If you just moved to Korea for the first time and you aren’t feeling very confident in your Korean skills doing everyday tasks can sometimes feel like a challenge. If you haven’t had a chance to make some friends to go out with, or you’re just trying to enjoy a lazy day at home you may find yourself wondering how to get some Korean delivery food sent to your door.
Especially with the pandemic, if you find yourself stuck in quarantine you’re going to need to rely on delivery to eat! Luckily for you there are a couple Korean delivery apps where you can order delivery via the click of a button, no talking necessary. Unfortunately these apps seem to only be available in Korean. Although now there is a newer app called Coupang Eats that is all in English! But the food choices on each app varies, and you may find your favorite place is not on Coupang Eats. So, if you need some help getting through the Korean UI then keep on reading for the walkthrough!
The other two apps are called Yogio(배달요기오) and Baedal Minjok(배달의 민족). They are pretty similar in options, but one of my friends claims the latter is the better option so I am going to give you a step-by-step guide to download, setup and place your first order on the app!
Step 1: Download the App
Search for the Korean delivery app”baedal minjok” in your app store and download, and open the app.
Or you can click one of the following links: Android Apple
Step 2: Create a membership
You will need a Korean phone number for this step. If you are coming to Korea soon or just recently arrived I recommend getting a temporary sim with a company like Trazy as soon as possible. Currently there is a mandatory 7 day quarantine for anyone who contracts Covid, and you do not want to be stuck in quarantine without delivery options.
Step 3: Update Your Address
You are going to need to find the Korean version of your address, and type it into the app.
Step 4: Choose the Food and Restaurant to Order From
So for example I am going to order a cheese pizza. The UI has changed a bit since I first posted this article, but it’s easy to tell what each category is by the picture. Also keep in mind to reduce direct contact, the pay at the door option was suspended. You will need to pay in advance using a Korean card.
Voila! Now that you are finished placing your order you should receive a Kakao message very shortly after. The first sentence of this Kakao message will list the estimated maximum time it takes to deliver. It usually reads:
고객님이 주문하신 음식이 45분 내에 도착할 예정입니다.
So in this example my delivery is going to come anywhere between now and 45 minutes from now. So just pay attention to this number and you’ll know how long you may have to wait.
Usually the maximum waiting time is anywhere between 40 and 50 minutes, but this is the MAXIMUM wait time, so as long as it isn’t a peak delivery time and there are no special events going on (because ordering chicken during a soccer game is just impossible) you will likely get your food a lot sooner! However, McDonald’s seems to have a max delivery time of 80 minutes, and they never come sooner.
So all you have to do now is get your card ready and sit back and wait for your food to come! Now you can conveniently get food sent to your door without having to change out of your pajamas or interrupt your latest Netflix binge.
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