Before You Go Korea

Checked Sept 30, 2026 Getting the money off your Korean transit card before you fly. Image: Before You Go Korea Take your T-money card to a GS25, CU, 7-Eleven or emart24 counter and ask for a refund. They pay out the whole balance in won cash, minus a 500 won fee. The price of the card itself doesn't come back. Each store chain has a ceiling. GS25 takes balances under 20,000 won, 7-Eleven up to 20,000, and CU and emart24 up to 30,000. Up to 50,000 won, go to a subway station service center. Above that, it's Tmoney Town at Seoul Station, Exit 10. Before any trip abroad I check the same five things: will cash work, how do the ticket machines work, will my card work, can I just tap, and where do I buy a pass. It's a habit from living abroad, about six years in Vietnam and a year in Thailand. This post is the other end of that list: what happens to the money still on the card when you fly home. Where GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, emart24 counters Store limits GS25...

Checked Sept 30, 2026 What Seoul's subway and buses cost for 3, 5 or 7 days, in won. For an adult riding mostly inside Seoul, getting around costs about 13,000 won for 3 days, 18,000 won for 5 days and 23,000 won for 7 days on the Climate Card tourist pass , card included. Paying per ride on T-money, the same stays cost 17,950, 27,250 and 36,550 won at 3 rides a day, with a 4,000 won card. Which one is cheaper comes down to rides a day. At 3 or more, the pass wins at every length of stay. At 2, it depends on whether you also buy a T-money card for the airport. Before any trip abroad I check the same five things: will cash work, how do the ticket machines work, will my card work, can I just tap, and where do I buy a pass. It's a habit from living abroad, about six years of it in Vietnam and a year in Thailand. The pass question is easier once you know what the rides add up to, so this post is the numbers. 3 days 13,000 won on the pass (10,000 + 3,000 card) 5 day...

Checked Sept 29, 2026 Where cash still matters on Seoul buses and subway, September 2026. Chart: Before You Go Korea A little. You can't pay cash at a Seoul subway gate, and you can get around without cash if you use a Climate Card pass bought with a foreign card, or T-money on your phone. But topping up a plastic T-money card is still cash only , at stations and at convenience stores. Most city buses still take cash, 1,500 won for an adult, but 183 routes are cash-free and cash loses the transfer discount. Bring some won, mostly in 1,000 and 10,000 won notes. Does cash work? It's the first of five things I check before every trip abroad, a habit from years of living abroad. Here is where cash still counts on Seoul's buses and subway, and where it doesn't. Subway No cash at the gate · cash buys tickets at machines T-money top-up Cash only, 1,000 won steps (stations and convenience stores) Bus 1,500 won cash on most routes · not on 183 cash-free rou...

Checked Sept 29, 2026 The gate reader where an iPhone with T-money in Apple Wallet is tapped, like a card. Photo: Before You Go Korea Yes, on an iPhone. In the Mobile T-money app (모바일티머니), tap Foreigner on the sign-in screen, create a T-money card, add it to Apple Wallet and top it up with a foreign Mastercard, American Express, UnionPay or JCB . Visa isn't on the list. Then tap your iPhone or Apple Watch at subway gates, on buses and in taxis. Topping up inside the Wallet app itself still needs a Korean card, so the T-money app is the way in. On Android , T-money's KOREA TOUR CARD app does a similar job and takes all five card brands. Can I just tap? It's one of the five things I check before every trip abroad. In Seoul you can't tap your own bank card yet, but you can tap a phone that holds T-money. App Mobile T-money (모바일티머니), Foreigner button · no Korean ID Cards Mastercard, Amex, UnionPay, JCB (since July 2026) · not Visa Fee About 4.5% per...

Checked Sept 30, 2026 A new ticket machine at a Seoul subway station, Sept 29, 2026. The sticker at bottom left says foreign cards are accepted. This is where you can buy the Climate Card tourist pass with your own card. Photo: Before You Go Korea The Climate Card tourist pass (기후동행카드 단기권) gives you unlimited rides on the subway and Seoul city buses for 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days. It costs 5,000 to 20,000 won , plus 3,000 won for the card. Each pass runs until the last service of its last day , not for 24-hour blocks. The 30-day version ends with September 2026, but the tourist pass stays. It now covers Seoul only , plus getting off at Incheon Airport. The last of my pre-trip questions is always the same: where do I buy a pass? In Seoul, the answer changed in 2026, so here is what is true now. Cost 1 day 5,000 · 2 days 8,000 · 3 days 10,000 · 5 days 15,000 · 7 days 20,000 won + 3,000 card A "day" From the first train to the last service of that day (the city says ...

Checked Sept 30, 2026 Terminal 1: buy your card on the arrivals floor, then go down to the train. Schematic, not to scale. Chart: Before You Go Korea Yes. You can buy a T-money card within minutes of walking out of arrivals, at any hour. Terminal 1 has four 24-hour CU convenience stores on the arrivals floor (1F). Terminal 2 has three 24-hour stores on 1F and two more on B1 in the Transportation Center, where the train leaves. A basic card costs about 3,000 won . You then top it up at the same counter, and for that you need Korean won in cash . A foreign card won't load it. Before any trip abroad I go through the same short list: will cash work, how do the ticket machines work, will my card work, can I just tap, and where do I get a pass. It's a habit I picked up living abroad, about six years of it in Vietnam. This post answers a question a traveller asked on Reddit: can you buy a T-money card right when you land at Incheon? Where (T1) CU on arrivals 1F: by e...