Short answer: you can book Korea train tickets in English on Korail’s English website or in the KORAIL+ app. Tickets go on sale at 07:00 Korea time, two months before the travel date. That is new: Korail says it moved the booking window for foreign users from one month to two months on October 1, 2026. And since September 1, 2026, the old SRT trains from Suseo Station run as KTX, so you book them through Korail too.
Last checked: October 14, 2026. We read Korail’s English ticketing guide, FAQ and notices, three Korean-language press releases on Korail’s website, the old SRT website, the Korea Tourism Organization’s app guide and the KORAIL+ App Store page. We opened Korail’s English booking page and its station list. We did not buy a ticket, enter any personal details or pay.
Quick answers
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Where can I book in English? | Korail’s English website or the KORAIL+ app. Ticket machines and counters at train stations (not subway stations) also sell tickets. |
| When do tickets go on sale? | 07:00 Korea time, two months before the travel date. Before October 1, 2026, it was one month for foreign users. |
| What do I need on the website? | A credit card, an e-mail address and a password. You need the same e-mail and password to see your ticket later. |
| What happened to SRT trains? | Since September 1, 2026, they run as KTX. Suseo, the old SRT station, is in the station list on Korail’s English booking page. |
| Is a screenshot of my ticket OK? | No. Korail says captured images and copies are not valid for boarding. |
| Are other ticket sites safe? | Korail warns against unauthorized resellers and names RailNinja and RailMonster. |
What changed in 2026
Guides written before these changes may be out of date, so check the date on anything you read.
- August 3: one app. Korail says the KORAIL+ app launched on August 3, 2026, combining the booking apps that used to be separate, Korail Talk and SRT.
- September 1: SRT became KTX. According to a government press release on Korail’s site, KTX and SRT have run as one service, KTX, since September 1, 2026. Korail later said you can book all high-speed trains in one search, whether they leave from Seoul, Suseo or Yongsan. The old SRT website still loads, but a pop-up there, in Korean, tells users to book former SRT routes as KTX through KORAIL+.
- October 1: two months instead of one. In an October 8 press release, Korail says that, to make booking easier for foreign rail users, it moved the earliest booking date from one month to two months before departure, starting October 1. (The release is in Korean; this is our translation.)
- November: more app languages (planned). In the same release, Korail says it plans to expand KORAIL+ from seven to ten languages from November. The App Store lists seven today: English, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Thai, Traditional Chinese and Vietnamese.
Korail’s English ticketing guide, its FAQ and its booking page all say two months now. One older notice still says one month: a “PASS details” notice from November 2024 about the KORAIL PASS, which also appears on the English home page. We found no English notice saying whether pass seat reservations moved to two months as well. If you hold a pass, ask Korail before you plan around the earlier date.
If you are looking for former SRT trains from Suseo or Dongtan, see our SRT tickets for foreigners guide for what changed after the merger and where to book them.
If a bus suits your route better than a train, see our guide to buying Korean bus tickets in English for which booking site covers express and intercity buses.
How to book on Korail’s English website
Korail’s English site is at korail.com/global/eng. The older address, letskorail.com, now redirects to Korail’s Korean home page, so use the links below instead.
- Open the English booking page. It has four fields: Departure, Arrival, Date of departure and Passengers. When we opened it, those field labels were in English, but the hint text in the date box was in Korean.
- Pick your stations. The station list marks which stations are KTX stations. Suseo is marked as a KTX station, like Seoul, Yongsan and Busan.
- Choose a train and pay by credit card. Korail’s ticketing guide says: “You can pay by credit card.”
- Keep the e-mail and password you use for the purchase. Korail says you must enter them “correctly (including the use of uppercase and lowercase letters) to view your ticket.” It recommends “taking notes or memos to help remember your ticketing information.” We did not reach the checkout pages, so we cannot say on which screen the site asks for them.
- Find your ticket under MY TICKET. Korail says: “You can confirm your ticket reservations by entering the e-mail address and password you used when purchasing the ticket.”
Korail’s English guide describes finding your ticket with an e-mail address and password. We read the whole guide: it does not mention a Korean phone number or a Korail membership, and Korail’s English FAQ explains how to cancel a ticket issued to a “non-member of KORAIL.” We did not reach checkout, so we cannot confirm what the site asks for there. Holiday bookings are different (see below).
For children, Korail’s FAQ says: “Children aged 6 to 13 years old are eligible for a 50% discount on tickets.” Children under 6 get 75% off, up to two per guardian.
Sales close at different times. Korail’s guide says the website sells until departure, ticket machines until 10 minutes before departure, and station counters until departure.
Booking in the KORAIL+ app
The App Store page calls KORAIL+ “the official mobile app of Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL).” It also says: “Multiple language support makes train reservation easy and convenient for foreigners.” Korail says the app shows all high-speed trains in one search, and that booking now takes four steps instead of seven.
We did not install the app, so we did not check whether it asks a foreign visitor for a Korail membership or a Korean phone number. Korail’s English ticketing guide and FAQ do not say, and we did not check this on the website’s checkout pages either. What Korail’s English guide does describe is how to find a website booking later: with the e-mail address and password used for the purchase.
Paying with a foreign card
- Korail’s guide says you pay by credit card, and its FAQ explains refunds “In the case of overseas cards,” so cards issued abroad are part of the process.
- Refunds to an overseas card are slow. Korail says “it takes between two weeks and one month after requesting a refund of the ticket.”
- Card tickets are not refunded in cash. Korail says you can switch the payment to another credit card within 30 days from the ticket’s departure date.
If you see Korail’s notice “Temporary Unavailable Foreign Credit Card Services”, check its date. It was posted on August 21, 2026, and it announced that foreign card payments would be suspended for maintenance on “August 24, 2026 (Mon) 03:00 ~ 05:00 (KST)”. On October 14, we found no later card notice in Korail’s English notice list.
Refunds, changes and delays
Korail’s English guide sets out the refund rules:
- Before the train leaves, you can request a refund from MY TICKET on the website.
- After the train leaves, Korail says “you must request a refund at the train station counter.” Its FAQ says that if you miss the train, you can refund the ticket at a station ticket office before the train’s arrival time.
- Korail says: “You cannot request a refund after the arrival time of the train indicated on the ticket.”
- The penalty depends on when you cancel. Korail says penalty rates apply at weekends (Friday to Sunday), on public holidays and during traditional holidays.
Korail’s October 8 press release (in Korean) describes two newer rules. You pay no penalty if you refund within 10 minutes of paying; you can use this up to 30 minutes before departure, twice a day. And you can move your trip to a date within seven days before or after the original one without a penalty, up to 30 minutes before departure. Korail’s English guide and FAQ do not mention these two rules, and we did not check whether they apply to bookings made on the English website.
For delays, Korail’s English FAQ says that if a KTX or other train is more than 20 minutes late for reasons that are Korail’s fault, you may claim compensation. The October press release says that when a delay is Korail’s fault, a delay of 90 minutes or more gets 75% of the fare back, and 120 minutes or more gets the full fare back.
On the day: carry the real ticket
- Korail says: “Captured images and copied tickets are deemed invalid, and cannot be used to board a train or canceled tickets.” Keep the ticket itself ready to show.
- If you board without a ticket, Korail’s FAQ says “you will be charged a penalty worth 1 times the standard fare.”
- If you lose your ticket, Korail says “you cannot remain on the train, change your journey, or request a refund.” Its guide describes one way out if the purchase can be confirmed using your credit card: you pay the required fares and charges again for a new ticket, Korail confirms that the lost ticket was not used, and you then get a refund minus the minimum penalty.
Avoid unofficial ticket sites
Korail posts a warning on its English site: “Unauthorized websites such as RailNinja, RailMonster, and similar platforms may charge excessive fees and put you at risk of financial loss or even receiving invalid tickets.” Its example for Seoul to Busan in standard class: 43 USD on Korail’s own site and 76 USD from an unauthorized seller. That notice dates from August 2025, before Korail cut KTX fares by an average of 10% in September 2026.
Korail’s FAQ also says you can buy “at other ticketing vendors,” but that answer does not say which ones. Our suggestion: compare a third-party price with Korail’s own site before you pay.
Booking around Chuseok and Seollal
Big holidays work differently. For Chuseok 2026, Korail ran a separate holiday reservation. Its English notice said: “Membership registration is required.” It also said holiday reservations were “not available at station counters,” and “Non-members must complete payment immediately when purchasing remaining seats.” Our suggestion: if you travel around Seollal (Lunar New Year) or Chuseok, check Korail’s English notice list well before the trip.
Help in English
- Korail’s call center is +82-1599-7777. The site’s footer and contact page give 08:00 to 20:00, but its FAQ says the English line is open 08:00 to 22:00. Our suggestion: call between 08:00 and 20:00 Korea time.
- The Korea Travel Helpline is 1330 in Korea, or +82-2-1330 from overseas.
Related guides
- KORAIL PASS conditions and other travel apps: our Korea travel apps guide.
- What a KTX ticket costs: our guide to public transportation costs in Korea.
What we did not test
We did not buy, reserve, change or refund a ticket for this guide, and we did not enter a name, e-mail address, password or card number. On October 14, 2026, we opened Korail’s English booking page and its station list in a fresh browser. When our automated browser pressed Search, the site blocked it as possible “macro usage”, so we did not see the train list, the seat map or the payment pages. Rules from Korail’s Korean press releases are our translation, and we say where Korail’s English pages do not mention them. Train rules and notices change, so check Korail’s English site before you rely on this guide.