Do I need a plug adapter here?
Short answer
Yes, unless you already carry a European one. Korea runs 220V at 60Hz on round two-pin sockets.
The shape you need
Sockets here are the C and F types — two round holes. The same fitting is used in Germany, France, Austria, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Pakistan and a long list of other countries, so a European adapter you already own will work.
What will not work is a UK three-pin, a US or Japanese flat two-pin, or an Australian angled plug. Those are different shapes and no amount of pushing changes that.
The voltage behind it
The supply is 220V at 60Hz. Most modern chargers — phones, laptops, cameras — are built for the whole 100 to 240V range and will not notice the difference. Check the small print on the brick and you will usually see that range printed on it.
A device built only for 100 to 120V is the exception, and for that an adapter is not enough. An adapter changes the shape of the plug, not the voltage arriving at it, which is the distinction that ruins hair dryers.
What to bring, practically
One European adapter covers the trip. If you are carrying several devices, a small power strip with your home plugs on it plus a single adapter is less to keep track of than one adapter per cable.
Hotels above the budget tier generally supply a hair dryer, which removes the one appliance most likely to be voltage-fussy from the packing list altogether.
Good to know
- A European adapter works; UK, US, Japanese and Australian plugs do not fit
- An adapter changes the plug shape, not the voltage — check your device says 100–240V
Japan runs on 100 volts — the lowest mains voltage anywhere. Most chargers cope; anything with a heating element or a motor often does not.
Often not. Sockets here accept flat two-pin, round two-pin and angled three-pin plugs, so most travellers' plugs fit as they are.
Your plug probably fits — Thai sockets take flat American pins and round European ones alike. That is the trap, because the supply is 220 volts: fitting and working are two different questions.
220 volts, and most sockets take two round pins. European plugs go in as they are; American and Japanese ones need an adapter — which the tourism board says any electrical shop will sell you.
Taiwan runs on 110V with flat two-pin sockets — the American pattern. European and Australian plugs need an adapter; some devices need more.