Is South Korea safe for solo female travelers?

South Korea is remarkably safe for solo female travelers. With low crime rates and a society that is generally respectful, most women feel comfortable when navigating through both urban and rural areas. However, like in any foreign country, it's important to take precautions such as keeping personal belongings close and avoid dark alleys at night. Be respectful of cultural customs and the South Koreans will surely mirror that respect back. In case of emergencies, the locals and police service can be very helpful.

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How safe is South Korea for solo female travelers?

Travel safety index

4.7 /5

based on 65 experiences from female travelers

Seoul, Solo travel

I had a weekend trip to Seoul, it's great in general. Download KakaoMap, it's amazing for navigating. Buy T-Money Card, it can also be found at the airport, for the public transport. You can prepare a little bit of cash, but many places I visited only accept cards so I think too much cash are not needed.

Posted: October 17, 2025
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Swann

Swann

France

South Korea, Group travel

I stayed in Korea for a 6 weeks research program in a korean university in Pohang (POSTECH). I had a lot of free time to discover the country and I participated to différent cultural activities offered by the program. I found Korea super safe, even alone at night ! I can recommand you to try a templestay in a bouddhist temple (I did it at Golgulsa temple for two days), it is a really immersive experience. There are also a lot of good hikes in the country, especially in Seoraksan national Park (I recommand you the Ulsanbawi rocks hike, which is really hard because there are also lot of stairs but I swear it is totally worth it !)

Posted: August 17, 2025
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Seoul, Family travel

I felt safe in Seoul, food was delicious and getting around the city with metro was really easy. Prices were moderate. It was a great experience, we did basic sightseeing with palaces and popular areas like Gangnam.

Posted: August 5, 2025
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Eleonora

Eleonora

Russia

South Korea, Solo travel

I was there for 3 weeks, and I was in 3 city's - Seoul, Taegu and Busan, my favorite was Seoul and Taegu, in the future I want visit more cities. I felt safe all the time, from 5am on the metro from the airport to a walk at 12am to the hotel. I can't recommend anything to visit, just go to places that's feels like was made for you. I'm a vegetarian and i have arfid, so it was kinda difficult to me find food to eat, almost all the time I spend money to eat something from the stores like 7/11 and I ate not spicy Ramen and snacks (I hate myself sometimes for this, but I live like this all my life) My budget was 2200$ and I spend all of it (not including flights and hotel reservations)😔 the transport was very convenient (but expensive, most of the money is in movement), I am honestly delighted with the metro, buses and trains, this is the best experience in my life, if only we had such beauty and culture eh I've been to 4 different hotels and haven't saved any of them, but I'll say that you can find something very good and not expensive

Posted: July 6, 2025Experienced: June, 2024
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South Korea, Family travel

I felt very safe in South Korea, people would leave their belongings on shop counters because they trusted no one would steal them. We stayed in a 4* hotel but it would have been a 5* hotel in the UK. I was Vegan at the time and a few restaurants didn't understand what that meant.

Posted: June 18, 2025Experienced: July, 2016
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How safe is South Korea for women?

Local safety index

4.4 /5

Based on 54 local experiences

Local crime index

1.8 /5

Based on 54 local experiences

Amanda

Amanda

Seoul

Seoul is a super safe city, I can return home alone even at later times. Even on public transport, or in app cars, I had no problems. In addition to efficiency, people are very respectful, so I felt very comfortable.

Posted: December 23, 2025
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South Korea

I’m native korean but pretty sure South Korea is quite safe country😎 Just avoid Hongdae guys (If you stay in Seoul) Actually I’m living in country Much better for traveling unfortunately we don’t have transfers

Posted: December 15, 2025
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Busan

Very safe. Occasionally, you might run into drunk people in Seomyeon during late hours, but that's pretty much it. I get around fine at 2 a.m., but I stick to brightly lit, busy streets just to be careful.

Posted: November 23, 2025
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Sara

Sara

Wonju

I can walk around freely at night even in dark alleys. In my experience people keep to themselves and are friendly. I had one poor experience in the 8 months I lived here with a drunk man in public in the daytime. I walked away and was left alone.

Posted: November 9, 2025
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Seoul

Seoul is super safe and easy to explore solo! The city’s clean, and people are gernerally nice to foreigners. And public transport’s great too. But just stay aware in nightlife spots or late at night like anywhere else.

Posted: October 8, 2025
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Safety in South Korea

Hospitality Exchange in South Korea

Hyeyeong

Hyeyeong

Seoul

Can host for:

3 days

About me

Hi! I’m Ellie or Hyeyeong Kim. I live Seoul but grew up in Daegu. Love to enjoy great films, music, or anything cool. That’s why I traveled 🇩🇪🇺🇸🇲🇽🇪🇸🇵🇹🇦🇹🇭🇺🇨🇿🇹🇭🇯🇵🇭🇰🇵🇭🇵🇱🇻🇳🇮🇹

Speaking

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Minseo

Minseo

Seoul

Can host for:

3 days

About me

Hi, I'm 20 y/o 🇰🇷. I study korean language and literatures in the university. Now, I'm in Europe for my vacation!! Hit me up for exploring together!!

Speaking

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