Welcome to Seoul! Below is information that you may need during the semester including details on what to do when you are sick, how to get around and what your address is in Seoul.
IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you keep the TEAN contact info on you at all times in case of emergency.
Students who live on the KU campus are placed in one of two international student dorms. If you receive a package at the dorm, you will get a slip in your mailbox with instructions to pick up your package at the front desk.
Anam International House
145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 02841
(Resident’s Room Number and Name)
CJ International House
145 Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea, 02841
(Resident’s Room Number and Name)
Students who live on the Hanyang campus are placed in one of four international student dorms.
Student Residence Hall I
Student Residence Hall 1, Hanyang University
222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
(Resident’s Room Number and Name)
Hannuri Residence Hall
Hannuri Residence Hall, Hanyang University
222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
(Resident’s Room Number and Name)
Hanyang Techno Residence Hall
Techno Dormitory, Hanyang University
222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
(Resident’s Room Number and Name)
Gaenari Residence Hall
Gaenari Residence Hall, Hanyang University
222 Wangsimni-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 04763, Korea
(Resident’s Room Number and Name)
The biggest potential threats to your health in Seoul will be lack of sleep and too much soju. The street food stalls in Seoul have some delicious offerings and are a popular way of eating out. When choosing a food stall to go to, just use your best judgement to see if the food preparation area appears clean and that there seems to be high turnover of the food/ingredients to ensure everything is fresh. It’s also smart to order freshly prepared dishes rather than food that has been already prepared and sitting out.
The tap water in Seoul is safe for drinking. However you will find that Koreans customarily do not drink water from the tap and typically purchase bottled water.
It is not uncommon for students to get sick at some point while in Seoul—it’s a common side effect of traveling, eating foods you may not be used to, lack of sleep, etc. We suggest carrying a couple of over-the-counter medications for stomach issues, vitamin C packets that you can mix with water, and maybe some cold medicine so you are prepared!
COVID-19 is a covered illness under your health insurance. Please see the next section for more information on insurance.
For less serious ailments (cold, sore throat, minor infections, etc.) you can go to a pharmacy to get treatment. Describe your symptoms to the pharmacist and they will give you the appropriate treatment, as many medications that require a prescription in the U.S. are available over-the-counter in Seoul.
Unsure as to whether you should go to a pharmacy or the hospital? If you’re okay to walk to the pharmacy, go there and explain your symptoms. They will tell you if you should go to the hospital.
If you feel that you need to see a doctor, you should go to your university’s medical center. In non-emergency situations, students can make an appointment online. In emergency situations, students should go to the emergency clinic right away. Both university medical centers are equipped with an International Health Care Center with standard hours and English-speaking doctors who can provide you necessary treatment.
Korea University Medical Center
Address: Anamdong 5(o)-ga, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul
Phone: 02-920-5677
For non-emergency situations, call to make an appointment or make an appointment online.
Hanyang University Medical Center
Address: 222-1, Wangsimni-ro Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Phone: 02-2290-9553
For non-emergency situations, call to make an appointment or make an appointment online.
For serious conditions, call the TEAN/ISA Resident staff. Your emergency contact card (given to you onsite by our staff) will have Korean emergency numbers and the TEAN/ISA Emergency Line.
Make sure you take your CHUBB insurance information and passport with you. You should show the hospital your CHUBB insurance information and passport.
Traditionally, you’ll need to pay upfront for your care, and you won’t be treated unless you’ve paid. After your appointment/treatment, you can file a claim with CHUBB to get reimbursed for your payment (claims typically take 3-5 weeks to process). You will need an English doctor’s note in order to file the claim, so please be sure to request this from the doctor/hospital! Be sure to keep your medical receipts, as well. Please note that your insurance has a $50 deductible per covered illness/injury, so you should not bother filing claims under $50.
If you think you’ll be unable to pay for treatment upfront, you can ask CHUBB for a Guarantee of Payment (GOP). A GOP can help prevent you from paying upfront for services that would normally be covered under your plan, but it can take 4-5 days to receive from CHUBB.
Routine physicals and preventative care are not covered by your policy, but mental health care can be covered; refer to the summary of benefits below for more details.
View a summary of the benefits. For any questions on coverage, please contact CHUBB directly on their 24/7 toll free hotline (1-888-647-4294) or email them at medassist-usa@axa-assistance.us
If you test positive for COVID-19 while abroad, your illness is covered by insurance should you need medical care.
Your required COVID test upon arrival in Korea is included at no extra charge in your quarantine package, but any additional COVID test is only covered for students who have a known exposure. If you do not have a known exposure to COVID, your test will not be covered. In that case, you can ask your U.S. insurance (if applicable) if the test will be covered.
The COVID-19 pandemic is not covered under the Emergency Medical Evacuation coverage. For example, if Korea goes on lockdown and you want to leave, insurance would not cover your evacuation. However, if you become seriously ill and need to return to your home country, your insurance would cover your emergency medical evacuation. This must be arranged in advance; more information can be found in the summary of benefits.
Your insurance ID card will be provided to you. Please download the Claim Form. Please keep these in a spot that you can reference when needed. Our Resident staff can also assist if you need help finding the Claim Form.
Seoul is a safe and welcoming place. Of course, it’s always important to use common sense, respect the culture and obey South Korean laws.
Always carry your mobile phone with you so that you can contact TEAN staff in an emergency and TEAN staff can also contact you in an emergency.
TEAN is committed to the health and safety of all of our student participants. We are and have been carefully monitoring the security threat on the Korean peninsula, and are in regular contact with a number of expert sources. It is important that you are aware of our current security measures and the resources at your disposal.
As always, TEAN is available to discuss any questions or concerns you may have, and can help direct you to medical assistance, counseling and other support services onsite. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of our onsite staff or to our Chicago office at 312-239-3710.
The following mobile apps provide useful information on safety and security in Seoul. TEAN encourages you to download them and familiarize yourself with their functionality.
Developed by the ROK’s Ministry of Interior and Safety, this app is required upon entry to Korea. You’ll track your temperature daily during quarantine to submit to the Korean government. Download on Google Play or App Store
Developed by the ROK’s Ministry of Interior Public Security, this app allows users to make emergency calls, locate shelters, watch safety tutorials, etc. Download on Google Play or App Store
This app allows anyone in Korea access to all of the available American Forces Network (AFN) radio stations in the Pacific Region. Download on Google Play or App Store
Not all U.S. apps have access to ROK mapping data and Korean alternatives like Naver may prove more useful when determining the most effective road, subway, and bus routes. Download on Google Play or App Store
Developed by the Korean Tourism Organization, this app includes information like exchange rates, maps, and emergency contact numbers. Download on Google Play or App Store
You will have access to the internet either through an on-site TEAN office, TEAN provided accommodations, host campus or internet cafes. However, please note that the internet connection abroad is different from your internet connection back home. Things may take longer to load or you might experience more buffering or delays while video chatting.
TEAN recommends that you have a working cell phone with you at all times while you are abroad. This will allow you to communicate with TEAN resident staff, friends, family, and others at home and abroad throughout your program, especially in the event of any emergencies. The following are the most typical cell phone options while abroad:
Remember: Always keep your phone stored away to help prevent pickpocketing/theft. Leaving your phone in your pants or jacket pocket or in the outside pocket of a purse or backpack make it easily accessible to possible thieves.
The following apps are useful for keeping in touch with family and friends, provided you have a smart phone/tablet connected to the Internet (Please note that the receiving party must also have the application you are using):
*For help with time zone conversions when chatting with family and friends back home, bookmark this handy, online time zone converter.
Guest Policy for Korea University
Students are not permitted to have overnight guests. Also, the floors are separated by gender, so males and females need to use the correct elevators and be only on their designated floor.
Guest Policy for Hanyang University
Students are not permitted to have overnight guests. Female students cannot enter male dormitories and vice versa.
Cleaning for Korea University
Irons, ironing boards and vacuum cleaners can be borrowed at the information desk in the CJ International House.
Cleaning for Hanyang University
Please make sure to keep your room and other common facilities clean and follow the rules for garbage collecting.
Korea University
You will get very used to walking up and down the giant hill by the dormitories, although students will have the opportunity to opt for the KU shuttle around campus on weekdays if you would like. The shuttles run about every 10-20 minutes, starting at 8:25 a.m. and ending at 5:50 p.m.*
*We cannot guarantee the shuttles will run during the COVID-19 pandemic
Hanyang University
Hanyang University is very walkable and you will receive more detailed maps in your Schoology portal.
The public transportation in Seoul is very safe and easy to use. There is a train and bus system that will take you all around the city for a very affordable price. Students should download at least one transportation app to help them get around the city. We recommend City Mappers, Kakao Bus, Kakao Metro-Subway and Seoul Metro Navi. These apps will help you on your adventures around Seoul as they will give you exact instructions on how to navigate the public transportation System. City Mappers is the most popular because it is English friendly and is right about 99% of the time (that said, it’s always good to double check your route!).
If you want to take a taxi in Seoul, be sure you are taking a silver or orange taxi as those are the least expensive options. You will see black taxis around that you can typically get from hotels and taxi stands, but those will come at a higher fare although you won’t be charged a late-night surcharge that you would in the regular silver or orange taxis.
Students can order taxis using the Kakao Taxi app, they recently added English, so it should be easier to use now! When you use Kakao taxi, you also have the benefit of knowing that your driver isn’t taking a longer route because it is all tracked and if you forget something in the taxi you can contact the driver in the future. Uber is banned in Seoul so unfortunately that is not an option.
1330 Korea Travel Hotline, operated by Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), is a one-stop helpline available as a public service for local and international travelers. For any inquiries or complaints relating to Korean tourism, either beforehand or during your stay in Korea, you can seek assistance here as well.
Driving to Korea University: If you are taking a taxi to the dorms, the easiest route is to ask your driver to take you to the top of Bukaksan-gil Hill and then follow the signs for student dormitories. If taxis try to drive through the main gates of campus they won’t be able to easily get to the top of the hill. Try to show them the directions in Korean below instead of having them use a GPS with the dorm address: 145 Anam-ro, Anam-Dong Seongbuk-Gu, Seoul
Train Stops: The public transport around Seoul is wonderful. The closest train stop if you are looking to go to the dorms is Anam Station. It is located on Seoul Subway Line 6, northeast of the city center. If you are looking to go to the main KU gates, then you can also use Korea University Station which is the next stop on Line 6.
You can organize a taxi to take you to the airport, but keep in mind that because the distance is so great, the taxi is likely to be pretty expensive! You have two other great options:
Subway: From Anam Station you can take Line 6 to Gongdeok Station (towards Eungam Station). You will then exit the station and walk about 2 minutes to transfer to the AREX which will take you to the airport. The total time on the train from KU to ICN is around an hour and 45 minutes, but always make sure you leave yourself plenty of time – the airport is far away from the city!
Airport Limo Bus: There are also coach buses that run on a very specific schedule that are a reliable way to get to the airport. The estimated time to get to the airport can depend on traffic, but can be around 2 hours and 15 minutes (always give yourself extra time). You can take a couple of different airport bus lines, but the 6101 line will pick up at the bottom of the hill by the intersection of Jongam-ro and Jongam-ro 6-gil. There is a stop marked, Airport Bus Stop (if you reach the McDonald’s you have gone too far).
Driving to Hanyang University: If you are taking a taxi to the Hanyang dorms, the easiest route is to ask your driver to take you to below address. You can also tell them that you are going to main gate of Hanyang Women’s University (Hanyang dorms are situated right next to the main gate of Hanyang Women’s University). If taxis try to find the dorms with the campus address, they will drive through the main gate of Hanyang University and won’t be able to easily find the Hanyang dorm area.
한양대제2학생생활관
서울특별시 성동구 살곶이길 188
Hanyang University Student Residence Hall 2
188, Salgoji-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
Train Stops: The closest train stops to campus and the dorms are Hanyang University Station and Yongdap Station. They are located on Seoul Subway Line 2.
Subway: There are two types of trains with the Airport Railroad Express (AREX): Express train and All-Stop train. The Express train is only available from the Seoul Station and T-money is not accepted. The AREX Express and All-Stop trains are connected with the subway in Seoul. The Express train runs every 40 minutes and All-Stop train runs every 10 minutes. Seoul Station is the only place you may take both the Express trains and All-Stop trains. Gongdeok, Hongik University, and Digital Media stations are available for All-Stop trains. For detailed information, visit arex.or.kr/main.do
Airport Bus: The Bus 6010 runs every 30-40 minutes from 4:20 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and the bus stop is located close to Wangsimni Station exit 6-1. The duration of the trip is about 80 minutes, so make sure to leave early!
As per the U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Seoul Webpage:
If you lose your passport during your time abroad:
Either emergency line can be used; the Onsite Staff Emergency Line is staffed by our Seoul Resident staff, while the TEAN U.S.-Based line is staffed by our Chicago office. Both lines are monitored 24/7 and are only for use in emergencies.
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