a bit harder to use if you don’t speak Korean.  Sometimes I use the website to put the items I want in my shopping cart, then switch to the app for the actual payment.  But with Coupang, if your item is coming from overseas, you’ll need to input your personal customs code, if you have one. 

Both sites have a wide variety of items and can deliver just about anything you can think of directly to your door (including groceries – this can be particularly helpful for hard-to-find food items.)   In my experience, Coupang is a little more reliable in terms of delivery date. 

About the writer
Hi, I’m Lee, and my husband and I are living in Seoul for the year while I’m on sabbatical. This is the second sabbatical year we’ve spent in Seoul, and we’ve gotten to know the city pretty well. I hope you find this information useful!