When studying abroad in Korea during the summer, you’re going to want these items.

Korea is one of my absolute favorite places in the world—and maybe I’m biased, as I run a book/movie/travel blog over here that focuses primarily on Korean lit and film whenever I can, and I wrote an entire master’s thesis on Korean women’s literature.

I’ve been to Korea twice for free on intensive scholarships—the NSLI-Y and Critical Language Scholarships—and lived in Anyang, Seoul, and Busan both times for months at a time. While I wish I could say I’ve seen the beauty of Korean fall or spring with my own two eyes, I’ve only ever been here in the summer.

Summer in Korea is a time in itself. I’ve always arrived right before the jangma, or the monsoon hits. Korean summer is split into two. The jangma is the monsoon, and it’s a flood of rain almost every single day. Climate change might alter this though, as the last time I went it didn’t rain as much.

After jangma, it just gets really hot. It’s usually so hot that you don’t want to do anything outdoors, and if you do, it might be a little dangerous. The temperature was too high the last time I was there after the jangma for hiking.

But because I’ve been highly experienced in Korean summer now as an exchange student, here are some of my essentials when it comes to packing!

Something to note about Korea, though, is that if you’re coming from the United States especially, a lot of what you’ll need at home you can find here. For my dark skinned folks out there, the cosmetics will be a major struggle though, and you’re going to struggle finding proper haircare outside of Seoul if you’re Black and need a particular braid or style.

If you sweat a lot, you’re going to need to bring deodorant.

As someone who sweats a lot and needs a specific kind of deodorant, every time I come to Korea I bring multiple versions of that deodorant. One goes in my room, one goes in my backpack for the day, and the final one is a backup in case I run out of either of the other two.

Deodorant is more available here now, but it’s not the same as the ones you can find in the United States or in the West. Koreans typically do not have the gene where their sweat stinks, which has eliminated the need for selling this item in the Korean market.

So if you want to find certain kinds of deodorant, you might need to go to a foreigner friendly/high foreigner population area to hunt down that specific kind of deodorant. I have never needed to buy it here because I knew this beforehand, but while tampons and pads have become more common nowadays, deodorant isn’t.

Full length towels aren’t really a thing here in Korea.

Unless you’re going to be staying in a hotel, which usually provides a Western style towel, you’re not going to find the full-length towels that Americans (I’m writing this as an American) are used to.

Growing up, I only had the full length towels, and the smaller towels were ones you only used for drying your hands after washing them. In Korea, the smaller towels are the only ones you use when taking showers. Those are going to be what you find at Daiso and home good stores too.

If you’re staying in a dorm, you’re probably going to want shower shoes too. I’ve only stayed at the women’s dorms at Pusan National University, which had the shower in the room, but Korean showers typically include the toilet and shower not divided in the same room. The PNU dorm has them separate, but in Korean apartments there is no divider between the shower and toilet.

That means there are drains on the floor for the water to go. Buy some slippers when you arrive in Korea for this when you get out, and make sure to place your clothing where it won’t get wet.

Waterproof shoes are going to be your best friend during the monsoon/jangma.

Speaking of things getting wet, the monsoon typically is no joke in Korea. That rain comes down. You can buy a nice cheap umbrella for cheap here (I bought a bright orange umbrella in Jeju for $7 USD, which was expensive, but it was the best umbrella I’ve ever owned in my life), and not have to worry about losing it. All the convenience stores sell umbrellas because Koreans feel a water drop and immediately bust out their umbrellas.

But because of the rain, and the puddles they create, bring some shoes that won’t mind getting wet in this kind of weather. I had hiking sandals and sneakers the last time I went to Korea, and that got me through the summer pretty well. I typically do not fit in Korean shoe sizes, so I did not try to buy any shoes there.

If you’re above an US large, consider buying lightweight cotton and linen clothing at home.

Outside of Western brands like H&M and Zara, or more branded clothing stores that are more expensive, the clothing on the streets tends to be free size. For reference, I am a US medium who can sometimes wear large sizes depending on the crop and fit. In Korea, a lot of the pants do not fit me, and I check to see if they have elastics that stretch far enough to fit my behind.

I try to buy those elastic pants because I can stretch them to fit me, but other people are not so lucky. If you’re a large and above, you’re going to struggle with Korean clothing. A lot of Korean women are small and petite, so the free size does not work in our favor.

That said, I would buy lightweight summer fabrics at home because of the heat. I only know American metrics, but the last time I was there it was about 90 degrees, with the humidity and heat index often making it over a hundred degrees. That’s miserable to wear heavier fabrics in.

Side note: also bring a reusable water bottle. I didn’t because I was dumb, but a lot of places have a place where you can fill it up with filtered water. It’s so easy to get dehydrated in the Korean summer.

Some items you’re just going to want to buy here.

From sunscreen to umbrellas, just buy some items here. I purchased a lot of sunscreen at Olive Young at a discount and with 1+1 deals, especially because the summer is when a lot of Korean brands and stores have their big blowout sales. I got a lot of skincare in general cheaper because of this.

I also acquire handheld fans while I’m here to try and beat the heat in a little way. They’re usually not too expensive, and you can buy a cute one somewhere usually.

Another thing I did while I was here was shop the convenience store 1+1 deals. When I wanted a drink I would purchase whatever drink was the double deal, and then I would have two drinks for the price of one. It was such a steal to shop this way, and it saved money when I was only a small stipend.