Is Seoul Safe at Night? My Cautious Answer as a Korean

Is Seoul safe at night when you are walking alone? As a Korean, I think Korea’s streets are safe at night, but I hope you will keep paying attention to your surroundings. I have walked home after a night out; that experience cannot guarantee that your journey tonight will be safe.

When I was younger, I once started walking home after drinking with friends in Jongno, Seoul. My home at the time was in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. This was not a matter of crossing a few streets after drinking in my own neighborhood.

I walked for about six hours, and I still did not make it all the way home on foot. I caught the first public transport service of the morning to finish the journey.

The Night I Walked for Six Hours Toward Bucheon

That night began with drinks with friends in Jongno. Afterward, I set off on foot toward my home in Bucheon. The walk kept going, and my journey home stretched through the night until public transport started running again.

The final part of that journey matters when I tell this story. Hearing that I walked for six hours, you might imagine that I covered the whole distance from Jongno to Bucheon. In fact, I took the first service home. Public transport brought that long night to an end.

I do not do that these days. I have grown older, and I no longer have the stamina to walk home after staying out late drinking. Whether you can walk at night depends on your physical condition as well as the street around you. A six-hour walk after drinks is certainly not a journey home I would recommend to you.

Is Seoul Safe at Night? What My Experience Cannot Guarantee

Here is a hypothetical example to explain how I think about this. Suppose a hundred foreign visitors walk around Korea late at night and all feel safe. What if another visitor encounters someone who harms them?

The hundred people who return without trouble remember those streets as safe. The person who experiences an incident or accident may remember them as very dangerous. A hundred is an imagined number here, not a survey result. Many reassuring experiences cannot erase what happened to someone else.

I am Korean, and I think Korea’s streets are safe at night. Even so, I cannot ignore the fact that there are occasionally people who behave in disturbing or dangerous ways. I hope you will avoid assuming that being in Korea makes you completely safe. While enjoying your trip, keep enough awareness to notice an uncomfortable situation and move somewhere else.

I want you to arrive in Korea feeling happy, enjoy your time here, and return to your own country with good memories. That is why I include a word of caution when I say that I consider the streets safe.

Solo Travelers Have Different Stories, Too

On Reddit’s Korea travel forum, a woman traveling alone and staying in Mapo-gu wrote that she had walked by herself without problems, including in the middle of the night. For her, walking alone at night was a positive experience.

A woman writing another post said that she had enjoyed traveling in Korea and generally felt safe. She also described a man following her from a subway station to her hotel. She entered a convenience store to check whether her suspicions were justified. Her post did not identify this as a late-night incident, so I cannot present it as something that happened on a night walk. It is one person’s account of an uncomfortable situation on the way back to her accommodation.

Each account belongs to the traveler who shared it. Neither settles the question of risk across Seoul or describes every woman traveler’s experience. My own view that the streets are safe has the same limits. You can take encouragement from other people’s good experiences while continuing to watch what is happening around you.

Cars Are the First Thing I Tell You to Watch For

If you ask me what to be careful of when walking at night, I start with cars. Some drivers travel fast at night. If you focus only on the possibility of a stranger approaching, you may overlook the risks of crossing a road or walking close to traffic.

I am not saying that every driver speeds at night. Cars are simply among the things I think you should watch for. Even on a street where other people do not make you feel anxious, traffic still needs your attention.

Use the sidewalk, and check both the signals and the vehicles actually approaching when you cross. If you need to look at a map, stop somewhere safe rather than checking it as you cross the road. After drinks, decide how you will get home instead of relying on a long walk to solve the problem.

Check the Last Train and Prepare a Taxi Option Before Drinks

These days, I finish drinking in time for the last service or take a taxi home. I no longer make plans on the assumption that I can walk all night. Choosing how to return beforehand reduces the planning you have to do on the street after a night out.

Here are the transport details to check during your trip, along with the numbers to use if you need urgent help.

• Last train: Check the timetable for your station, direction, and day of travel. Instead of relying on one last-train time for all of Seoul, check the train’s final destination as well. If you need a transfer, make sure you can complete the next part of the journey. Allow time to reach the station from wherever you are drinking, rather than using the walking time from your accommodation.
• Booking a taxi: The Korea Tourism Organization’s transport guide for international visitors lists services including k.ride and Uber Taxi. Set up your account and payment arrangements ahead of time instead of installing an app in a hurry at night. Save your accommodation’s Korean name and address. When booking, check the pickup point on the map, then match the arriving vehicle with the vehicle details you were given.
• Emergency help: Call 112 for crime or threats, and 119 for fire or an ambulance. If you do not speak Korean, you can ask for English or an interpreter once the call connects. Check nearby buildings or your phone’s location information so you can explain where you are when requesting help.

Choose Your Way Back Before Going Out

Before heading out to enjoy Seoul at night, look over the route back to your accommodation. If you plan to catch the last train, choose a time to leave and prepare a taxi option in case you miss it. A short stroll that becomes a longer outing does not have to end with you walking the entire way back.

If someone’s behavior makes you uncomfortable while you are walking alone, you do not have to keep following the same route. Move somewhere with other people where you can ask staff for help, and contact emergency services if you are threatened. Near the road, give the traffic your attention before your phone.

I now finish my evenings in time for the last service or take a taxi. When you go out at night, decide how you will return first, and stop walking and change transport if you become tired or uncomfortable.

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