Food delivery apps in Korea for foreigners: which one works for a tourist (2026)

You’re in a hotel room at 10 p.m., everything nearby smells of fried chicken, and the forum threads you find say delivery apps need a Korean phone number and reject foreign cards. Those threads are a year or two old. In 2026 one of the big apps fixed most of that.

The short version

Install Baemin (배달의민족, “Baedal Minjok”). Since February 2026 it runs in English, Chinese and Japanese, and by August 2026 a visitor could order without a Korean number: enter your overseas phone number, get a code by text and order as a non-member, or log in with a Google account. It takes overseas credit cards, Apple Pay with a foreign card (since June 2, 2026), Alipay+ and WeChat Pay.

If Baemin won’t let you through, Shuttle is the fallback. It was built for foreigners, works in English, and lets you sign up with only an email. The catch is a much smaller list of restaurants, a limited delivery area and hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Coupang Eats and Yogiyo both have English and take some overseas cards, but neither had a confirmed way in without a Korean number in the latest reports (August 2026). Skip them unless you have a Korean SIM.

Which delivery app works for a tourist

Here’s what each app accepted from a visitor in the latest reports we could find, checked in November 2026.

Sources: Korea Times (February 2026), Korea Herald (May 2026), Seoul City and Kyunghyang (July 2026), Maeil Business Newspaper (August 2026), Shuttle’s own site and App Store page.

The change shows in the numbers. SBS Biz reported that in the first half of 2026, Baemin orders paid with overseas cards and foreign wallets rose 331% on a year earlier, with chicken orders up 281%.

Ordering on Baemin, step by step

1. Install it before you need it. Search “Baemin” or 배달의민족 in your app store. When it opens, a pop-up asks which language you want, whatever your phone’s own language is set to. Pick English.
2. Get in without a Korean number. Choose the non-member order, type your home number with its country code and enter the code Baemin texts you. Maeil Business Newspaper also reported in August 2026 that you can log in with a Google account instead.
3. Set the address. Use the Korean address of your hotel or rental. Copy it from your booking confirmation or Naver Map rather than typing an English version, because the rider reads the Korean one.
4. Pick a restaurant and order. Search, menus, payment and live tracking all work in English. Woowa Brothers says the translation is done by generative AI, so check the menu photos if a dish name is unclear.
5. Pay. An overseas Visa, Mastercard, JCB or Amex works, and so does Apple Pay holding one of those cards, with no separate card registration. Alipay+ and WeChat Pay work too. As of August 2026, Google Wallet and PayPal were still under review.

Each restaurant sets its own minimum order and delivery fee, and both show on its page before you pay. Groceries are a separate part of the app, and in February 2026 the languages covered food ordering only.

Shuttle: the English-first fallback

Shuttle has been around for years as the delivery app for foreigners, especially near US bases. According to its App Store page, you sign up with an email and phone verification is optional, though it’s needed to use Shuttle credit. You pay with an international or Korean card, PayPal or KakaoPay, and chat with support in English.

It works in more languages than Baemin, but menus are in English and Korean only. The limits are coverage and hours. Shuttle’s site lists Seoul, Osan, Pyeongtaek, Daegu and Busan, with hubs around Osan Air Base and Camp Humphreys, and hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. In Seoul, its own pages point to areas such as Itaewon, Gangnam and Hongdae. If you’re staying outside those, check the app’s map before you get hungry.

One detail worth knowing: Shuttle says refunds to a foreign card take 1 to 7 business days, while refunds to Shuttle credit are immediate and to PayPal usually take minutes.

Coupang Eats and Yogiyo

Both are big, and both have moved toward foreigners, but not far enough for a short trip.

Coupang Eats shows menus and categories in English and has accepted Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad since late July 2025, Maeil Business Newspaper reported in August 2026. A year earlier News1 found many complaints of payment errors with non-Korean cards. We found no official or press report that you can sign up without a Korean number, so treat it as an app for people with a Korean SIM.

Yogiyo has English, takes overseas cards and said in August 2026 that Chinese and Japanese would come within the year. Alipay was “in preparation”, and a text check for overseas numbers was something it was “pursuing”, not something live. Check again in 2027.

Delivering to a hotel, a rental or the Han River

Hotels differ on whether riders come up to rooms. Ask the front desk where deliveries are left, and add your room number and name in the request box. In a rental apartment, put the building entrance code in the request box if the host gave you one.

Ordering to a park is normal in Seoul. Seoul City says the Han River parks have six existing delivery zones (배달존), signposted areas where riders hand over orders, and it added two more near the temporary campsites at Yeouido and Ttukseom in summer 2026. Set the zone as your delivery spot and wait there, rather than somewhere on the lawn.

There’s no tip to add: tipping isn’t part of the culture in Korea, and the delivery fee is shown before you pay.

Mistakes that catch visitors out

• Turning off your home SIM. The foreign-number check sends a text. If you’re on a data-only eSIM with your home line switched off, the code never arrives. Keep that line on, or buy a plan with a Korean number (our eSIM guide compares them).
• Typing the address in English. Use the Korean address from your booking.
• Following an old thread. Advice to “get a Korean friend to order” or “use Shuttle, nothing else works” dates from before 2026.
• Starting with Coupang Eats. Its overseas card support is real, but no source confirms a way to sign up without a Korean number, so you may get stuck before checkout.
• Ordering Shuttle at 10:30 p.m. It closes at 10 p.m. Baemin restaurants keep their own hours, so late-night choices are much wider there.

What we’d do

First trip, staying in a hotel: install Baemin at home, set it to English and try a non-member order on the first night. Pay with a no-fee overseas card or Apple Pay. It has the fewest walls for a visitor of the big apps.

No iPhone, card keeps failing: try Alipay+ or WeChat Pay in Baemin if you have them, and if not, switch to Shuttle with PayPal, as long as you’re in one of its areas before 10 p.m.

Longer stay with a Korean SIM: Coupang Eats and Yogiyo become options, and it’s worth comparing their deals with Baemin’s. Our foreign card guide covers which cards get through elsewhere in Korea.

Any trip: make sure a phone line can receive texts in Korea before you land, because Baemin’s overseas-number check starts with one. Our eSIM and phone number guide shows which plans keep your home number working and which give you a Korean one.

Questions people ask

Can tourists order food delivery in Korea?

Yes. Baemin lets visitors order with an overseas phone number verified by text, in English, and pay with an overseas card, Apple Pay with a foreign card, Alipay+ or WeChat Pay.

Can I use Baemin without a Korean phone number?

Yes. As of August 2026 you can order as a non-member after a text code to your overseas number, or log in with a Google account, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun and Maeil Business Newspaper.

Does Coupang Eats accept foreign credit cards?

Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad have worked since late July 2025, according to Maeil Business Newspaper. Sign-up without a Korean number isn't confirmed, so Baemin is the safer first try.

Does Uber Eats work in Korea?

Don't plan on it. None of the 2026 Korean reports we read list it among the delivery apps; they cover Baemin, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo, and Baemin is the one that has opened up to tourists.

Can I get food delivered to a Han River park?

Yes, to the marked delivery zones. Seoul says the Han River parks have six existing ones, and it added two more in summer 2026.

How we checked this

Change log

• November 3, 2026 First published.

Sources

4 of 14 from official sources. Official means the government or the operator itself, Press a news report, Other a guide, blog or reference site we used for context.

1. Official Seoul Metropolitan Government: Han River 24-hour project, delivery zones and K-delivery guide (Korean) (2026-07-23)
2. Official Baemin (Woowa Brothers) merchant site: three tips for foreign tourist customers (Korean) (checked 2026-11-03)
3. Official Shuttle Delivery: English food delivery, areas and hours (checked 2026-11-03)
4. Official Shuttle Delivery: a first-timer's guide to Shuttle (2026-04-17)
5. Other Apple App Store: Shuttle, Food Delivery Korea (checked 2026-11-03)
6. Press Korea Times: Baedal Minjok rolls out Japanese, Chinese, English ordering options (2026-02-04)
7. Press Korea Herald: Baemin to open Apple Pay to foreign-issued cards (2026-05-31)
8. Press Digital Daily: Baemin accepts overseas cards in Apple Pay from June 2 (Korean) (2026-05-31)
9. Press Korea JoongAng Daily: Seoul and Baemin make food delivery easier for tourists (2026-07-29)
10. Press Kyunghyang Shinmun: foreign tourists in Seoul can try K-delivery more easily (Korean) (2026-07-29)
11. Press Newsis: foreigners can order on Baemin too, Seoul promotes K-delivery (Korean) (2026-08-05)
12. Press Maeil Business Newspaper (via Daum): delivery apps compete for foreign customers (Korean) (2026-08-25)
13. Press SBS Biz: foreign orders on Baemin up fourfold in the first half (Korean) (2026-07-12)
14. Other News1: 'cards and delivery don't work', foreigners struggle to spend in Korea (Korean) (2025-07-10)

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