The official language of the conference is English and all printed materials will be published in English.
All visitors to the Republic of Korea must have a valid passport and visa. Visitors with roundtrip tickets from countries who have a special agreement with Korea may be exempt from the visa requirement and stay in Korea Visa-free for periods of up to thirty or ninety days, depending on the type of agreement between the two countries. For more information, please contact the local Korean consulate or embassy in your country or refer to websites
www.korea.net or http://www.hikorea.go.kr/pt/main_en.pt
Korea is 9 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT +9) and does not have daylight savings time.
The unit of Korean currency is the Won (￦). Coin denominations are ￦10, ￦50, ￦100 and ￦500. Banknotes are ￦1,000, ￦5,000, ￦10,000 and ￦50,000. As of November 27, 2009, the exchange rate is approximately US$1 to KR￦1170. Foreign banknotes and traveler's checks can be exchanged at foreign exchange banks and other authorized money changers.
Diners Club, Visa, American Express, and MasterCard are widely accepted at major hotels, shops, and restaurants in most cities. Check with your credit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.
Government office hours are usually from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on weekdays and closed on weekends. Banks are open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays and closed on weekends. Major stores are open everyday from 10:30 am to 8:00 pm, and there are many 24-hour stores all around major cities.
The standard electrical supply is 220 volts AC/60 cycles. Most hotels may provide outlet converters for 110 and 220 volts. Always check the power supply before using your equipment.
To make international calls, please dial one of the following international dialing codes (001, 002, 00700) + country code + area code + phone number. Most convenience stores, hotels and airports sell domestic and international phone cards. Mobile phones can be rented at the airports or at major hotels. You need your identification card (passport) and credit card to access mobile phone rental services.
Tips - Service charges are included in your bill for rooms, meals, and other services at hotels and upscale restaurants. Koreans occasionally do tip when they are especially pleased with the service they receive.
Tax - Upon request, only foreign tourists can receive up to 10% VAT refunds for purchases at Duty Free shopping outlets. Goods must be taken out of Korea within three months of purchase to be eligible for a tax refund. Visitors can receive a refund for a minimum purchase of KRW 50,000 (around US$52). You must present receipts of the purchased items at the customs desk at X Incheon International Airport on departure.
Visitors are advised to get adequate travel and health insurance before leaving their respective countries.
- 119 : Fire / Rescue & Transport Services
- 112 : Police
- 129 : Medical Emergencies
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