Short answer: in Seoul, an adult subway ride costs 1,550 won with a transit card for up to 10 km, and the city’s blue and green buses cost 1,500 won. That is from the subway operator, Seoul Metro, and the Seoul city government, and the subway price has been in force since June 28, 2025. A single-journey subway ticket costs 1,650 won, plus a 500-won deposit you get back. Switch between subway and bus within 30 minutes, with a card, and you pay one base fare for the first 10 km of the whole trip. Seoul is our main example because most visitors start there; in Busan, the subway costs 1,600 won by card for up to 10 km, and a regular city bus 1,550 won by card.
Last checked: October 11, 2026. We read the fare pages of Seoul Metro, the Seoul city government, AREX, Tmoney, Busan Transportation Corporation, the Busan city government, Korail and the express bus booking site Kobus, cited below. We did not buy, top up or ride with a transit card for this guide. Fares change, so check the operator’s page before you budget.
Quick answers
| Ride | Adult fare | How you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul subway, up to 10 km | 1,550 won by transit card · 1,650 won single-journey ticket (+500-won deposit, refunded) | Card, or ticket machine |
| Seoul subway, longer rides | +100 won per 5 km from 10 to 50 km, then +100 won per 8 km | Same |
| Seoul trunk (blue) and branch (green) bus | 1,500 won | Card or cash (no cash on cashless routes) |
| Seoul local (village) bus | 1,200 won | Card or cash |
| Seoul rapid (red) bus | 3,000 won | Card or cash |
| Seoul owl (late-night) bus | 2,500 won | Card or cash |
| Subway–bus transfer | No extra base fare for the first 10 km if you board within 30 minutes (60 minutes from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m.) | Transit card only, tapped on and off |
| AREX, Seoul Station to Incheon Airport Terminal 1 | All-stop train 4,750 won by card · Express train 13,000 won | All-stop: card, or ticket for 100 won more |
| Seoul taxi (regular) | 4,800 won for the first 1.6 km, daytime | Meter |
| Climate Card short-term pass (Seoul) | 1 day 5,000 won · 3 days 10,000 won · 7 days 20,000 won, plus 3,000 won for the card | Cash or card at station machines |
| Busan subway, up to 10 km | 1,600 won by card · 1,700 won single-journey QR ticket | Card, mobile or QR ticket |
| Busan city bus (regular) | 1,550 won by card · 1,700 won cash | Card or cash |
| KTX, Seoul to Busan, standard class | 54,400 won (Korail’s fare table from September 1, 2026) | Korail website or app |
| Express bus, Seoul to Busan | 29,100 won standard · 43,300 won premium seat (one weekday in October 2026) | Kobus website or terminal |
1. Seoul subway: 1,550 won for the first 10 km
Seoul Metro’s fare page gives the adult fare with a transit card as “Basic Fare : 1,550 won up to 10km.” Longer rides add a little: “Between 10 and 50km: 100 KRW added for every 5km” and “Beyond 50km: 100 KRW added for every 8km.”
Seoul Metro’s notice on the change says, in Korean, that the base fare was adjusted from the start of service on Saturday, June 28, 2025. The Seoul city government’s English transport page shows the before-and-after under the heading “Subway fares (as of Sat, Jun. 28, 2025)”: an adult fare of 1,400 won by card became 1,550 won, and the single-ride fare went from 1,500 to 1,650 won.
Single-journey tickets. If you have no transit card, the station machines sell a single-journey ticket. Since March 17, 2026, the Seoul city government says, foreign visitors can buy them with cards issued abroad at the new machines in Line 1 to 8 stations. Seoul Metro’s English page puts the adult fare at “1,650 won (up to 10km), no discount rate,” and that adult price covers teens too. Its ticket guide says to “insert the fare plus the deposit of 500won,” and that “you can obtain a full refund for the deposit from a ‘Deposit Refund Device’ at your destination station.”
Early-morning discount. Seoul Metro’s Korean fare page says that if you board with a transit card between the start of service and 6:30 a.m., you get 20% off the base fare, unless you are transferring from another mode.
Kids and teens. On Seoul Metro’s fare table, a child aged 6 to 12 pays 550 won for the first 10 km, by card or single-journey ticket, and children under 6 ride free, up to three with one adult. Teens have a 900-won transit-card fare, but a teen with a single-journey ticket pays the adult 1,650 won. On buses, the city’s Korean bus page says the teen discount applies only to a teen transit card that has been registered.
2. Seoul buses: 1,500 won on blue and green routes
The Seoul city government’s English transport page lists “Bus fares (as of 3 AM on Sat, Aug. 12, 2023),” and its Korean bus page shows the same fares. For an adult, card and cash cost the same:
- Trunk (blue) and branch (green) buses: 1,500 won.
- Circulation (yellow) buses: 1,400 won.
- Local (village) buses: 1,200 won.
- Rapid (red) buses, which link Seoul with the wider metropolitan area: 3,000 won.
- Owl (late-night) buses: 2,500 won.
The city also gives an “Early morning discount (20% off when using a card before 6:30 AM, excl. owl bus),” which makes a trunk or branch bus 1,200 won.
Cashless buses. Some Seoul routes do not take cash. The city keeps a list of cashless bus routes, in Korean, dated January 2026, and it runs to 183 numbered routes. A 2024 Seoul city explainer says that if you board one without a transit card, you are told to ride first and pay the fare later by bank transfer or mobile Tmoney. For a visitor, a transit card avoids that problem.
3. Transfers: why a card saves money
Seoul’s fare system counts a subway-and-bus journey as one trip. Seoul Metro’s Korean fare page says the first 10 km of a combined journey costs one base fare with free transfers, and that you pay the highest base fare among the modes you used. Beyond 10 km, it adds 100 won for every 5 km. If one of your rides is a red (rapid) bus or a similar express bus from Gyeonggi or Incheon, the free distance is 30 km instead.
Three conditions, all from the Seoul city government and Seoul Metro pages in Korean:
- Time. Board the next bus or train within 30 minutes of getting off the last one. From 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., the window is 60 minutes.
- Count. The discount covers up to five rides in a row.
- Card, both ways. The transfer discount works only when you pay with a transit card, and you must tap the card when you get on and when you get off. If you do not tap off, you lose the free transfer and each ride is charged separately.
Re-boarding the same bus, or another bus on the same route, does not count as a transfer, according to the city’s bus page.
A 2026 rule about tapping off. Seoul Metro posted a notice, in Korean, saying that from the first train on Saturday, March 7, 2026, riders who use only the subway and do not tap out will be charged an extra subway base fare on top of their next ride.
4. Getting a transit card
Seoul’s English transport page lists the prepaid cards that work on buses: “Type: Tmoney, Cashbee, Hanpay, Rail+, Onepass, etc. Vendors: Convenience stores and bus card charging stations nationwide.” Tmoney is the one most visitors meet.
What the card costs. The card itself is separate from the money on it. Tmoney’s Korean card page lists a plain card at 3,000 won, and its Tmoney Travel Card, aimed at visitors, at “Price : 4,000 KRW (Korean currency) Stores : Convenient stores & bus ticket office in Incheon airport.” The regular Tmoney card is also sold at customer centers in Seoul subway stations, according to Tmoney’s Korean purchase guide.
Topping up. Tmoney’s guide for foreigners says: “Present your Tmoney card and cash (in Korean won) for top-up in Tmoney sales locations.” It adds that you can top up “in the unit of ₩1,000, in the range of ₩1,000 to ₩90,000.” Tmoney’s Korean guide says topping up with a credit or check card works only with cards issued by Woori Bank, at Woori ATMs and GS25, so bring some won in cash.
Getting money back. The same English guide says leftover money is refunded “in cash in Korean won,” that “Refund does not include the cost of card,” and that “The service fee of ₩500 will be charged.” Tmoney’s Korean refund guide adds limits at convenience stores: under 20,000 won at GS25, up to 20,000 won at 7-Eleven, independent stores and some kiosks, and up to 30,000 won at CU and emart24.
On an iPhone, Mobile Tmoney is an option; our travel apps guide notes that “Mobile Tmoney’s iPhone listing says no sign-up is required,” but also that “Apple Pay Tmoney balance refunds can only be requested through the Mobile Tmoney app, to a bank account in your own name.”
5. A pass for short stays: the Climate Card
Seoul’s Climate Card has short-term passes for unlimited rides. The Seoul city government’s Korean page lists them at 5,000 won for 1 day, 8,000 won for 2 days, 10,000 won for 3 days, 15,000 won for 5 days and 20,000 won for 7 days. The physical card costs 3,000 won on top, according to Tmoney’s Korean guide.
What to know before you buy, from the same Seoul page and Tmoney’s guide, both in Korean:
- It starts the day you load it. The pass begins on the day you charge it, from the first train, and you cannot load it in advance.
- Seoul only, from October 1, 2026. The page lists the range as subway within Seoul plus getting off at Incheon Airport Terminals 1 and 2, and Seoul-licensed city and village buses, including late-night and circulation buses. It excludes the Sinbundang Line, GTX, subway outside Seoul, intercity and airport buses, and buses licensed by other regions. Seoul’s bikes (Ttareungi) and the Hangang Bus are not included, and Seoul’s FAQ says it cannot be used in taxis.
- Where to buy. The page lists the new transit-card machines in Seoul Metro Line 1 to 8 stations, and convenience stores near Line 9, Ui-Sinseol Line and Sillim Line stations. Seoul’s FAQ says that since March 17, 2026, those machines in Line 1 to 8 stations accept credit and debit cards issued abroad for Climate Card short-term passes. Seoul’s English announcement says “an average service fee of approximately 3.7% will apply.”
- Use the physical card. Seoul’s FAQ says the mobile version needs identity verification with a phone in your own name, and without it you must use the physical card.
- Refunds take effort. The Seoul page says the refund is the amount charged minus what you used minus a 500-won fee, requested before the pass expires, and that foreigners without a Korean bank account must visit Tmoney’s head office for a cash refund. Tmoney’s English guide for foreigners names the place as the T-Town Customer Center on the first floor of Seoul City Tower, 110 Huam-ro, which is also the business address on Tmoney’s website. That guide says a passport may be required, and adds: “Visit the T-Town Customer Center 3 business days after you apply to receive the refund in cash.” If you may want a refund, allow for two visits.
Seoul has also ended the 30-day version. Its FAQ says the 30-day pass could be loaded until August 31 and used until September 29, and that the short-term pass will keep running, for use in Seoul only.
6. From Incheon Airport
AREX runs two kinds of trains between Incheon Airport and Seoul Station. On AREX’s all-stop fare table, the adult transit-card fare from Seoul Station is 4,750 won to Terminal 1 and 5,350 won to Terminal 2, and AREX notes, in Korean, that a single-journey ticket costs 100 won more for adults. For the non-stop Express train, AREX lists the adult fare as 13,000 won, next to a “regular fare” of 18,500 won to Terminal 1 and 19,100 won to Terminal 2.
For every way into the city, including airport buses, taxis and late-night buses, with travel times and last trains, see our guide to getting from Incheon Airport to Seoul.
7. Taxis
Seoul’s fare page lists, in Korean, the regular (mid-size) taxi fare from February 1, 2023: 4,800 won for the first 1.6 km, then 100 won for every 131 m or every 30 seconds. Late at night it costs more. The city’s English page lists a surcharge of “20% (10 PM–11 PM) / 40% (11 PM–2 AM) / 20% (2 AM–4 AM),” with the first 1.6 km at 5,800 won or 6,700 won. Our Kakao Taxi guide covers calling a taxi by app, and notes that Kakao Mobility says k.ride lets you check the estimated fare before you call.
8. Busan
Busan has its own fares. Busan Transportation Corporation’s fare page, in Korean, splits the subway into two sections: Section 1 is up to 10 km from your boarding station and Section 2 is longer. For an adult, Section 1 costs 1,600 won by transit card and 1,700 won with a single-journey QR ticket; Section 2 costs 1,800 and 1,900 won. The Busan city government’s page dates these fares to May 3, 2024.
Busan’s bus fare page lists a regular city bus at 1,550 won by card and 1,700 won in cash for an adult, from October 6, 2023.
Transfers work differently. Busan Transportation Corporation’s transfer page says you must board the next vehicle within 30 minutes of getting off, and allows up to two transfers. Its example for an adult: subway then bus costs 1,600 won plus 0 won; bus then subway costs 1,550 won plus 50 won. Either way, 1,600 won.
Your Seoul card works. The Busan city government’s card table lists Tmoney (Seoul) as accepted on Busan’s subway and buses.
A subway-only pass. Busan Transportation Corporation lists a mobile subway pass at 6,000 won for 1 day and 13,000 won for 3 days, and says it cannot be used on buses, the Donghae Line or the Busan–Gimhae light rail. Its ticket page says foreigners can use the app without signing up by entering an email address and a verification code.
9. Between cities
KTX high-speed train. From September 1, 2026, the KTX and SRT high-speed trains run as one service, KTX, after Korail merged with SR, according to a government press release on Korail’s site, in Korean. Korail says that with the merger, KTX fares fell by an average of 10%. On Korail’s KTX fare table dated September 1, 2026, the Seoul–Gyeongju–Busan sheet lists Seoul to Busan at 54,400 won for an adult in standard class, and from Suseo Station it is 52,900 won. These are base fares from the table; we did not check the price of individual trains in Korail’s booking app.
Express bus. We ran a timetable search on Kobus, the express bus booking site, on October 11, 2026, for a Tuesday, October 13 departure from Seoul’s Gyeongbu terminal to Busan. It showed adult fares of 29,100 won for a standard bus, 43,300 won for a premium-seat (udeung) bus and 56,200 won for a premium bus. A late-night premium-seat bus cost 51,900 won.
If you see 59,800 won for the KTX to Busan in a guide, that number appears in a Korail press release from 2015; the current table says 54,400 won.
To book a KTX ticket in English, see our guide to booking Korea train tickets in English.
10. What a day of rides costs
These are our sums, using the adult fares above and assuming each trip in Seoul stays within 10 km:
- A light day, by transit card: three trips at 1,550 won is 4,650 won, even if one of them is a subway ride followed by a blue or green bus within 30 minutes, because that counts as one trip at the higher base fare, the subway’s.
- The same day without a card: three single-journey subway tickets at 1,650 won plus 1,500 won in cash for the bus, since there is no transfer discount, is 6,450 won, plus a 500-won deposit on each ticket that you get back.
- The card itself: a plain Tmoney card costs 3,000 won once, and Tmoney does not refund the card’s price. On your first light day, 4,650 won plus 3,000 won is 7,650 won, more than the 6,450 won without a card. By the second light day, the card has paid for itself: 12,300 won against 12,900 won.
- A busy three days: four trips a day at 1,550 won is 18,600 won on a Tmoney card. A 3-day Climate Card is 10,000 won plus its own 3,000-won card, or 13,000 won.
So if you will ride on more than one day, a regular transit card is cheaper than single tickets. A short-term Climate Card pays off when you ride a lot, inside Seoul, over the days you load it for.
FAQ
Can tourists use a T-money card? Yes. Tmoney sells a Tmoney Travel Card for visitors at 4,000 won, at convenience stores and the bus ticket office at Incheon Airport, and its guide for foreigners explains how to top it up with cash in won.
Can I pay with a foreign credit card? For single-journey tickets and Climate Card short-term passes, yes: the Seoul city government says “Internationally issued credit and debit cards, such as Visa and Mastercard, will now be accepted at 440 new transit card vending machines installed at 273 subway stations on Lines 1–8 across the city,” with an average fee of about 3.7%. For topping up a regular Tmoney card, Tmoney’s Korean guide names only Woori Bank cards, so plan to use cash.
Is it cheaper to use a card than cash? On the subway, yes: 1,550 won by card against 1,650 won for a single-journey ticket in Seoul, and only card users get the transfer discount. The card itself costs 3,000 won or more, once. On Seoul’s trunk and branch buses, an adult pays 1,500 won either way.
Why some guides still say 1,400 won
As of October 11, 2026, the subway table on Visit Seoul’s transportation page, a site that calls itself “The Official Travel Guide to Seoul,” still shows “General (19 years & up) 1,400 1,500” under a note “Starting from October 7, 2023.” Those were the fares before June 28, 2025. The bus and taxi fares on the same page match the current ones. If a guide quotes 1,400 won for the subway, it is using the old fare.
What we checked and what we didn’t
We read the fare pages of Seoul Metro, the Seoul city government, AREX, Tmoney, Busan Transportation Corporation, the Busan city government, Korail and the express bus booking site Kobus on October 11, 2026, and quote them above. Several of those pages are in Korean; we say so where it matters. We did not buy, top up or ride with a transit card for this guide, and we did not check fares in other cities. We found no official notice of a fare change in Seoul in 2026 other than the tap-out rule, but fares do change, so check the operator’s page before you budget.