Tap water safety in South Korea ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท

๐Ÿ‘ In general, the water may be safe to drink in South Korea.

World Health Organization (WHO)

According to the WHO, tap water is safe for consumption for 98% of the country.

Lonely Planet

South Korea has some of the cleanest tap water in the world, though most locals and visitors drink filtered or purified water from bottles or dispensers. The practice comes from a belief that bottled water is healthier, and the fear that old pipes can contain heavy metals. Filtered or bottled water is served free in most restaurants and machines with free purified hot and cold water are available in most motels, guesthouses and shopping plaza entrances.

Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC)

According to the CDC tap water is generally safe for consumption.

Numbeo

According to the Numbeo water drinkability and accessibility index, tap water has a score of 71.27 / 100 (100 being best).

Numbeo considers this score to be "High"

Advantages of drinking (filtered) tap water

1 adult could save about 832$ per year in South Korea by drinking tap water instead of buying bottled water.

๐Ÿณ Drinking tap water would also help with reducing your plastic footprint and improve environmental pollution.

Warning

Even though drinking water might be considered safe, if you plan to travel to South Korea, consider talking to your local contact to verify that. Old pipes could be leaking toxic material or water in that specific location could contain heavy metals or bacteria.

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