Overcharged in Korea 2026: Price Rules and How to Report

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Image generated with ChatGPT for illustration purposes. Paying more than the board says is one of the oldest complaints visitors bring home from Korea, and in 2026 the government changed the penalty for restaurants. Since September 1, an eatery, café or bakery that has no visible price list, or that takes more money than its own list shows, is closed for five days the first time inspectors confirm it. A repeat costs ten days and a third case twenty. Before the change, a first case ended with an order to fix the problem and nothing more. The step comes from a broader package announced on February 25 at a national tourism meeting. That plan also promised seasonal price caps declared in advance by hotels and guesthouses, faster license suspensions for taxi drivers who overcharge, and removal from gift-voucher schemes for businesses that are penalised. On the pages I checked on October 31, only the restaurant rule had actually been written into law; the others were still listed as plans....
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Hello Korea Playground

Hello Korea Playground

Hello Korea Playground is the practical side of this blog: short pages, checklists and dates for people visiting or living in Korea. Every page lists the official sources it was checked against and the date they were last opened.

Start here

  • Start here: one page for visitors and one path for residents, each with the date it was last checked.
  • Help numbers: 112, 119 and the 1330 travel hotline, with the number to dial from abroad.
  • Essentials: transport card, money and tax refund, SIM and eSIM, apps, weather, Incheon transit.

Dates

  • Monthly calendar with public holidays, substitute holidays, festivals and ticket deadlines from September 2026 to September 2027. Filter it by region and add it to Google or Apple Calendar.
  • Image cards that put the dates and rules of one event on one screen. Illustrated scenes carry an AI label.

Topics

  • Entry & Visa: your first 72 hours in Korea, from the arrival card to your first transit card.
  • Festivals & Seasons: a month-by-month festival calendar.
  • Getting Around: Seoul to Busan by KTX, SRT or express bus, and how booking works in English.
  • Money & Phone: paying with a foreign card, cash, transit cards and tax refunds.

Every post from this blog is there too

The Blog section carries each post published here, linked back to the original, plus posts written for the site first. Use the Save button on any page to keep a trip list on your own device.

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