Reservation Sources for Non-Koreans    

While it can still be difficult for foreign nationals to book tickets to events (concerts, shows, movies, etc) in Korea, some venues and ticketing services are making themselves available to non-Koreans - either by offering English language services or by accepting online registrations that do not require Korean ID numbers.

Note: While Alien Registration card numbers for foreign residents have 13 digits, as do Korean ID cards, the gender designation numbers are different and thus often cannot be used for online registrations.  See here for more details. (Note: in 2010, Seoul City began offering an online site for foreign nationals - see information on iTour below)

MOVIES: 
Note: Reservations for movies are primarily made online in Korea. Foreign residents/visitors can only buy tickets in person for most theatres. Unfortunately, seats are often sold out by the time they get to the theatre. Also, theatres generally reserve only a small percentage of their seats for box office purchases and will not move any left via online sales if those are gone). 

The CGV chain offers a 'memberships for foreigners' that requires one's name as it appears on one's passport as well as one's alien registration number. Go to the website, scroll down to the bottom of the page (ignore the pop ups), and click on "Membership for foreigners".

PERFORMANCES/EVENTS:

Telephone reservations via Ticketlink:  1588-7890. For English, press 7 and then 1. Limited to performances/events registered with Ticketlink.

Online reservations via
Interpark: Created for tourists primarily - English available. Limited to performances/events registered with Interpark.

Yes24.com: apparently accepts reservations made using an Alien Registration Card number. You have to be able to read Korean, however.

iTour Seoul Performance and Movie Ticket Reservation System
This system allows foreigners to reserve tickets online without requiring input of an ID number. So even those who don’t have an alien registration card can make use of it. To start using the system, visit Seoul Tourism’s iTour Seoul website . Switch to your preferred language, and then sign up as a member on the site by clicking on ‘Sign up’ at the top of the page. Once you are signed up, click on ‘Reservations’ on the tab on the right-hand side of the page. Here you can find listings of  performances and movies.
NOTE: If you want to make a reservation, you will have to you turn off all pop-up blockers on your browser, and then select the date and time for the performance or movie you wish to see. Follow the instructions and you can make payments using any major credit card. You will likely need to go through Internet Explorer to use this service.
Note also that some discounts available through other online reservation systems may not be available if you use the iTour system.

RAIL TRAVEL:
Korail now has an English section on its website via which foreign national (inside and outside Korea) can make train reservations, see train schedules, etc. However, although foreign nationals are eligible for the same travel discounts as Korean nationals, discount and special offers information is available on the website's Korean section only. At the time of this posting, only foreign-issued credit cards can be used to pay for reservations made in English.

K4E Editor: Korea4Expats want to provide the most accurate and complete information possible, so if you notice an error or omission in the contents above, please contact us at info@korea4expats.com