Someone newly arrived in Korea is usually afraid of two things in the first few weeks: not understanding bus numbers, and not being able to order food through an app. The second one is actually quite easy, as long as you know a few things. There are two big players in Korea's food delivery market: Baemin (배달의민족) and Coupang Eats (쿠팡이츠). Baemin is the biggest app with the widest restaurant selection, and in city centers in the evening, almost any dish arrives within 30–45 minutes. Coupang Eats is known for its speed, usually delivering in 20–30 minutes, and if you're a Coupang WOW member (7,890 won a month), delivery on every order costs 0 won. This membership works simultaneously for Coupang shopping, Coupang Play streaming, and Coupang Eats, so if you do the math, ordering food about twice a week makes the membership pay for itself. Paying with a foreign card is technically possible, Coupang Eats supports it, though errors do come up sometimes. That's why life becomes much easier once you have a Korean bank card. Baemin's English interface is limited, but after its recent updates, Coupang Eats has started translating some menu sections into English.
In practice, the biggest issue tends to be entering the address and writing a note to the courier. If you're ordering for the first time, you need to enter your address precisely: building number, dong name, and any extra instructions if needed. Copy and paste this phrase into the courier note field: "문 앞에 두고 벨 눌러주세요", which means "leave it at the door and ring the bell," and almost every courier follows this. If you're looking for Uzbek food, search "우즈베키스탄 음식," and especially in Ansan, Suwon, Gwangju, and some districts of Seoul, Uzbek restaurants can be found on both Baemin and Coupang Eats. The most common mistake is entering your home address incorrectly in Korean, which causes the order to get lost. Before installing the app, write out your address in Korean using Google Maps and copy that exact text when ordering. If your food arrives cold sitting at the door, that's usually a sign you entered the address incorrectly, not the courier's fault.
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