Short answer: yes, and it got a lot easier in 2026. Baemin, which calls itself “Korea’s No.1 Food Delivery APP,” announced English, Chinese and Japanese screens in February and Apple Pay with foreign Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards from June 2. In August its operator said foreigners can order without signing up after verifying an overseas phone number by text message. For a full Baemin account, the same announcement mentions signing up with a Korean phone number and an alien registration number. Shuttle, an app built for foreigners, lets you sign up with just an email. Below is what each app’s own pages and announcements say, in date order, so you can tell which advice online is out of date.
Last checked: October 8, 2026. We read Baemin’s English page for visitors, the US App Store pages of the apps below, Korea Tourism Organization’s English article on Shuttle, and Korean and English news reports of the companies’ and Seoul city’s announcements. We did not test inside any app: we did not see their English screens, place an order, register a card or verify a phone number.
This guide is about restaurant food delivered by app. It does not cover parcel or courier delivery.
Quick answers
| Question | What we found |
|---|---|
| Can foreigners order food delivery in Korea? | Yes. Baemin and Shuttle both say foreigners can order without a Korean phone number |
| Is Baemin in English? | Its operator announced English, Chinese and Japanese screens on February 4, 2026. You switch the language in your phone’s settings, not inside the app. We did not open the app to check its English screens |
| Do I need a Korean phone number for Baemin? | Not to order as a guest: its operator said in August that foreigners can order after verifying an overseas phone number by text. For a full account, it mentions signing up with a Korean number and an alien registration number |
| Can I pay with a foreign card? | On Baemin, yes: foreign credit cards, WeChat Pay and Alipay+, and foreign Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards in Apple Pay (announced to start June 2) |
| What about Coupang Eats and Yogiyo? | Both list English on the US App Store. We found no official statement from either about foreign phone numbers or foreign cards |
| Is Uber Eats in Korea? | Not as its own app, according to a July 2026 report: Uber Eats failed in Korea in 2019, and Uber is returning by agreeing to buy Baemin’s parent company, a deal due to close in the second half of 2027 |
1. What changed on Baemin in 2026
Some guides you will find describe the situation before 2026. Korea Tourism Organization’s English article on Shuttle, last updated in April 2025, put it this way: “Most Korean delivery apps are available only in Korean, require local phone number verification, and often don’t support foreign credit cards.” Here is what Baemin’s operator announced in 2026:
| Date | What Baemin’s operator, Woowa Brothers, announced |
|---|---|
| February 4, 2026 | English, Chinese and Japanese app screens (Electronic Times report, in Korean) |
| May 21, 2026 | An English edition of its “Easy Delivery App Guide” (Money Today report on Daum News, in Korean) |
| May 31, 2026 | Foreign-issued Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards in Apple Pay, starting June 2 (The Korea Times) |
| August 5, 2026 | Foreigners can order without signing up after a text-message check of an overseas phone number (Newsis report, in Korean) |
Baemin also has an English page for visitors, baemin.com/en/global. Its FAQ says: “Our app is available in English, Japanese, and Chinese.” In its answer about payment it says: “We accept foreign credit cards, as well as convenient payment methods such as WeChat Pay and Alipay+. No Korean phone number required.”
2. Ordering on Baemin without a Korean number
The announcement describes two ways in, with different rules. According to Newsis’s report of Woowa Brothers’ August 5 announcement (our translation from Korean):
- Full account: foreigners can sign up with a Korean phone number and an alien registration number.
- Guest order: without signing up, you can order food after a text-message check of an overseas phone number.
If you have neither a Korean phone number nor an alien registration number, the guest order is the option in this announcement that does not ask for them. If you plan to rely on it, we suggest making sure your home phone number can receive text messages while you are in Korea.
Be careful with one news story. On July 29, The Korea Times wrote that Baemin “has overhauled its application infrastructure to eliminate the requirement for a Korean mobile phone subscription during checkout.” The article notes it “was published with the assistance of generative AI.” Newsis’s report of the same day’s Seoul city announcement put it differently. It listed “introducing a feature to order without a Korean mobile phone number” among improvements Baemin would make for foreigners, and described only the payment methods as usable “currently” (our translation). The August 5 announcement above is the later and more specific statement, so this guide follows it.
3. Paying on Baemin
| Payment | What the source says |
|---|---|
| Foreign credit cards | Listed on Baemin’s English page for visitors |
| WeChat Pay, Alipay+ | Listed on Baemin’s English page for visitors |
| Apple Pay with a foreign card | Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex, announced to start June 2, 2026 (The Korea Times and Seoul Economic Daily, May 31). Newsis listed it among payment methods usable “currently” on July 29 |
Before the Apple Pay change, according to The Korea Times, Apple Pay users with cards issued outside Korea “had to punch in the cards’ numbers and go through an identity verification process every time they used the platform.”
Baemin’s English page also says: “Delivery fees and any additional fees are clearly displayed before you place your order.” It adds that “detailed location tracking may be limited for certain delivery types.”
4. Switching Baemin to English
Baemin’s App Store update notes from late May and early June 2026 say: “Baemin is now available in English, Chinese, and Japanese.” They also say where to change it: “Go to System Settings > Baemin app > Language to select your preferred language.” That is your phone’s own settings, not a menu inside Baemin. Electronic Times reported in February that the language is changed in the phone’s settings on both Android and iOS. These App Store notes came after the February 4 announcement. Baemin’s US App Store listing gives its languages as “English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese.”
Two limits from the February announcement, as reported by Electronic Times (our translation):
- The languages apply only to the app screens customers use. Restaurants and riders use the service as before.
- At that time the company said it was considering automatic translation for chat support, and planned to extend the languages from food ordering to its grocery and shopping sections. We did not find a later announcement saying either has happened.
5. Shuttle: the app built for foreigners
Korea Tourism Organization calls Shuttle “a food delivery app designed specifically for foreigners.” Shuttle describes itself as “Korea’s leading foreign-friendly food delivery app, trusted by expats, travelers, and the U.S. military community.” Its App Store listing says:
- “No Korean Phone Number Needed – Sign up with just an email, phone verification is optional (but required for using Shuttle credit).”
- “Pay with major international/Korean credit cards, PayPal, KakaoPay, or store your method for fast checkout.”
- “Live chat is available in English or Korean.”
The catch is coverage. Korea Tourism Organization’s article on Shuttle says: “SHUTTLE Delivery service may be limited in certain regions; you can use the app to check for service availability.” Shuttle’s own listing highlights areas near US military bases: “Order easily near USAG Yongsan, Camp Humphreys, Osan Air Base, Kunsan Air Base, USAG Daegu, and more.”
6. Coupang Eats and Yogiyo
Coupang Eats and Yogiyo are two other Korean delivery apps. On the US App Store, Coupang Eats gives its languages as “English and Korean,” and Yogiyo gives “English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese.”
We found no official page or announcement from either company about signing up with a foreign phone number or paying with a foreign card, so we cannot tell you whether those work. One reason to check before you rely on a listing: a user review on Yogiyo’s own App Store page says, “I wish they offered an English version (and other languages) for the app and site.” A language list in an app store does not show which screens are translated.
7. Is Uber Eats in Korea?
Not as its own app. The Korea Herald reported on July 21, 2026: “Uber is coming back to Seoul seven years after the platform bearing its name failed to crack one of Asia’s largest food delivery scenes”, this time through Baemin. The same article describes Coupang Eats as “a company that did not exist when Uber Eats’ two-year bid for the Korean market collapsed in 2019.”
The way back is a takeover: Uber has agreed to buy Delivery Hero, the German parent company of Baemin. The Korea Herald reported: “The deal is due to close in the second half of 2027.” It also reported: “Unlike other Delivery Hero brands, Baemin will remain independent, keeping its own platform and operations intact.” For now, the app to download is still Baemin.
8. Which app should you try first?
- Baemin if you can receive a text message on your home number. Newsis’s report of Woowa Brothers’ August 5 announcement describes it as the only Korean delivery app with English, Chinese and Japanese service and overseas payment methods (our translation).
- Shuttle if you want to sign up with only an email or need help in English, and you are staying in an area it covers. Check coverage in the app first.
- Coupang Eats or Yogiyo: we found nothing official about foreign phone numbers or foreign cards, so confirm both inside the app before you rely on either.
Getting around too? Our guide to Kakao Taxi for foreigners covers paying the driver directly without registering a card.
What we did not test
We did not install or open any of these apps. We did not see Baemin’s English screens, try a guest order, verify an overseas phone number, add a foreign card or use Apple Pay. Everything above comes from the companies’ own pages, their announcements and Seoul city’s as reported in the news, Korea Tourism Organization’s article, and app store listings. If Baemin’s guest order asks you for something this guide does not mention, the app’s own screen is the one to follow.