Getting Around Seoul: Subway, T-money, Climate Card and Airport Trains

The network has nine numbered Seoul Metro lines plus Korail commuter lines, AREX and newer private lines, all on one fare system. You will use a handful of them again and again:

• Line 2 (green): the 49-km loop that ties the city together: City Hall, Euljiro for Myeongdong’s west side, Dongdaemun History and Culture Park, Hongik University for Hongdae, Sinchon, Gangnam, Samseong for COEX, Jamsil for Lotte World Tower, and Seongsu.
• Line 3 (orange): Gyeongbokgung, Anguk for Bukchon and Insadong, Jongno 3-ga, then south across the river to Sinsa (Garosu-gil), Apgujeong and the Express Bus Terminal.
• Line 4 (blue): Seoul Station, Hoehyeon for Namdaemun, Myeongdong, Dongdaemun and Hyehwa; Ichon for the National Museum of Korea.
• Line 5 (purple): Gimpo Airport, Yeouido, Gwanghwamun and Jongno 3-ga.
• Line 9 (gold): Gimpo Airport, Yeouido, Express Bus Terminal and the Gangnam side, with express trains that skip most stops. It is the most crowded line at rush hour.
• Line 1 and Gyeongui-Jungang: Korail lines through Seoul Station and Yongsan out to Suwon, Incheon and the eastern suburbs.

Stations have a number (Myeongdong is 424), English names and exit numbers on every map, and directions are given by exit: “Myeongdong exit 6” tells you where to surface. Trains run from about 5:30am to midnight or a little after, slightly earlier on weekends. Avoid lines 2 and 9 between 7:30 and 9am and 6 and 7:30pm if you have luggage.

Buy a T-money card at any CU, GS25, 7-Eleven or emart24 for 3,000 to 4,000 won ($2 to $3) and top it up with cash at the shop counter or the machines in every station; foreign credit cards generally cannot load it. Tap in at the gate and tap out at your destination. Single-journey paper or plastic tickets cost 100 won more per ride and need a 500-won deposit, so they make no sense for more than a ride or two. WOWPASS, sold from machines at the airport and in Myeongdong, combines a T-money card with a prepaid debit card you can top up with foreign currency.

Transfers between subway and bus are free or nearly free if you tap out and board the next vehicle within 30 minutes (60 minutes late at night), up to four transfers; the fare is calculated on total distance. You must tap the reader when leaving a bus as well as boarding, or the transfer discount is lost.

The Climate Card is Seoul’s unlimited-ride pass. The short-term tourist version costs 5,000 won for 1 day, 8,000 for 2, 10,000 for 3, 15,000 for 5 and 20,000 for 7 days, plus 3,000 won for the card itself. Buy the card at station customer service centres or convenience stores near tourist areas, then load the pass at a station machine; card payment has been added at some machines, but carry cash in case. Seoul’s separate 30-day Climate Card for residents is being wound down in favour of the national K-Pass, and the short-term passes continue.

It covers Seoul’s subway lines inside the city boundary, the AREX section between Seoul Station and Gimpo Airport, and Seoul city buses. It does not cover the AREX run to Incheon Airport, the Shinbundang line, red wide-area express buses, Gyeonggi province and Incheon buses, or Seoul’s river bus. If you ride beyond the city limit, you pay the extra fare when you exit.

The maths: at 1,550 won a ride, the 1-day pass pays off on the fourth ride, but the 3-day pass at 10,000 won is about 3,300 won a day, so two or three rides a day already beat T-money. If you will be in Seoul three days or longer and use transport daily, buy the 3, 5 or 7-day pass. If you are mixing in day trips to Suwon or Incheon, or walking most of the time, a plain T-money card is simpler.

Incheon (ICN) is about 50 km west of the centre. AREX all-stop trains leave every 6 to 12 minutes and reach Seoul Station in about 67 minutes from Terminal 2 (about 59 from Terminal 1) for 5,350 won with T-money, stopping at Gimpo Airport, Digital Media City and Hongik University for Hongdae. The non-stop AREX Express takes 43 minutes from Terminal 1 and 51 from Terminal 2 for about 11,000 won, roughly twice an hour, with reserved seats and luggage racks. AREX runs from about 5:20am to midnight.

Airport limousine buses suit anyone staying in Myeongdong, Gangnam, Jamsil or near a large hotel, because they stop at the door. Buy tickets at the arrivals-hall counters or kiosks: most Seoul routes in the 6000 series cost 17,000 to 18,000 won and take 60 to 90 minutes depending on traffic. A few late-night buses cover the hours after the last train. Taxis to central Seoul cost about 65,000 to 90,000 won with tolls, more after midnight.

Seoul’s buses are colour-coded by job. Blue trunk buses run long routes along the main roads between districts. Green branch buses link neighbourhoods to the nearest subway stations, which is how you get to hillside areas like Buam-dong or the Bukhansan trailheads. Yellow buses circle a downtown area such as Namsan. Red wide-area buses run express from central Seoul to Gyeonggi satellite cities and cost about twice the normal fare. Late-night buses carry an “N” prefix and run roughly midnight to 5am along the main routes.

Seoul taxis are cheap: regular orange, white or silver cabs charge 4,800 won for the first 1.6 km and then about 100 won per 131 m or 30 seconds in slow traffic. A 20-minute ride across the centre costs 12,000 to 18,000 won. There is a 20 percent surcharge from 10 to 11pm and 2 to 4am, and 40 percent from 11pm to 2am, when Hongdae, Itaewon and Gangnam queues get long. Black “deluxe” (mobeom) cabs and large vans start higher.

Few drivers speak English, so show the destination in Korean on your phone. Kakao T is the app most people use; it accepts many foreign cards and shows a fare estimate. K.Ride, Kakao Mobility’s English-language app for visitors, lets you sign up with a foreign phone number and card. Uber also works in Seoul using local taxis. Every cab takes T-money and foreign cards, and tipping is not expected. International Taxi, with English-speaking drivers, can be booked in advance and runs fixed-fare airport transfers.

Install Naver Map (English interface) or KakaoMap before you arrive. Google Maps shows public transport but cannot give walking or driving directions in Korea because of map-data restrictions; Naver Map gives exact exit numbers, walking routes and bus arrival times. Add Papago for translation, Kakao T or K.Ride for taxis, and a subway app such as Kakao Metro for offline line maps.

Seoul’s centre is very walkable. Gyeongbokgung, Bukchon, Insadong and Changdeokgung are 10 to 20 minutes apart on foot, and the 10.9-km Cheonggyecheon stream walk runs east from Gwanghwamun Square to Dongdaemun. Expect hills and stairs in Bukchon, Namsan and many station exits.

Ttareungi, the city’s green public bike, has more than 2,000 docking stations. Visitors can use the Seoul Bike app with a foreign card: a day pass costs 1,000 won for one hour of riding and 2,000 won for two, with a small overtime charge. The best rides are the flat Han River paths through Yeouido, Banpo and Ttukseom, and along Cheonggyecheon. Helmets are not supplied.

Seoul has three main high-speed stations, and the one you need depends on the route:

• Seoul Station (Lines 1 and 4, AREX, Gyeongui-Jungang): KTX to Busan, Gyeongju, Daegu and Gangneung, plus some Honam services.
• Yongsan (Line 1, Gyeongui-Jungang): KTX to Jeonju, Gwangju, Mokpo and Yeosu, and ITX-Cheongchun to Chuncheon.
• Suseo (Line 3, Suin-Bundang): SRT trains to Busan and Mokpo, about 10 percent cheaper than KTX and the closest station to Gangnam.
• Cheongnyangni (Line 1, Gyeongui-Jungang, Suin-Bundang): KTX-Eum to Gangneung and Andong.

Almost every subway station has a lift from street to platform, and newer trains have wheelchair spaces, step-free boarding and visual and audio announcements; older interchange stations can involve long corridors and lifts at only one exit, which Naver Map marks. Most city buses are low-floor. Seoul Danurim, the city’s accessible-tourism centre, rents equipment and gives route advice, and call taxis for wheelchair users can be booked by phone.

Large suitcases are allowed on the subway but are hard work at rush hour; T-luggage storage and coin lockers at Seoul Station, Hongik University and Myeongdong cost a few thousand won for a few hours. On trains, priority seats at the car ends are for older people and the disabled, pink seats are for pregnant women, and Koreans keep phone calls quiet.

Seoul travel guide · Costs · Food · Itineraries · Nightlife · Shopping · Where to Stay