Organizers of World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul have launched an official pilgrim app to help young Catholics prepare for travel to South Korea and take part in the gathering.
The organizing committee, headed by Seoul Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick, said the app brings together practical, spiritual and pilgrimage information that participants can use before departure and during their stay in Korea.
Provisionally called “WYD 2027,” the app is available through the Apple App Store and Google Play in Korean and English. Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Italian will be added later.
Its permanent name will be selected through a global naming contest.
The app opens with the message, “Take courage and come to Seoul, a pilgrimage journey we walk together,” along with a countdown to World Youth Day 2027.
Pilgrims can access most of its content without registering or logging in.
A preparation section covers pilgrim kits, spiritual preparation, travel arrangements, Korean greetings, and package information.
It also provides practical guidance on Korea’s weather in July and August, humidity, ultraviolet exposure, sudden rain, indoor air conditioning and typhoons.
Travel information includes electrical voltage and plug types, packing tips, emergency alerts and the government’s multilingual disaster notification app.
The app also provides information on everyday practices and regulations involving toilets, pedestrian crossings, waste disposal, lost property, smoking areas and noise.
Its Korean-language section offers expressions for greetings, farewells, thanking and apologizing, asking for directions, and phrases that can be used in churches and during Mass. The expressions are presented in Korean with English pronunciation guides and meanings.
A separate pilgrimage section introduces the Catholic Seoul Pilgrimage Route, prayers for visits to holy sites, and a museum pilgrimage program.
Pilgrims who visit three designated sites can receive a completion certificate after verifying their visits through the app. The sites are the Archdiocese of Seoul History Museum at Myeongdong Cathedral, the Seosomun Shrine History Museum at the Seosomun Martyrs’ Shrine, and the Korean Martyrs Museum at the Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine.
Registration and login are required for the visit-verification feature.
The app also includes a Google Maps-based guide to shrines, event venues, and other facilities. Information on 24 locations is currently available, mainly covering pilgrimage sites and museums.
Other sections provide information on World Youth Day, the Catholic Church in Korea, Korean Catholic history and martyrs, Korean culture, public transportation and emergency procedures.
Organizers said the app will continue to be updated so pilgrims can access information before and during the gathering. Services linked to a pilgrim card are also under development.
World Youth Day 2027 is scheduled to be held in Seoul from Aug. 3 to 8, 2027.
