It's 10 PM, you're in a hotel room in Seoul, and you've just watched a K-drama character order an entire spread of fried chicken and beer with a few taps on their phone. You want that too. So you download Baemin, Korea's biggest delivery app, and immediately hit a wall: a login screen demanding a Resident Registration Number or Alien Registration Card you don't have. Here's how to actually get food delivered anyway.
It's a strangely common moment for travelers in Korea. The country's delivery infrastructure is famously fast and convenient, riders zipping between apartment towers on scooters at all hours, but that same system was quietly built around the assumption that everyone using it is a long-term resident. For a first-time visitor, the gap between "Korea has amazing delivery" and "I personally can't use it" can feel confusing, especially when every travel video makes it look effortless.
Why Delivery Apps Are Tricky Without a Resident ID
Korean delivery apps were built for a market where almost every user has a local phone number, a domestic bank account, and either a citizen ID or an Alien Registration Card (ARC). For years, that made the apps genuinely difficult for short-term visitors, and travelers often ended up asking hotel staff to place orders on their behalf. The good news is that this has been changing. Major platforms have been opening up to international users, adding guest checkout options and support for foreign credit cards, precisely because so many tourists were hitting the same wall.
That said, the apps weren't rebuilt from scratch for foreigners, so the experience is still a little rougher around the edges than using a delivery app back home. Menus may default to Korean, some verification steps can behave inconsistently depending on your specific phone and card, and the person delivering your food will almost certainly speak Korean rather than English. None of that makes it impossible, though. It just means going in with the right expectations and a couple of backup options.
Long-term expats have historically solved this by borrowing a Korean friend's account or slowly building up the paperwork needed for their own ARC and local bank account. That's simply not realistic for someone in the country for a week, which is exactly the gap that guest checkout and foreigner-focused apps have started to fill.
The Workaround: Ordering as a Guest
The simplest fix is to skip the account-creation step entirely. On Baemin, you can typically bypass the login screen and order as a guest, then pay using an overseas credit card option at checkout rather than linking a Korean bank account. This sidesteps the ARC requirement altogether, since guest checkout doesn't ask for a resident ID number the way a full account does.
If guest checkout isn't cooperating, or the app insists on phone verification, there are a couple of fallback options. Some travelers have had luck receiving a verification text on their home country number through Wi-Fi calling, though this depends on your carrier and isn't guaranteed to work every time. Others simply switch to an app built specifically for international users, which sidesteps the issue completely.
It's worth noting that none of this is officially documented in a single, stable place, since app menus and verification flows get updated fairly often. Screenshots and guides from even a few months ago may not match exactly what you see on your screen. Treat any specific button labels as a general direction rather than an exact map, and be willing to poke around the checkout screen for a few extra seconds if the option isn't where you expected it.
Baemin vs. Other Apps for Tourists
Not every delivery app treats foreign visitors the same way, and picking the right one first can save you a frustrating twenty minutes of re-entering the same information into a second app. Here's a quick comparison of the main options.
| App | ARC Required? | Language | Foreign Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baemin | No, via guest checkout | Korean-first, some English/Chinese/Japanese support | Yes, overseas card option |
| Shuttle Delivery | No | Fully English | Yes, built for foreign cards |
| Coupang Eats | Sometimes, varies by location | Partial English | Sometimes |
| Yogiyo | Often required | Korean only | Limited, cash-on-delivery workaround |
Baemin generally offers the widest restaurant selection and fastest delivery, which makes it worth trying first. If it gives you trouble, Shuttle Delivery is the more reliably foreigner-friendly fallback, even though its restaurant selection is smaller and delivery fees tend to run a bit higher. Coupang Eats sits somewhere in between, sometimes working smoothly and sometimes asking for local verification depending on your neighborhood, while Yogiyo tends to be the least forgiving option for someone without Korean banking details, so it's worth treating it as a last resort rather than a first choice.
Step-by-Step: Placing Your First Order
First, download the app of your choice from your phone's app store and open it without creating a full account, looking for a "guest" or "order without login" option if one is offered. This single step is the one most guides skip past too quickly, and it's worth spending a minute actually reading the small text on the login screen rather than tapping through it on autopilot.
Second, set your delivery location. If you're in a hotel, the easiest approach is to drop a pin using the map feature rather than typing out a Korean address, since most delivery apps let you fine-tune the exact building and entrance from the map view.
Third, browse restaurants and menus. Menu items are often in Korean only, so keeping a translation app like Google Lens or Papago open in a second window makes browsing far less stressful. Photos of dishes are usually included, which helps close the gap even when the text translation comes out slightly garbled.
Fourth, add items to your cart and proceed to checkout. Look for the option to pay with an overseas or international credit card rather than a domestic Korean payment method. If the app only shows domestic payment options, that's usually a sign you're still inside a flow meant for registered accounts, so it's worth backing out and trying the guest checkout path again.
Fifth, add delivery instructions in the notes field. If you're staying at a hotel, it's worth specifically requesting lobby drop-off and including your room number, since delivery riders typically cannot access guest floors.
Sixth, track your order and be ready to meet the rider at the agreed spot. If the rider calls, don't panic if the conversation is in Korean. A quick "hotel lobby" or your room number is usually enough to get the point across, even without a shared language.
A Few Things to Know Before You Order
Tipping isn't expected in Korea, so there's no need to add anything extra at checkout, even though the habit might feel automatic if you're used to tipping delivery drivers elsewhere. Delivery fees and minimum order amounts are usually shown as separate line items before you confirm, so it's worth double-checking the total before you commit, since fees can add up if the restaurant is far from your location.
It's also worth remembering that the English interface, where available, only covers what you see on your screen. The restaurant staff preparing your food and the rider delivering it will almost certainly be communicating in Korean, so any special requests are best kept simple and written in the order notes rather than expected to be understood verbally.
Finally, don't assume the first app you try will work flawlessly. Verification quirks, card issues, and app updates mean that what works for one traveler on one day might not work identically for someone else, or even for the same person a week later. Having a backup app ready, and knowing that Shuttle Delivery exists as a foreigner-first option, takes a lot of the stress out of the process.
It's also worth thinking about delivery experience as part of the trip rather than just a workaround. Ordering food to your accommodation, watching the little rider icon inch across the map, and hearing the knock or buzzer a few minutes later is genuinely one of the more distinctive small pleasures of visiting Korea. Once you've gotten the first order through, whatever app or method got you there, the whole process tends to feel far less intimidating the second time around.
FAQ
Do I really not need an Alien Registration Card to use Baemin?
Correct, as of recent updates you can order as a guest and pay with an overseas card, which skips the ARC requirement that used to block most short-term visitors.
What if the delivery app only shows menus in Korean?
Keep a translation app like Papago or Google Lens open alongside the delivery app; it won't translate everything perfectly, but it's usually enough to identify what you're ordering.
Is Shuttle Delivery better than Baemin for tourists?
It depends on priorities. Shuttle is more consistently foreigner-friendly and fully English, but Baemin typically offers more restaurants and faster delivery, so many travelers try Baemin first and fall back to Shuttle if needed.
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