Yes.
Almost every place in all of Korea accepts foreign credit cards. Certain places, however, accept only VISA, or only Mastercard. Usually, the staff is not aware of this, and you won't be able to tell, so it's best to have one of each prepared.
However, there are a couple circumstances in which foreign credit cards are not accepted:
- Public transit: Unless you have a Korean bank account, public transit cards can only be charged with cash. The card itself can be purchased with a credit card, but the balance must be loaded with cash. (The only exception is the express airport train, see here for more info).
- Markets, and street food: Usually small vendors like this have a bank account number to pay electronically, but unless you have a Korean bank account, the only option is to pay with cash.
As such, it makes sense to take out a small amount of cash for these circumstances (maybe ~50,000 won per person for a short trip). For more information on getting cash, continue here:
open_in_new Getting cash (best ATMs to use)
