The Tourist Trap Map: Where Foreigners Get Ripped Off in Seoul

Seoul is one of the safest cities on the planet. Violent crime is almost nonexistent. You can leave your laptop at a café table and it'll be there when you come back. But safety and honesty are two very different things — and when it comes to separating foreigners from their money, certain neighborhoods in Seoul have turned it into an art form.

I've lived here for years, and I still occasionally get the "foreigner price." Here's the map nobody gives you at Incheon Airport.

Myeongdong: The 40% Zone

Myeongdong is Seoul's most visited tourist district, and roughly 40% of foreigners report feeling overcharged here. The cosmetics shops are legitimate — those prices are fixed. The problem is everything around them.

Street food vendors in Myeongdong routinely charge 2-3x what you'd pay in any other neighborhood. That tornado potato on a stick? 4,000 won in Hongdae, 8,000 won in Myeongdong. The tteokbokki? Same story. There are no posted prices, or if there are, they mysteriously change when the vendor hears you speaking English.

The fix: Eat literally anywhere else. Walk 10 minutes to Euljiro and you're in a completely different universe — actual Korean restaurants with actual Korean prices.

The Taxi Meter Scam: 47% Hit Rate

Nearly half of all foreigners taking taxis from major tourist areas report some form of overcharging. The classic moves:

• The "broken meter" — Driver claims the meter isn't working, quotes a flat rate that's 3-4x the actual fare
• The scenic route — GPS says 15 minutes, driver takes 40. You don't know the streets, so you don't notice
• The airport express — Unlicensed drivers at Incheon offering "special rates" to Gangnam. The real fare is around 65,000 won. They'll charge 150,000

The fix: Use KakaoTaxi. Always. The fare is calculated before you get in, the route is tracked, and the driver is rated. It's Korea's Uber, and it completely eliminates the scam. If you must hail a cab, insist on the meter. If they refuse, get out.

Gwangjang Market: The 37% Trap

This one hurts because Gwangjang Market is genuinely special. It's one of the oldest markets in Seoul, the bindaetteok is legendary, and the atmosphere is electric. But 37% of foreign visitors report being overcharged.

The tourist-facing stalls near the main entrance have figured out the game. They'll seat you, pile food in front of you that you didn't order, and then charge for all of it. The classic move is the "service" dish that appears for free but shows up on your bill.

The fix: Walk deeper into the market. Past the first two rows of stalls, you hit the section where actual Koreans eat lunch. The food is better, the portions are bigger, and the prices are honest. Look for the ajumma with the longest line of Korean office workers — that's your spot.

Itaewon: The Foreigner Tax

Itaewon exists in a strange liminal space — it's the neighborhood built for foreigners, which means every business there has already priced in the foreigner premium. Bars charge 12,000 won for a beer that costs 4,000 won in any other neighborhood. Restaurants add a 10-15% markup that they call "service charge" even though Korea doesn't do tipping.

This isn't exactly a scam — the prices are posted. It's more of a systemic tax on not knowing any better.

The fix: Cross the river. Mangwon-dong, Yeonnam-dong, Hapjeong — these neighborhoods have better food, better bars, and prices that reflect actual Korea.

The Bigger Picture

None of this makes Seoul a bad city. It makes it a normal city. Every major tourist destination on earth has its version of this — Times Square, the Champs-Élysées, Shibuya. The difference is that in Seoul, the scams are mild and avoidable.

The real Korea — the one worth writing about — exists five minutes away from every tourist trap on this list. You just have to know where to look. And now you do.