Seoul Transport Guide · Move Like a Local
How the subway, buses, taxis, bikes and the river boat work in Seoul, what they cost, and which card to pick up when you land.
A note before you ride
I’ve been to a fair number of countries, and I still haven’t found a city where getting around is as cheap and easy as Seoul.
Lines reach almost every corner of the city, and you can change from the subway to a bus without paying again. My friends in Japan are always a little jealous of that one. It works like this mostly because Korea’s public transport was never fully privatised, so fares stay low and one card covers nearly everything.
It isn’t perfect. With a wheelchair or a stroller it’s harder than in Japan, and at some stations you’ll spend a while looking for the lift. I’ll point those out in the journal.
In March 2026 the Hangang Bus started running the whole length of the river, and since June it also stops in front of Seoul Forest. A boat ride on the Han for ₩3,000. I still can’t quite believe it.
So please make the most of it. Go a little further than you planned, and see as much as you can.
Jisup Shin
The line map
Five ways to travel around Seoul, from the subway you’ll ride every day to the boat you’ll take once. Tap one to jump to it.
Adult fares with a transit card, September 2026.
How it works
Nobody tells you these at the station. Locals just do them without thinking.
Example: three rides, one fare
The card
Every card here works across Seoul public transportation — subway, city buses and most taxis — and all three give you the free transfers. The difference is how you top them up and how much you ride.
Pay as you go
The standard card every local carries.
Choose it if you want the simplest card and do not mind carrying some cash.
Pay as you go · visitors
T-money plus currency exchange, payment and shopping perks. Launched November 2025.
Choose it if you would rather not deal with cash, or you plan to shop.
Benefits as announced at launch. Check the app before you buy.
Unlimited · Seoul only
Unlimited Seoul subway and city buses for a set number of days.
Day passes · won
Choose it if you ride more than three separate trips a day and stay mostly inside Seoul.
The only card here with unlimited rides. An attraction pass such as the Discover Seoul Pass may work as a transit card, but the fares still come out of the balance you load.
Any of these cards is ₩100 cheaper per subway ride than a single ticket, and single tickets never give you a bus transfer.
No card yet?
Fine for your first ride, before you’ve had a chance to buy a card. Don’t skip the last step, where you get your ₩500 back.
Fares at a glance
Adult fares with a transit card. Children and teenagers pay less once their card is registered.
| Mode | Fare | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Subway & bus · free transfers between them | ||
| SubwayLines 1–9 and more | ₩1,550≈ US$1.2 | First 10 km, then ₩100 per 5 km. Single ticket ₩1,650. |
| Blue & green busTrunk and local routes | ₩1,500≈ US$1.1 | The city buses you will use most. |
| Village busSmall neighbourhood loops | ₩1,200≈ US$0.9 | Short hops up hills and into back streets. |
| Red busExpress to the suburbs | ₩3,000≈ US$2.3 | Seated express routes to Gyeonggi-do. |
| Night busN routes, around midnight to 05:00 | ₩2,500≈ US$1.9 | Seoul’s “Owl” buses after the last train. |
| Door to door | ||
| TaxiRegular (orange, white, silver) | ₩4,800≈ US$3.6 | First 1.6 km, then ₩100 per 131 m or per 30 seconds in slow traffic. Night surcharge 20–40% from 22:00 to 04:00. |
| Scenic | ||
| Ttareungi bikeSeoul public bike | ₩1,000≈ US$0.8 | Day pass for 1 hour per ride; 2-hour pass ₩2,000. |
| Hangang BusRiver ferry | ₩3,000≈ US$2.3 | Flat fare per ride, any distance. |
Station by station
The basics for each one. The step-by-step version is in each journal.
The one you’ll use most. Clean, on time, with signs in English.
Every line has a number and a colour, and every station has a number too. Announcements are made in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese. Trains run from about 05:30 to midnight.
Slower than the subway, but you see the city on the way, and it goes where trains don’t.
The colour tells you the job: blue buses cross the city, green ones serve a district, red ones run express to the suburbs and small village buses climb the hills. Stops show live arrival times.
These days most people call a taxi instead of waving one down.
So many taxis are booked by app now that finding a free one on the street can take a while. Koreans use Kakao T. For visitors I’d suggest k.ride, Kakao Mobility’s app for foreign travellers. You sign up with Google, Apple or email, pay with an overseas card, and see the estimated fare before you book.
You’ll see the green-and-white bikes all over the city. An hour costs ₩1,000.
Ttareungi, Seoul’s public bike, is at its best along the Han River paths. Buy a pass in the Seoul Bike app with an overseas card, unlock with the QR code and return to any station. Other cities have their own: Tashu in Daejeon is free for the first hour.
Not the quickest way across town, but the nicest.
The Hangang Bus is a river ferry that works like a bus: tap your card and ride between piers from Magok in the west to Jamsil in the east. The full route opened in March 2026, and a stop at Seoul Forest followed in June.
Worth a detour
You get on at a pier, tap your card and sit by the window while the bridges go by. It’s slow, but go late in the afternoon and it’s one of the nicest hours you can spend in Seoul.
Flat ₩3,000 a ride, August 2026. Timetables change often, so check before you go.
Good to have
What I’d tell a friend coming to Seoul for the first time.
Before you ride
Google Maps works for trains and buses in Korea but struggles with walking and driving directions. Locals use Naver Map or KakaoMap. Both have English menus, live bus arrivals and tell you which exit to take.
After midnight
Most subway lines send their last trains around midnight, a little earlier at weekends and on holidays. After that, N buses (“Owl” buses) cover the main corridors until about 05:00 for ₩2,500, and taxis add a 20–40% night surcharge.
Bags, strollers & wheelchairs
Larger stations have coin lockers you can pay for with a card or T-money. Useful after check-out if your train is later in the day. Almost every station has a lift now, but usually not at every exit. Check the station map by the gates for the lift symbol before you choose an exit.
Passes & help
The Discover Seoul Pass bundles entry to 70+ attractions and can work as a transit card, but it does not make buses and the subway free. You top it up like a T-money card and each ride comes off that balance. Hop-on hop-off tour buses loop the palaces and Namsan from Gwanghwamun.
FAQ
Short answers. The journal has the long ones.
With a T-money card. Buy one at any convenience store or at card machines in larger subway stations, top it up with cash, and tap it on the reader when you get on and off. Foreign visitors can also use the Tmoney Travel Card Plus (TTC+), which tops up in an app with an overseas card.
An adult subway ride costs ₩1,550 with a transit card for the first 10 km, plus ₩100 for every extra 5 km. A single journey ticket costs ₩1,650 plus a ₩500 deposit that you get back at the station.
Tap out when you get off, then tap in on the next subway or bus within 30 minutes (60 minutes between 21:00 and 07:00). You can change up to four times and pay one fare based on the total distance.
After you exit the gates, put the card into the Deposit Refund machine next to them. It returns a ₩500 coin.
The short-term Climate Card gives unlimited rides on Seoul subway and city buses for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days, from ₩5,000 for one day plus ₩3,000 for the card. It pays off if you make more than about three separate trips a day inside Seoul. It is not valid on the Shinbundang Line, the Incheon Airport railroad or red express buses.
Use k.ride, Kakao Mobility's app for foreign visitors. You can sign up with Google, Apple or email, pay with an overseas card and see the estimated fare before booking. Seoul taxis start at ₩4,800 for the first 1.6 km.
No. It covers entry to attractions and can work as a transit card, but subway and bus rides are not free: you load money onto it like a T-money card and every fare comes off that balance. The short-term Climate Card is the only pass here with unlimited rides.
The Hangang Bus river ferry costs a flat ₩3,000 per ride. The full route along the Han River opened in March 2026, with piers from Magok in the west to Jamsil in the east, including Seoul Forest since June 2026.
Journal
Step-by-step guides to Seoul’s subway, buses, taxis, bikes and river boats.
Adult fares with a transit card in Seoul, last checked August 2026. Verify before travel. Dollar figures are approximate, at ₩1,328 to US$1 (reference rate of 20 October 2026).