Public transportation in Korea is convenient and economical through the transfer system. Foreigners can easily transfer as long as they have a transportation card, so if you are planning to visit Korea, you should definitely know about transfers.
You will need a transportation card to transfer in Korea. There is a representative transportation card in Korea called T-money. It is good for foreigners to use and can be used anywhere in the country.
The cheapest and most convenient way is to buy the T-money transportation card at a convenience store in Korea. You can find convenience stores everywhere in Korea, and most of them sell transportation cards, so it is easy to buy one. You can also buy it from apps like KLOOK, but the cheapest way is to buy it in Korea for 5,000 won.
The T-money transportation card is a rechargeable card that can be used like a prepaid card as long as you recharge it with cash. Recharging is available at convenience stores or subway stations in Korea. If it is your first time in Korea, we recommend recharging at a convenience store. Please note that you can only recharge with cash, so you must bring Korean Won with you when you visit a convenience store. If you give your transportation card and cash to the convenience store employee, they will charge it for you.
You can also charge at the chargers at subway stations. Since they support Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese, even foreigners can easily charge. Just look for a charger like the one in the photo. Select the transportation card charging shown in the photo and enter the amount to charge.
After that, place your transportation card on the spot where it says '교통카드 충전하는 곳' in Korean, as shown in the photo above. Do not take the card with you until the charging is complete. Charging takes about 10 seconds.
In Korea, transfers between public transportation are only possible between city buses and subways. Transfers that are made by booking at a terminal or train station are not applicable to public transportation. The transfer method is not difficult, but if you do not know it correctly, it may not be applied. It is also a good idea to understand the fare charging method.
Transfer is possible. As shown in the picture above, you can simply tag the terminal when getting on or off the bus or subway. You can't make a mistake when boarding the subway because you can't get on without tagging your transportation card, but when getting off a bus, people often make the mistake of not tagging their transportation card. In this case, not only will you not be able to transfer, but you will also be charged an additional fee when using public transportation on your next trip, so you need to be careful.
You should also be aware of transfer times and number of transfers. To apply for transfer, you must board the next public transportation within 30 minutes from the time you tagged your transportation card when getting off. Also, you can transfer up to 4 times in total, and from the 5th time onwards, the regular fare will be charged. However, you don't have to worry because it's rare to transfer more than 4 times. Even if you transfer on the subway, the terminal is not tagged, so it is not counted as the number of transfers.
Let me explain the transfer fare. When a transfer is applied, you only pay the difference between the previous public transportation fare and the next public transportation fare. For example, if you took a bus that costs 1,500 won, you only have to pay 1,500 won even if you take a bus that costs 3,000 won next time. If you take a bus that costs less than 1,500 won next time, you do not have to pay the fare. In other words, when you transfer, you only have to pay the fare for the most expensive public transportation you used and can use other public transportation for free.