A subway ride in Seoul costs 1,550 won with a transit card. Until October 2023 it was 1,250, and the latest rise came in June 2025. Taxis took a bigger single jump: the flag fall went from 3,800 to 4,800 won in 2023, and it now covers 1.6 km instead of 2. So if you're working out a travel budget from a guide written a few years back, the numbers will look a little too friendly.
Not everything is going up, though. KTX tickets got about 10% cheaper on September 1, when Korail absorbed the SRT, and four of Seoul's five big palace sites now let you in free on Wednesdays. Here's what a visitor pays right now, when each price took effect, and what's already being discussed for 2027.
Korea travel prices at a glance (November 2026)
Adult prices in won, for Seoul unless the row says otherwise. Children and teens pay less on almost everything here.
| What | Adult price | Since / note |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul subway, transit card지하철 · first 10 km | 1,550 won | June 28, 2025 |
| Subway single-journey ticket1회용 교통카드 | 1,650 won + 500 won deposit | June 28, 2025 |
| City bus, blue or green간선·지선버스 | 1,500 won | August 12, 2023 |
| Late-night bus심야버스 (N routes) | 2,500 won | August 12, 2023 |
| Red wide-area bus광역버스 | 3,000 won | August 12, 2023 |
| Climate Card short-term pass기후동행카드 단기권 | 5,000 won (1 day) to 20,000 won (7 days) | Seoul-only since October 1, 2026 |
| AREX express, Seoul Station to Incheon Airport공항철도 직통열차 | 13,000 won | Reserved seat, about 43 min to Terminal 1 |
| AREX all-stop train공항철도 일반열차 | 4,750 won (T1) / 5,350 won (T2) | Transit-card fare from Seoul Station |
| Seoul taxi, base fare중형택시 기본요금 | 4,800 won for the first 1.6 km | February 1, 2023 |
| Seoul taxi, 11 p.m. to 2 a.m.심야할증 40% | 6,700 won base | February 1, 2023 |
| KTX Seoul to Busan, standardKTX 일반실 | 54,400 won | September 1, 2026 (was 59,800) |
| Gyeongbokgung or Changdeokgung경복궁·창덕궁 | 3,000 won | 2027 price rise on hold |
| Secret Garden tour창덕궁 후원 | 8,000 won (5,000 + 3,000 palace ticket) | Timed tour, book ahead |
| Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung or Jongmyo창경궁·덕수궁·종묘 | 1,000 won | Free on Wednesdays since August or October 2026 |
| Integrated palace pass궁궐 통합관람권 | 6,000 won | Four palaces + Jongmyo, no Secret Garden |
Feel free to reuse this table or the chart below; just credit A Korean's Take (CC BY 4.0).
Seoul's subway, bus and taxi base fares since 2004. Data: Seoul Metropolitan Government fare history, checked November 8, 2026. Chart: A Korean's Take (CC BY 4.0)
Subway and buses in Seoul
The 1,550-won subway fare covers the first 10 km. After that you pay another 100 won for every 5 km up to 50 km, then 100 won for every 8 km beyond. Teens pay 900 won and children 550 with a card.
No card? The single-journey ticket from the station machine costs 1,650 won plus a 500-won deposit, and you get the deposit back from the refund machine at the station where you get off. One small trap: teens get no discount on single tickets, so a 15-year-old pays the full 1,650.
Early risers get a break. Tap a card before 6:30 a.m. and the first ride is 20% off, which makes the subway 1,240 won and a blue or green bus 1,200. The discount doesn't carry over to transfers.
Seoul buses come in colors. Blue and green buses cost 1,500 won, yellow circular buses 1,400, the small neighborhood "village" buses 1,200, late-night N buses 2,500, and red wide-area buses into Gyeonggi Province 3,000. Adults pay the same in cash as by card on Seoul buses, but cash riders lose the transfer discount, and plenty of routes no longer take cash at all. Transfers and tapping out are in my bus and subway guide.
One change this year that helps first-timers: since March 17, 2026, 440 ticket machines in 273 stations on Lines 1 to 8 accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards and Kakao Pay or Naver Pay. They only sell single-journey tickets and Climate Card passes, and the city says the card fee averages about 3.7%. Plain T-money top-ups are a separate matter.
Climate Card passes: still cheap, but Seoul only now
The short-term Climate Card (기후동행카드) is Seoul's unlimited-ride pass for visitors. One day costs 5,000 won, two days 8,000, three days 10,000, five days 15,000 and seven days 20,000, plus 3,000 won for the physical card. Teens can get a 7-day pass for 13,000. The pass starts on the day you charge it and runs until the last train of its final day, so charging it the night before wastes a day.
The bigger news is what it no longer covers. From October 1, 2026 the short-term pass works on the subway inside Seoul and on Seoul-licensed buses, including late-night and circular routes. It doesn't work on the Sinbundang Line, GTX, subway stations in Gyeonggi Province, red wide-area buses or airport buses. Seoul Bike and the Han River Bus aren't included either. On the airport railroad you can ride from Seoul out to Incheon Airport Terminal 1 or 2 and get off, but you can't board at the airport on the pass. And if you ride from a Seoul station to one in Gyeonggi, say Jongno 3-ga to Indeogwon, the gate charges you the full normal fare when you exit.
Is it worth it? At 1,550 won a ride, a one-day pass only beats paying per trip from the fourth separately paid journey; three rides cost 4,650 won. Refunds work only within the validity period, for the amount charged minus the fares used minus 500 won, and only on a card registered on the T-money website. Without a Korean bank account, the city says you'll have to visit the T-money head office in person. iPhone users need the physical card, since the mobile version is Android only.
Getting in from Incheon Airport
The AREX express train costs 13,000 won for adults and 9,500 for children, with a reserved seat and no stops. It takes about 43 minutes between Seoul Station and Terminal 1 and about 51 minutes to Terminal 2. The all-stop train on the same line is the budget option: 4,750 won to Terminal 1 and 5,350 won to Terminal 2 by transit card. It's slower and has ordinary subway-style seats.
For taxis, Seoul's official price page lists fixed zone fares between Incheon Airport and the city: 70,000 won for Gangseo-gu, the closest district, up to 95,000 won for the far eastern districts such as Songpa and Nowon in a regular taxi, and 100,000 to 140,000 won in a deluxe or large one. A metered ride is the other option, and in any taxi the tolls are paid by the passenger at cost.
Taxis in Seoul and other cities
A regular Seoul taxi starts at 4,800 won for the first 1.6 km. After that the meter adds 100 won every 131 meters, or every 30 seconds when you're crawling in traffic below about 15.7 km/h. Night surcharges come in two bands: 20% from 10 to 11 p.m. and from 2 to 4 a.m., and 40% from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., which pushes the base fare to 5,800 and 6,700 won. Leave the city limits and there's a 20% surcharge on top, though night and out-of-city surcharges together are capped at 60%.
The black deluxe and large taxis start at 7,000 won for the first 3 km, then 200 won per 151 meters, with a 20% night surcharge from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Premium app taxis like Kakao T Black set their own fares and can surge. My taxi guide covers the apps and the International Taxi service.
Outside Seoul the flag fall looks similar but buys a different distance. Busan charges 4,800 won too, but that covers the first 2 km. Incheon and the bigger cities in Gyeonggi Province have been at 4,800 won for 1.6 km since July 2023, Jeju is 4,300 won for 2 km, and Daejeon just went from 4,300 to 4,800 won on November 1, 2026. Night rules differ too: Busan's surcharge starts at 11 p.m., and Gyeonggi's is 30% from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Seoul's transport chief told the city council on November 4 that there's no plan to raise taxi fares.
KTX and SRT tickets after the September merger
For fifteen years KTX fares didn't move. Then on September 1, 2026 the SRT, the rival high-speed service out of Suseo in Gangnam, was folded into KTX under Korail, and KTX fares were cut by about 10% on average to the SRT level. Seoul to Busan dropped from 59,800 to 54,400 won in standard class, and Yongsan to Gwangju Songjeong from 46,800 to 42,000.
| Route | Standard | First class |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul to Busan | 54,400 won | 78,900 won |
| Suseo to Busan | 52,900 won | 76,700 won |
| Seoul to DongdaeguDaegu | 39,000 won | 56,600 won |
| Seoul to Daejeon | 21,600 won | 31,300 won |
| Yongsan to Gwangju Songjeong | 42,000 won | 60,900 won |
| Suseo to Gwangju Songjeong | 40,900 won | 59,300 won |
| Yongsan to Mokpo | 48,000 won | 69,600 won |
| Yongsan to Yeosu Expo | 45,400 won | 65,800 won |
Departing from Suseo is a little cheaper than Seoul Station, which is handy if you're staying south of the river. Seoul to Gyeongju is 44,500 won, and the shortest KTX hop costs 7,500. Korail's own fare sheet says the 10% cut was set for three years after the merger review and may be adjusted later for inflation. At the National Assembly audit on October 13, Korail's CEO said he would consider an inflation-level rise for 2027, a decision that rests with the transport ministry.
The KORAIL PASS, sold only to foreign visitors, gives unlimited rides on any 2 to 5 days within 10 days: 131,000 won for 2 days, 186,000 for 3, 234,000 for 4 and 275,000 for 5. A Seoul to Busan round trip at the new fares is 108,800 won, so the pass only pays off with more riding than that. Korail's pass page still uses pre-merger wording about the former SRT trains, so ask at the counter before planning around Suseo departures.
Palace tickets, and the free Wednesdays
Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung cost 3,000 won for adults. Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo cost 1,000. Foreigners pay the same as Koreans, but the age rules differ: foreigners 18 and under or 65 and over get in free, and anyone wearing hanbok gets in free.
The Secret Garden behind Changdeokgung is the exception to almost everything. The tour costs 5,000 won and you also need the 3,000-won palace ticket, so 8,000 in total. The hanbok and age exemptions don't apply there; for visitors, only children 6 and under go free. Online tickets open at 10 a.m. six days before your visit, and some are sold on site from 9 a.m. on the day. The 6,000-won integrated palace pass gets you into the four palaces and Jongmyo once each, but not the Secret Garden. The Korean-language fee page says it's valid for six months from purchase, while the older English page still says three.
Then there are Wednesdays. Korea's monthly "Culture Day" became a weekly one on April 1, 2026, and the palace office phased in free entry: royal tombs from late May, Deoksugung from August, and Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo from October. Gyeongbokgung and the Secret Garden are left out.
Prices could rise next year, or not. In August the Korea Heritage Service said it would announce new fees in November and apply them from January 1, 2027, the first rise in about twenty years. By October 8 the plan was listed as undecided. A three-stage plan disclosed in the National Assembly would eventually take palaces and Jongmyo to 5,000 won. Until there's an official notice, the fees above stand. Opening hours and closing days are in my palace guide.
What could change next
Seoul's bus and subway fares are the next ones to watch. At the November 4 council audit the city said it's discussing a rise with the agencies involved and expects one around summer 2027, with no amount set yet. The Han River Bus is 3,000 won every day for now, and the city plans a 6,000-won weekend and holiday fare from April 2027, pending a council vote. Add the possible KTX and palace changes above, and 2027 could look quite different.
Quick answers
How much is the Seoul subway in 2026? 1,550 won for the first 10 km with a transit card, or 1,650 won plus a 500-won refundable deposit for a single-journey ticket.
How much is a taxi from Incheon Airport to Seoul? At the official zone prices, 70,000 to 95,000 won in a regular taxi depending on the district, and 100,000 to 140,000 won in a deluxe or large taxi.
Did KTX fares go up or down? Down. Since September 1, 2026 they're about 10% lower, so Seoul to Busan is 54,400 won in standard class.
Are Seoul palaces free on Wednesdays? Deoksugung, Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung and Jongmyo are. Gyeongbokgung and the Secret Garden tour are not.
How this page stays current
I recheck every price here against the operators' and city notices once a month, and sooner when a change is announced. Last verified: November 8, 2026. If a price here and an official notice ever disagree, go with the notice.
Sources
- Seoul Metropolitan Government: public transport fare history (Korean) and fare guide incl. taxi history (Korean)
- Seoul city: subway fares (English) and Seoul Metro: June 28, 2025 fare change notice (Korean)
- Seoul price information: subway (Korean) and taxi (Korean)
- Seoul city: bus fares from August 12, 2023 (Korean)
- Seoul city: Climate Card short-term pass (Korean) and foreign cards at ticket machines, March 2026 (Korean)
- AREX: express train and all-stop train fares
- Busan city: taxi fare from June 1, 2023 (Korean), Incheon city: taxi fares (Korean), Jeju: taxi fares (Korean) and Chungcheong Today: Daejeon taxi fare, October 22, 2026 (Korean)
- Korail: KTX fare table as of September 1, 2026 (Korean) and KTX-SRT merger announcement (Korean)
- Newsis: Korail CEO on 2027 fares, October 13, 2026 (Korean)
- Korail: KORAIL PASS (English)
- Royal Palaces and Tombs Center: admission fees and free admission (Korean)
- Dong-A Ilbo: free Wednesday entry to palaces, May 26, 2026 (Korean) and Yonhap: palace fee rise undecided, October 8, 2026 (Korean)
- Bizwnews: Seoul council audit on transit and taxi fares, November 6, 2026 (Korean) and Kyunghyang: Han River Bus fare plan, September 29, 2026 (Korean)
More from this blog
- How to Ride the Bus and Subway in Seoul: Cards, Transfers, Bus Lanes
- Seoul Taxi Guide 2026: Apps, Fares, Night Surcharge and Tips
- Korea Public Holidays 2027: Dates, Substitute Days and Long Weekends
Which line in your budget surprised you more: the taxi, the KTX or the palace tickets?
Top photo: a Kakao T taxi on a rainy night in Seoul, license plate blurred. Photo: A Korean's Take
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