T-money Card Guide: Getting Around Korea

One small plastic card covers nearly every subway, bus, and taxi in Korea. Here’s how the T-money card works and why you should buy one before you do anything else.

Where to buy

Any convenience store — GS25, CU, 7-Eleven — sells T-money cards for about ₩4,000 (card only, no credit loaded). Airport convenience stores stock them too, so grab one before you leave the arrivals hall. Cute character editions cost a little more and work exactly the same.

Topping up

Top up with cash at convenience store counters or the machines in every subway station. Machines have an English mode. Foreign credit cards generally can’t top up a T-money card — this surprises a lot of visitors, so keep some cash for this.

₩30,000 is a comfortable starting load for a few days in Seoul.

Using it

Tap in at the subway gate, tap out at your destination — fares are distance-based. On buses, tap when you board and again when you get off; the exit tap gets you free or discounted transfers between bus and subway within 30 minutes. Taxis accept T-money too, though most travelers just use a card in taxis.

Do you still need one?

Contactless foreign credit cards still don’t work at the subway fare gates themselves — Seoul plans to bring tap-to-pay to regular gates from 2027. What changed in March 2026 is the ticket machines: station kiosks on Lines 1–8 now accept overseas cards for single-journey tickets and short-term passes (with a foreign-card fee). Add inconsistent buses and the fact that transfer discounts only work reliably with T-money, and the answer is yes: for the price of a coffee, the card removes all friction — buy it, load it, forget about transit for the rest of your trip.

Leftover balance? Convenience stores refund amounts under ₩20,000 (minus a ₩500 fee), or spend it on snacks on your last day.