Public transportation in South Korea: all about the T-Money card and booking tickets

The T-Money card: your travel companion in South Korea

If there’s one thing you need to sort out the moment you arrive in South Korea, it’s a T-Money card. It’s a rechargeable payment card you can use for pretty much everything: metro, bus, taxi, and even at 7-Eleven or GS25 convenience stores. You just tap your card on the reader — if you’re Dutch: it’s exactly like the OV-chipkaart in the Netherlands.

You can buy a T-Money card at Incheon Airport as soon as you arrive. You can even order one in advance via Klook if you like to plan ahead. But pretty much every convenience store (CU, 7-Eleven, GS25) sells them too. The card itself costs between ₩3,000 and ₩5,000 (roughly $2.25 to $3.75 / €2 to €3.50). They come in all kinds of designs, making them a fun souvenir, too.

You can top up your T-Money card everywhere. At every metro station, there are machines (that you can switch to English). Tap the T-Money logo, place your card on the reader, choose how much you want to add, and feed in bills or coins. Done. You can also top it up at any convenience store — just hand your card to the staff, say how much you want to add, and pay. I always had to do this with cash.

Start with ₩20,000 to ₩30,000 (about $15 to $22 / €14 to €20). You can easily top it up again, and this way you’ll first get a feel for what each ride actually costs.

The T-Money card also gives you a transfer discount. If you switch from metro to bus (or vice versa) within a set time window, you don’t pay the full fare again. So always check out, even when transferring.

If you have leftover credit at the end of your trip, you can get a refund. At convenience stores, you can get back up to ₩20,000 to ₩30,000 (around $15 to $22 / €14 to €20), though it varies by store. For larger amounts, you’ll need to visit a T-Money Service Center at a metro station. The card itself is not refundable.

On the platform, there’s usually a sign showing where each car number stops, so you know exactly where to be.

How do you book train tickets?

You can book train tickets online through the official websites of Korail (for KTX) and SRT (for SRT). And it’s genuinely worth doing — on busy days, tickets sell out fast. You can book up to a month in advance.

Booking can be a bit of a hassle, though. The websites aren’t always very user-friendly for international visitors, and foreign credit cards sometimes don’t work. If you can’t figure it out, you can also book through platforms like Klook. They charge a small fee, but at least you’re guaranteed a ticket.

Personally, I managed to book on the Korail website with my Dutch credit card, and even canceled an incorrect booking. So it’s definitely doable.

You can also buy tickets on the spot at the station, at the self-service machines. That’s also where you can print out the tickets you booked online.

Booking bus tickets in South Korea

Besides trains, there are tons of intercity buses running through South Korea. They’re usually cheaper than the train, and they go to places where no train stops. You have express buses (which run mostly direct) and intercity buses (which make more stops along the way).

You can book bus tickets through Klook or book intercity buses via this site. You can also just show up at the bus terminal and buy a ticket on the spot. Here too, paying with a foreign credit card isn’t always straightforward. I ended up booking the bus from Seoul to Sokcho through Klook and other buses through this site with a Revolut card.

During checkout, they often ask what type of card you have. If you can’t select Visa or Mastercard, just go with ‘etc.’ Then you might be asked for a ‘card password’ — this isn’t your PIN, but a two-digit code we don’t really use in Europe. You can try something like 00 or 99. In some cases, it needs to be the last two digits of your credit card number. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of trial and error!

I find bus trips really relaxed: big seats, air conditioning, and stops at service areas along the way where you can grab food and drinks.

One heads-up: some cities have multiple terminals. In Sokcho, for example, I ended up at the wrong one and had to take a taxi to the right one. Always check in advance which terminal you need.

Chuseok: South Korea’s travel nightmare

If you’re in South Korea during Chuseok — the Korean equivalent of Thanksgiving — public transportation is an absolute nightmare. Millions of Koreans travel to see family, and everything sells out.

I had to book everything well in advance, and still missed out a few times because tickets are released for Korean residents first.

Tips for traveling during Chuseok:

• Book as early as possible. Tickets for Chuseok are often released to foreign travelers only three weeks in advance, and they go fast. Set a reminder in your calendar.
• Consider the SRT instead of the KTX; it sometimes still has availability.
• Avoid traveling on the first and last day of the holiday period. Those are the busiest days.

Other useful transportation tips

• Download Kakao Metro or Naver. These apps make it easy to plan routes.
• Metro stations always have English signage and announcements.
• Trains and buses depart exactly on time. Be punctual.
• On longer bus rides, you stop at service areas along the way — basically mini shopping centers with restrooms, restaurants, and shops. Super convenient.

Renting a car in South Korea

For most cities, you don’t need a car. Public transportation is so good that a car often creates more hassle than it’s worth. But on Jeju Island, a car is pretty much essential. The island is quite large, and public transit there is more limited.

We rented a car on Jeju, and it was totally fine. You can rent through platforms like DiscoverCars (that’s where I rented). Just make sure you have a valid international driver’s license.

Koreans are generally polite, calm drivers. Roads can get quite narrow, especially in older neighborhoods. And parking can be tricky in big cities. But on Jeju, it’s really manageable.