Without an ARC in Korea 2026: What Works and What Doesn't — Bank, Phone, Hospital

This applies only if you're staying under 90 days and don't have an Alien Registration Card (ARC). If you have, or will get, an ARC under a long-term visa, this doesn't apply to you.

Bottom line: Without an ARC, opening a regular bank account is hard, and getting a postpaid mobile phone plan usually isn't possible either. What you can do instead: buy a prepaid SIM at a convenience store or carrier shop with just your passport. Since you're not required to enroll in National Health Insurance, any hospital visit means paying the full bill yourself.

If you didn't know: Not knowing this and spending time at two or three carrier shops trying to get a postpaid plan, only to be turned down each time, can easily burn over an hour. A prepaid SIM, by contrast, takes just a few minutes at a convenience store with your passport — the trick is just knowing where to go in the first place.

Short-term visitors run into different obstacles than long-term residents. The Alien Registration Card is only issued to people staying more than 90 days, yet many basic bank and telecom products require it as proof of identity. That said, some banks have recently started offering passport-only, non-face-to-face accounts aimed at foreign travelers and short-term visitors, usually with limited remittance caps or features. For phones, a prepaid SIM is the realistic option instead of a postpaid plan — present your passport at a convenience store or carrier shop and you can activate one immediately. On the medical side, mandatory National Health Insurance enrollment only kicks in at 90+ days of stay (or for specific visa categories), so short-term visitors aren't covered and must pay hospital bills entirely in cash or by card — which is exactly why travel insurance before your trip matters.

If you don't know this: an unpaid full-price hospital bill can follow you into insurance claims or visa matters later if you switch to a long-term status down the road, so it's worth settling in full before you leave Korea.