Seoul Subway and T-money Complete Guide: Where to Buy, How to Top Up, and Whether the Climate Card Is Worth It

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First-time visitors to Seoul usually have three transit-card questions: where to buy T-money, how much to load without complicating a refund, and whether a Climate Card (기후동행카드) short-term pass fits their itinerary. Short-term passes are for short-term visitors, including Korean residents and foreign travelers; they are not exclusively for foreigners. This guide compares fares and rules found on the websites of Seoul Metro, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Korea Tourism Organization in 2026/9. It begins with the 1,550-won basic subway fare and the transfer discount within 30 minutes, then covers buying, topping up, and refunding T-money. Finally, it compares Climate Card passes lasting 1 to 7 days based on trips actually charged separately. A new physical Climate Card costs another 3,000 won; a discounted transfer with no additional basic fare is not another separately paid trip; a higher fare difference or distance surcharge can still apply. Discover Seoul Pass, map apps, and priority-seat etiquette are also covered.

At a glance: comparing three ways to pay

Read the full description

At Incheon Airport you cannot enter with Climate Card. For AREX all-stop, buy T-money; an empty card costs 2,500–5,000 won. First: Several separately paid subway/bus rides? A discounted transfer with no additional basic fare does not count. Otherwise use T-money: subway from 1,550 won, bus from 1,500 won, with a transfer discount within 30 minutes of getting off. Second: Are all rides covered? Use T-money for excluded trips such as Incheon Airport to the city, Sinbundang Line, Suwon, or Nami Island. But you can exit at Incheon Airport T1/T2 after taking an AREX all-stop train from an eligible Seoul station; you cannot enter at the airport in the reverse direction. Third: How many consecutive days? If each ride incurs a separate basic fare of 1,550 won and no transfer discounts apply during the pass period, holders of a physical Climate Card need at least 4/6/7/10/13 rides to break even on the 1/2/3/5/7-day passes, respectively. A new physical card adds 3,000 won and raises those thresholds, in the same order, to 6/8/9/12/15 rides. These are face-value thresholds excluding any overseas-card service fee; recompute the break-even ride count from the amount actually charged. Short-term passes start on the top-up day. Designated new machines on subway Lines 1–8 accept overseas credit/debit cards for short-term passes; some channels still require cash. For just one or two rides, a single-use transit card is another option: a basic fare of 1,650 won plus a 500-won deposit.

Seoul subway fares and transfer rules (verified in 2026/9)

Seoul's subway uses a unified distance-based fare across the capital region: the adult transit-card base fare of 1,550 won covers 10 kilometers. From 10 to 50 kilometers, add 100 won per 5 kilometers; beyond 50 kilometers, add 100 won per 8 kilometers. Base fares are 900 won for teenagers and 550 won for children. Buy a single-use transit card (1회용 교통카드) by choosing your destination at a ticket machine. It costs 100 won more than paying by transit card, plus a 500-won deposit; put it in a deposit refund machine after exiting to get the deposit back. Entering with a transit card between the first train and 06:30 earns a 20% early-bird discount on the base fare, but entry during a transfer does not qualify. Bus fares here are all transit-card prices: blue trunk buses (간선) and green branch buses (지선) cost 1,500 won; yellow circular buses cost 1,400 won; small green neighborhood buses (마을버스) cost 1,200 won; and red metropolitan buses cost 3,000 won. Tap once when boarding and again when getting off. Night buses with route numbers beginning with N have separate fares; check the Seoul City website.

• A transfer to the next mode of transport within 30 minutes of getting off qualifies for the transfer discount; from 21:00 to 07:00 the next day, the window extends to 60 minutes.
• You can transfer up to 4 times, for 5 consecutive rides in all.
• Always tap your card again when getting off a bus. If you do not, the transfer chain ends at that leg and you will pay the full fare on the next ride.
• Reboarding the same route or the same vehicle does not count as a transfer. If one card pays for several bus passengers, a bus-to-bus transfer can receive the discount only when the same group continues the same journey and tells each driver the passenger count at every boarding so the driver sets the fare. This group-card arrangement does not qualify for a discounted transfer to metropolitan rail.
• Fares are combined across transfers: within 10 kilometers, you pay only the higher applicable base fare; beyond that, add 100 won per 5 kilometers. Subway-to-bus and bus-to-subway transfers both count as one journey.

T-money: where to buy, how to top up, and how to get a refund

Where to buy

T-money is a rechargeable transit card accepted throughout South Korea on subways, buses, regular Airport Railroad trains, most taxis, and at convenience stores. Convenience stores bearing the Tmoney logo, including GS25, CU, and 7-ELEVEN at Incheon Airport and in the city, sell it; so do station offices (customer service centers) on Seoul Subway Lines 1 to 8. A blank card costs about 2,500 to 5,000 won depending on its design, and the purchase price is not refundable. Top it up when you buy it at the airport on arrival: you can then tap straight into an AREX regular train instead of queueing for a single-use ticket. The transit-card fare from Incheon Airport T1 is 4,650 won to Hongik University Station and 4,750 won to Seoul Station.

How to top up

You can add value at the ticket and top-up machines in every subway station. Switch the machine to its Chinese interface, insert cash, and choose an amount. The Korea Tourism Organization website says a single card can hold up to 500,000 won. You can also top up at convenience store counters, again mainly with cash, so keep some won banknotes on hand. In practice, you need much less: subway rides start at 1,550 won and bus rides cost 1,500 won, so four rides a day cost about 6,000 to 7,000 won. Loading 20,000 won at a time covers two or three days; add more when needed so you do not leave with a large unused balance. You can see your balance on the entry gate screen and at top-up machines.

Refund rules

Refunds are where travelers most often run into trouble. Refunding the remaining balance costs a 500-won fee, and the card purchase price is not refunded. Small balances can be refunded at convenience stores bearing the Tmoney logo or at subway station offices; each outlet has its own limit, so follow the notice at the counter. Balances over 50,000 won can only be refunded at Tmoney Town in Seoul Station. The Korea Tourism Organization website also warns directly that refunds over 50,000 won are slow and troublesome. The easiest approach is to spend the balance at a convenience store on your last day or keep the card for your next visit; T-money does not expire.

Climate Card short-term passes: how foreign visitors can use them

Climate Card (기후동행카드) is Seoul's flat-rate transit card. Top-ups for prepaid 30-day passes (originally starting at 62,000 won) ended on 2026/8/31; existing top-ups could be used through 9/29 at the latest. Postpaid 30-day passes end on 9/30. Short-term passes for 1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 days, introduced on 2024/7/1, remain available at 5,000, 8,000, 10,000, 15,000, and 20,000 won respectively. They cover designated subway sections published by Seoul, city buses and neighborhood buses registered in Seoul, and offer other benefits such as half-price admission to Seoul Science Center and Seoul Grand Park. A new physical card costs another 3,000 won. You can buy one at designated new ticket machines in subway stations on Lines 1–8 or at designated retailers. Since 2026/3/17, new machines at 273 of these stations have accepted overseas credit/debit cards or mobile payments for buying cards and topping up short-term passes. Overseas cards incur an average 3.7% service fee; other machines or sales channels may still require cash. This Climate Card short-term pass differs from the separately sold prepaid Climate Pass, which accepts only cash top-ups. A short-term pass starts on its top-up day and cannot be topped up in advance, so buy it on the day you intend to use it. You can request a refund while it is valid, but not after expiry. Foreigners without a Korean bank account must visit Tmoney headquarters for a cash refund.

• Check short-term-pass coverage station by station. Seoul City's general Climate Card route page lists some extensions outside the city, but its 2026 short-term-pass continuation FAQs say the short-term pass is usable only in Seoul. Those official descriptions conflict, so this guide cannot guarantee that a short-term pass covers any outer-city extension. Before travel, compare Seoul City's latest short-term-pass guidance and service-area search results for each boarding and exit station; ask station staff if needed. On an AREX all-stop train, you may exit at Incheon Airport T1/T2 after boarding at an eligible station, but you cannot enter with the card at the airport. Use T-money for any route you have not confirmed.
• Valid on: blue trunk buses, green branch buses, and neighborhood buses registered in Seoul.
• Excluded: Sinbundang Line, GTX, suburban subway sections outside official coverage, AREX express trains, red metropolitan buses, airport buses, and buses registered outside Seoul. You cannot enter at Incheon Airport T1/T2 with a Climate Card.
• Normally, entering within the covered area and exiting outside it incurs an additional fare. The exception is a ride boarded at an eligible Seoul station that exits at Incheon Airport T1/T2; entry at the airport stations remains unavailable. Check official coverage before riding.

Incheon Airport to central Seoul transport guide: AREX express and regular trains, airport buses, and what to do after a late-night arrival

For break-even calculations, compare rides actually charged separately, not the number of gate entries or boardings: a qualifying transfer within 30 minutes may incur no second basic fare, though a higher fare difference or distance surcharge can still apply. The thresholds below assume the traveler has already bought T-money for the trip into the city, every ride is charged a separate basic fare of 1,550 won, and there is no applicable transfer discount. If you have not bought T-money, include its roughly 2,500 to 5,000-won purchase price in the pay-per-ride option. If you already have a physical Climate Card, the 1-day pass at 5,000 won breaks even at 4 or more paid rides over its validity period; the 2-day pass at 8,000 needs 6 rides; the 3-day pass at 10,000 needs 7; the 5-day pass at 15,000 needs 10; and the 7-day pass at 20,000 needs 13. A new physical Climate Card adds 3,000 won and raises those thresholds, respectively, to 6, 8, 9, 12, and 15 rides. These full-period thresholds use pass face value plus the 3,000-won new-card cost, and exclude the average 3.7% service fee for overseas credit/debit-card purchases or top-ups. If paying that way, divide the actual total charged for the pass and any newly purchased card by the fare each alternative ride would incur, then round up. These are thresholds for the full pass period; you need not ride the same amount each day. If your actual fare exceeds 1,550 won, recalculate using what you would pay. Trips from Incheon Airport to Seoul, on Sinbundang Line, or on uncovered suburban sections do not count. An AREX all-stop trip from an eligible Seoul station to Incheon Airport does count as a covered ride.

When do you need the Discover Seoul Pass?

The Discover Seoul Pass is Seoul City's sightseeing pass. Its official website says it covers more than 70 attractions and experiences and includes eSIM and T-money functions. Several versions are sold by the hour; check the current official listing for prices and inclusions. It saves on admission, not transit fares, and may pay off only if you visit more than three paid attractions in a day. If you only want to save on transport, T-money plus a Climate Card is enough. The pass's built-in T-money function still needs a separate top-up, and the same refund rules as regular T-money apply.

Map apps and riding etiquette

Google Maps offers incomplete walking and public transport directions in South Korea. Install Naver Map or Kakao Map before you leave. Both can switch to an English interface and show which line and platform to use, which exit to take, walking time for transfers, and last trains. Seoul subway station names are displayed in Korean, English, and Chinese characters. Station numbers (for example, Myeongdong Station is 424) match between the apps and station signs, making numbers the easiest way to find the right station.

For how to find routes in both map apps, hail a taxi without a Korean phone number, and pay, see Korea map and taxi app guide: routes in Naver Map and Kakao Map, choosing and paying with k.ride or Kakao T, Seoul taxi fares, and late-night surcharges.

• Priority seats (노약자석) are at both ends of each carriage. Leave them for older people and passengers with limited mobility, even when the carriage is crowded; do not sit in them even if they are empty.
• Pink seats are priority seats for pregnant passengers (임산부 배려석); other passengers should leave these empty too.
• Follow the queue lines on the floor in front of platform doors, and let passengers off before boarding. Stand on the right of escalators and leave the left side for walking.
• Do not eat on the train; speak quietly on the phone and wear your backpack in front.
• Board buses through the front door and exit through the rear. Tap your card both times, and press the stop button before getting off.

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