T-money, Climate Card and How to Ride Korean Subways and Buses
How to get a T-money card, what tourist pass options exist, and how to tap, transfer and ride subways and city buses in Seoul, Busan and the other cities on this site.
Start with a T-money card
The simplest way to ride public transport in Korea is a rechargeable transit card, and the standard one is T-money. It works on subways and city buses in Seoul and in most other Korean cities, including Busan, and is also accepted by many taxis and at some convenience stores. You tap it on a reader instead of buying a ticket for each trip, and fares are calculated automatically.
You can buy a T-money card at convenience stores such as CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven, and from machines in many subway stations. The empty card costs a small amount, and you then load money onto it. Top-ups with cash are possible at convenience stores and station machines, and the amount you load should match how much riding you expect to do. Prices and card designs change, so treat any figure you read online as approximate.
When you leave, you can usually get the unused balance back at a convenience store or station service point, with a small handling fee and limits on the amount. If you only visit for a few days, do not load a lot. Also note that some tourist-oriented prepaid cards sold at airports or tourist centers combine transit with shopping discounts or currency exchange. They can be convenient, but compare fees and exchange rates before buying.
Tourist passes and what has changed
Seoul has offered a short-term version of its Climate Card for visitors, which provides unlimited subway and bus rides within the city for a set number of days. The city has been reorganizing its pass lineup and the national K-Pass system, which is a reimbursement program that generally needs a Korean bank card and phone number, so a resident-oriented option is usually not available to short-term visitors.
Because these programs change, check the current options at the official Seoul tourism site, visitseoul.net, or at a tourist information center before you decide. As a rule of thumb, unlimited passes only make sense if you plan many rides a day inside one city. A normal sightseeing day with four to six rides is often cheaper on plain T-money, particularly because transfers are discounted. Do the arithmetic on the day you arrive using the current fare and pass price.
Outside Seoul the story is simpler. In Busan, Gyeongju, Jeonju, Gangneung and Jeju you will mostly use T-money on buses, and in Busan on the subway too. There is no subway in Gyeongju, Jeonju, Gangneung or Jeju, so buses and taxis do the work there.
How to ride the subway
Seoul's subway has numbered and colored lines, and every station has a number as well as a name. English signs and announcements are standard in Seoul and Busan. Find your line color, follow signs in the direction of the last station on the line (not the one you are going to), and check the platform display, which shows the next train.
At the gate, tap your card on the way in and again on the way out. The fare depends on distance, and tapping out is how the system calculates it. Exits are numbered, and the exit number matters in a huge city: a map app will tell you to take exit 4, and the wrong exit can leave you a long walk from your destination.
A few etiquette points help you blend in. Seats marked for older, pregnant or disabled passengers should be left free if one is nearby. Stand on the right side of escalators if you are not walking. Keep your voice low and put large backpacks on the floor in busy periods. The first trains start in the early morning and the last trains leave around midnight, so check the last train for your line if you plan to stay out.
How to ride city buses
Buses reach places the subway does not, and in cities with no subway they are the main option. In Seoul, bus colors indicate service types: blue buses are long trunk routes, green buses are shorter local routes that feed the stations, red buses are express routes to the suburbs, and yellow buses make short circulation loops. Route numbers appear on the front, and a map app can tell you which bus to catch and when it arrives.
Board at the front door and tap your card on the reader. In many Korean cities, including Seoul, you tap again when you exit so the system can calculate the fare and apply the transfer discount. If you forget, you may be charged the maximum fare on the next ride. Watch what local passengers do, and look for the reader at the exit door.
Press the stop button before your stop, since buses do not always stop unless someone is waiting or requests it. Announcements are in Korean and often in English on main routes, but the on-screen next-stop display is more reliable. Keep your phone's map open so you can see your location.
Transfers, taxis and a few cautions
T-money gives a discount when you transfer between the subway and buses within a time limit, and the reward is bigger when you keep the same card. Using a separate cash ticket or switching cards breaks the chain of transfers. This is another reason to stick with one card.
Taxis are easy to find in cities, and many accept T-money or foreign cards, but ride-hailing apps are often a calmer way to get a ride because the destination is entered in text, so you never need to speak Korean. See our guide to Korean map apps for more.
Finally, check the current rules for luggage in rush hours, as large suitcases are awkward in crowded trains between roughly 7 and 9 in the morning and again from about 6 in the evening. In Seoul the airport railroad runs directly from Incheon Airport, and it is usually a better choice than a morning commuter subway when you arrive with a big bag. Fares, passes and hours change, so verify them at official sources before relying on them.