Seoul Subway Fares and Transfers: What a Ride Actually Costs

What does a single ride cost?

1,550 won on a transit card, or 1,650 won for a single-journey ticket. That base fare covers the first stretch of a journey and longer rides add to it by distance, so most trips inside the city stay close to the base.

Single-journey tickets are no longer cash only. Since 17 March 2026, 440 machines at 273 stations on Lines 1 to 8 sell them, and Climate Card passes, to Visa and Mastercard holders, with an average service fee of about 3.7%. Everything else about paying in Korea is in how to pay in Korea.

The fare rose from 1,400 won on 28 June 2025 and applies across Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, which is to say most of the capital region behaves as one fare area.

Why do so many guides say 1,400 won?

Because they have not been checked since the increase. This is the most common out-of-date figure in English-language Seoul advice, and it is worth treating as a test rather than an annoyance: a page still quoting 1,400 won has not been revisited since mid-2025, so its opening hours and ticket prices deserve the same suspicion.

Even official pages are not automatically safe. Seoul's city government page carries the current 1,550 won. Seoul's English tourism site was still showing 1,400 won when we checked on 12 September 2026. Being official and being current are different properties.

The transfer rule is where the money is

The base fare is not what decides your daily spend. The transfer window is.

Change between subway and bus, or bus and bus, within 30 minutes of tapping out, and the whole journey stays on one integrated fare instead of starting a second one. Between 9pm and 7am that window extends to 60 minutes. Both figures come from the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

That single rule turns a subway-then-bus trip from two fares into one, and it applies automatically as long as you tap out and tap in with the same card. Riding on a single-journey ticket gives up the transfer entirely, which is the real reason a card beats cash rather than the 100 won difference on the base fare.

Two habits follow. Tap out even when a gate seems optional, because the clock starts at the tap. And when you are choosing between waiting for a bus and walking twenty minutes, remember the walk may cost you the transfer.

Does the card work outside Seoul?

Yes, and this is where people buy a card they do not need. A transit card bought in Seoul works on Busan's subway and buses as well, so there is no need for a second one when you take the KTX south.

What does change is the price. Busan sets its own fares through Busan Transportation Corporation: 1,600 won for one section, meaning the first 10km, and 1,800 won beyond that. The card is national. The fares are municipal. A guide that quotes Seoul's 1,550 won for Busan has assumed otherwise.

What to do on arrival

Buy a transit card, load it, and stop thinking about individual fares. The card removes the cash penalty, unlocks the transfer window and travels with you to other cities, which is most of the decision made in one purchase.

The entry paperwork is a separate question and worth settling before you fly: K-ETA or e-Arrival Card covers which form applies. For the city itself, start at the Seoul travel guide.