Before a first trip to Korea, three money questions come up again and again. Will my card work? Do I need cash? And can I get some tax back on what I buy? This guide sticks to what official pages say: the Korea Tourism Organization’s Visit Korea site and the Korea Customs Service (KCS). It does not tell you which card or refund company to use, and it is not financial or legal advice.
We opened each page listed at the end on 30 September 2026 and re-checked the refund rules on 1 October 2026. Where an official page gave no figure, we left the figure out and listed it under “What we could not confirm”.
Cards and cash
Credit cards
Visit Korea’s page on Korean currency says that most businesses in Korea widely accept credit cards, including at major hotels, department stores and general shops. It names Visa, MasterCard and American Express as usable, but adds that availability depends on the store, so it is worth checking before you buy.
That is all the page says about cards. We could not open an official page that covers debit cards, contactless payment, foreign transaction fees or card use at small shops and markets, so we make no statement about them.
Won cash
The official unit of money is the won. According to Visit Korea:
- Banknotes are 50,000, 10,000, 5,000 and 1,000 won.
- Coins are 500, 100, 50 and 10 won.
Exchanging money
Visit Korea says banks are the main places to exchange money and are generally open 09:00 to 16:00 on weekdays, though hours can vary by region. It gives 09:00 to 16:30 for Korea Post Bank. It also warns that exchange of old currency may not be accepted at certain locations.
The tourist tax refund
Korea lets some foreign visitors reclaim part of the tax included in the price of goods. The Visit Korea page on duty free and tax refunds sets out the rules below. The page shows a last-updated date of 21 October 2025, so the rules may have changed since. Read them as the official summary as of that date, and check the current rules with a refund company or customs before you shop.
Who qualifies
According to Visit Korea:
- Non-Korean citizens who stay in Korea for less than six months.
- Overseas Koreans who stay less than three months and have either lived overseas for more than two years or hold permanent residency in another country.
- The goods must be new, meaning unopened and unused.
- You must leave Korea within three months of the purchase date.
Thresholds
- Minimum purchase: 15,000 won or more per receipt.
- At downtown refund booths: purchases must not exceed 6,000,000 won per receipt.
- Immediate refund at the shop: a single transaction between 15,000 and 1,000,000 won, with total trip spending of no more than 5,000,000 won.
- At airport and port terminals: the page says there is no purchase limit.
Where you can claim
Visit Korea lists three ways, and says your passport is needed at checkout and for all refund claims:
- At the shop (immediate refund). Selected certified stores offer the refund at the time of purchase.
- At downtown booths. These accept a credit card refund, including Alipay and WeChat Pay, or an immediate cash refund.
- At airport or port terminals. Refunds can be received at the tax refund counter or kiosk.
The page says refunds at airport terminals are paid in cash in the duty-free zone after passing security, or credited to an international credit card, Alipay or WeChat Pay within 1 to 2 months. (The KCS page below words the same step as the refund window in the duty-free zone after the immigration check.) The page names five certified companies that process refunds: Global Blue, GLOBAL TAX FREE, Easy Tax Refund, CubeRefund and eTAX FREE. Naming them is not a recommendation.
What Korea Customs Service says
The KCS English page on tax refunds for foreign tourists is framed around goods bought at duty-free shops. It says non-Korean residents who want a refund of VAT and similar taxes on such goods must confirm departure with customs. It gives these points:
- Duty-free items must be taken out of the country within three months of the purchase date for the refund.
- You need a passport, the certificate of sale of the goods and the goods themselves, unopened and unused.
- Confirm departure at an airport kiosk where available, or at the customs inspection team, then collect the refund at the refund window in the duty-free zone after immigration.
The page cites the Restriction of Special Taxation Act and special regulations on value-added taxes and individual consumption taxes for foreign tourists. It does not give a minimum purchase amount or a refund percentage.
The Visit Korea and KCS pages agree on the three-month limit and on the goods being unused, but they are worded differently and describe different parts of the process. We did not find an official page that lines the two up, so if your purchase falls between them, ask customs or the shop.
How shops are labelled
Korea Tourism Organization’s tourism database lists shops that take part in the scheme, and a listing can carry the label “[Tax Refund Shop]” in its name. In the listing we looked at, the “shop guide” field reads “Refund method (Time-frame): Claim for refund”, which does not tell a visitor which method or time frame applies. Visit Korea says immediate refunds are offered at selected certified stores, so check the store’s own information.
What we could not confirm
- Card details. Fees, contactless or mobile payment support, and how widely cards are taken at markets and small shops. We found no fetchable official page.
- ATMs. We could not open an official page on ATM access for foreign cards.
- The refund percentage. Neither official page we opened states one.
- Fees charged by refund companies.
- Whether the rules changed after 21 October 2025, the last-updated date on the Visit Korea refund page. The KCS page shows no date.
- How the Visit Korea and KCS descriptions fit together for purchases outside duty-free shops.
- Which individual shops are refund-eligible today. The database label is only a label.
If you need a firm answer, the Korea Travel Helpline is 1330 according to the Visit Korea site, and KCS has a Q&A section for questions.
Before You Go
The official pages say you need your passport and unopened, unused goods for a refund, and Visit Korea says to claim within three months of purchase. Check the official pages below again shortly before your trip.
More short guides for first-time visitors are on Instagram at @rolo.koreaguide.
Related guides
Sources
All checked 30 Sep 2026; the two refund pages were re-checked on 1 Oct 2026.
- Visit Korea, Korean Currency and Exchange Info: https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/contentsView.do?vcontsId=140040
- Visit Korea, Duty Free and Tax Refunds (last updated 21 Oct 2025): https://english.visitkorea.or.kr/svc/contents/contentsView.do?vcontsId=140736
- Korea Customs Service (English), Tax Refund for foreign tourists: https://www.customs.go.kr/english/cm/cntnts/cntntsView.do?mi=10803&cntntsId=5504
- Korea Tourism Organization, TourAPI (English): 10 Corso Como Cheongdam Branch [Tax Refund Shop] (content ID 2954573), used only to describe the labelling. No photographs used.
- Pages we tried that did not give usable content: Visit Korea “Banking and ATM” and shopping tips pages.
