Food Delivery is widely and diligently used in South Korea, as it fits in with people’s hectic and long days, and ability to enjoy restaurant food without having to go out. South Korean food delivery systems have been optimized to the point where it normally does not take more than an hour after placing the order until the food arrives at your doorstep, ready to be consumed! 

This post will show you an overview guide on how to use one of the most commonly used food applications, how to set up your address, the different ways to pay, and so on! We highly recommend downloading these applications, as we have mentioned in this post. (link to arrival apps) 

Step 1

(a) Starting the application for the first time, you will be met by a few service options. The top option, 전체동의/ accept all, fills in all the below options for you. However, you only need to fill in the 필수 / required field. 

The other one mentions 선택 / optional, where they asks if you allow push notifications to be turned on for marketing. 

Once you have selected your options, press 시작하기 / Get started to continue. 

(b) This page wants you to set your desired delivery address. If you look carefully in the fill out selection, you can see that you can fill this out in two ways: either by typing in your address (in Korean) or by using the map for location. 

Once you have pressed either, you will be taken to the next page.

(c) For this guide, we chose to go with the map, as we personally think this is the easier option. You will be presented with a map and a pin, where you locate the address/building that you want to be the receiving address, such as your own house. You can see under the map that it automatically finds the base address for you. Double check that it is correct, and you can continue the process by pressing 이 위치로 주소 설정 / Set Address To This Location. 

(d) Next, you just have to file in the remaining information. They will ask for your 동 / building (only if you live in a bigger apartment complex with different entrances, they are usually marked with 동), and your 호 / Apartment, Room Number.

Once you are done, finish the step by pressing 완료 / Complete

Step 2

Now that you have set your address, you will find yourself at the home page of the delivery app! You may be tempted to start browsing the delicious options, but hang on! We recommend that you set everything up for a less interruptive first order. In the top right corner, you can find a smiley-icon - this is your own page. By pressing here, you can start sorting out all your information. 

(a)At the very top of your page, you will see an empty profile picture with the text 로그인해주세요 / Please Log In. Press it and start setting up your account. 

(b)We will once again encounter an optional list when it comes to terms of service and use. Just like in part 1a, you only have to fill out the 필수 / Required fields. The 선택 are optional, and asks for your consent to collect your personal information, your information to be provided to third parties, and marketing messages. 

(c)This part asks for your phone provider. Press whatever option your plan is on, and continue the setup process. 

(d)Here, they want you to provide your information to confirm that you are the person you claim to be - you have to provide your (in order): 

→ 이름 / Name as per your ID that you used when you set up your phone payment plan, and whether or not you are a 외국인 / Foreigner or 내국인 / Korean National. 

→ 생년월일/ Birth Year, Month, and Day, as well as whether you are 남 / Male or 여 / Female

→ 휴대폰전화 번호 / Korean Phone Number with the provider you have chosen in the earlier step.

When you have entered all your information, you press 인증번호 요청/ Authentication Number Request to receive an authentication number via text message. Once you have received this, put it in its designated box, and continue. 

(e)This step wants you to pick a 닉네임 / Nickname. This can be your first name or anything you can use as your account name. 

Press 가입 완료하기 to complete this step. 

(f)This step leaves you with an optional / 선택 box, which asks if stores can collect the data in regards to how many times you have ordered from them. 

(g)Congratulations! You have now set up your basic account information and can order food. Browse around on your page to see what the different features are. We recommend doing this whilst using Papago, as the information can be extensive to go through step by step here. 

The basics can be found at the top with the icons. 

From the top left you have 포인트 / Point which allows you to manage the points you have gathered by using the application, 쿠폰함 to claim and manage your coupons, 선물함 to claim and manage your gifts, 찜 to find your favorited restaurants, 주문내역 to manage your previous and current orders, and 리뷰관리, which allows you to manage your reviews. 

Step 3

Now that you have set up your account, you can start browsing for food that you wish to order!

(a)The search function is located at the top of the main screen, where you can search for a restaurant or specific dishes that you might crave. You can use English, but we recommend using Korean as it might yield more search hits! If you struggle with writing in Korean, you can always take help of Papago or other translation services. 

(b)Once you have placed your search word into the box, you will get a list of places you can order from. If you look carefully between the two McDonald’s options, you may notice that there is a small box saying 배민1. This is an express delivery service that will deliver your food faster than regular options - in this case, the estimated delivery time is 13~23 minutes. The other option shows 51~66 minutes.

(c)By pressing the desired option, you will be presented with a food menu. These steps will mostly be in Korean, and because the options vary greatly from restaurant to restaurant, we once again want to recommend Papago to fully understand what you are ordering. Once you have found the food you want, you click it and move forward to the next step. Oftentimes you can choose extra toppings, remove certain ingredients, choose the level of spices, etc., so we would advise you to take your time to browse and choose the desired options. When done, press the blue button (not shown in our images) to place your food in the basket. You can order once you have reached the minimum order limit for said restaurant. 

(d)After finishing putting all your orders into the basket, you can press 장바구니 보기 / View Shopping Cart to (e) view your chosen products. Once you have confirmed that the order appears to be correct, you press 배달 주문하기 / Ordering Delivery to proceed to the payment options.

Step 4

(a) 라이더님께 / To the Delivery Driver allows you to enter a message to let the delivery driver know how you want to pick up the food. 

1. 문 앞에 두고 벨 놀러주세요 - “Please leave the food by the door and right the bell.”  

2. 문 앞에 두고 노크해주세요 - “Please leave the food by the door and knock.”

3. 문 앞에 두면 가져갈게요 (벨 X, 노크 X) - “If you leave the food by the door, I will go and pick it up (Do not right the doorbell or knock.)”. The delivery driver will typically send you a text message or notification through the app to notify you that the food has been delivered. 

4. 직접 받을게요 - “I will receive the food in person”, which means that the delivery driver will ring your doorbell/knock and wait for you to open the door to hand the food directly to you. 

5. 전화주시면 마중 나갈게요 - “If you call I will come out to pick up the food”. The delivery driver will call you and wait for you to come outside your house in person to pick up the food. 

6. 직접 입력 - Custom message, which allows you to write more specific requests if the above messages are not suitable for you. This can often include front door passwords, or specific directions on how to find your home. 

(b) After choosing your message to the driver, you will have to pick your 결제수단 / payment option. Keep in mind that if you use 배민1, the express delivery, you will only be able to pay in advance through the app. 

While using 배민1, If you click 다른 결제수단 / other payment option you will find:

1. 신용/체크카드 - Credit/debit card. You input your card information through the app to proceed with the payment. 

2. 휴대폰결제 - Phone payment. This allows you to use your phone to pay for the food, and the charge will be added to your phone bill at the end of the month. 

3. 네이버페이 - Naver pay 

4.  카카오페이 - Kakao pay 

5. 토스페이 - Toss pay

6. From March 2023: Apple Pay has become available as a payment option. 

If you order regular 배달, you will be given two further options:

1. 만나서 카드결제 - Pay the driver in person with card. 

2. 만나서 현금결제 - Pay the driver in person with cash. 

It is important to note that many of the Korean card readers reject international cards, which makes paying with cash a much safer option for foreigners who don’t have Korean bank accounts. When paying with cash, make sure to try to have as close to the exact amount as possible, because many delivery drivers don’t carry a large amount of change. If you have to pay with 50,000 won notes, let the delivery driver know by leaving a comment in the 라이더님께 / To the Delivery Driver section → 직접입력

(c)  After you have successfully entered your payment information, you can click the 할인쿠폰 / discount coupon tab to use any applicable coupons. A lot of restaurants have coupons available when you order over a certain amount. If you order frequently, Baemin will provide you with monthly 1,000 won coupons. 

(d) Now you are almost done with placing your order! Here you can see 선물함 / Gifts, 할인쿠폰 / discount coupon to see if you have any applicable gift cards or coupons. 현금영수증 / Cash receipt is a confirmation of paying with cash which is used for Tax purposes in Korea. 결제금액 / Payment amount shows an overview of how much you are going to pay: 주문금액 / order amount + 배달팁 / delivery fee = 총 결제금액 / Total amount. The delivery fee will vary from restaurant to restaurant, and also differs between 배민1 and regular 배달. Some restaurants do not have delivery fees, but seeing delivery fees around 3,000won is common. 

Step 5

You have made it! You have now successfully placed your order. (a) You can now see your receipt, where your order number, delivery address, and order overview is displayed. 

(b) Your order will show you the live process, from the moment it is being prepared, cooked, and picked up from delivery, along with an estimated time for when the food is about to arrive. You can also check the location of your order on the map, and watch it be delivered to you directly.