⚠️ Arriving without your passport or losing the self check-in code can ruin your first night. Keep passport & booking email in carry-on.
🛂 Passport & ID (legal)
- All lodging must verify identity — passport original for foreign guests
- Tourist stay under 90 days: passport only, no Alien Registration Card (ARC)
- Over 90 days: ARC required
- Same passport used for tax refund & car rental — store embassy contacts
🏨 Check-in / check-out
- Typical: check-in ~15:00, check-out ~11:00 (property-specific)
- Early/late options — ask front desk; may be paid
- Deposit hold, extra beds, parking — confirm in booking
- Show English confirmation, passport, card at front desk
- Photo Wi-Fi password, breakfast hours, parking, trash rules
📱 Self / unmanned check-in
- Find door code, QR, or app link in booking email/Kakao/SMS
- Re-read email on airport Wi-Fi before leaving terminal
- Save host phone/Kakao — essential for late arrival
- QR face check-in pilots mainly in Seoul — Jeju varies by property
By property type
- Hotels/resorts: 24h desk, often English; some VAT refund eligible
- Guesthouses: quiet hours, trash rules, key return — read house rules
- Airbnb/short stay: trash & registration duties — see Minbak section
Common mistakes
- Passport left in rental car at check-in
- Korean address only on Naver — not Google alone
- Loud noise after 22:00 in residential areas
- Smoking on balcony where banned — cleaning fees