Money & payments in Seoul
Revolut for low-fee spending, cash for food markets and metro top-ups, and a note: Seoul isn't always as cheap as you'd think.
A few things I figured out about paying for things in Seoul. Some of it surprised me coming from Belgium - especially how much cash I still needed.
Get Revolut, don't use your usual credit card
Get a Revolut card in advance and transfer Euros to Won.
You need the physical card because Apple Pay isn't available everywhere.
You can transfer up to 1000 per month, so you avoid paying transaction fees.
Get Korean won - you'll need cash
I didn't know it before going, but cash is still used in Korea. In Belgium I pay almost everything with Apple Pay, so I wasn't really expecting it.
You'll need cash for things like food markets and to charge your metro card.
The best is to get it at an ATM at the airport. With Revolut, I could take money out for a 4800 won fee, which wasn't as high as what banks usually ask.
Korea is mostly cheap, but not everywhere
From a Belgian point of view, Korea is mostly cheap. Food, public transport, cafés and shopping can be much cheaper than in Belgium.
But not every area has the same prices. For example, I felt like Ikseon, even if it's super cute and full of aesthetic cafés, was a lot more expensive than Gangnam.
So I wouldn't assume that everything is always cheap. It really depends on the area and on how trendy the place is.