T-money card for visitors: buying, using and refunding it

Where can you buy a T-money card in Seoul?

T-money transit cards can be bought at any Seoul subway ticket office.

The card costs ₩2,500. That is the price of the card itself, separate from the travel credit you load onto it afterwards, and you do not get it back when you leave (see the refund section below).

The ID and online registration rule described in the next section applies to teenager and child cards.

If you are buying a data eSIM before the trip, check whether it comes with a card. One bundle currently offers exactly that:

A free T-money card is included with a data-only eSIM purchase of 3 days or more, for airport pickup.

That is a promotion rather than a standing rule, so read the current terms on the operator's page before you choose a plan because of it.

What kind of card is T-money?

Korean transit cards come in two broad types:

Transportation cards are either a prepayment card (charged in advance, topped up when empty) or a deferred payment card (a credit card with the transit feature added, billed monthly).

T-money is the first kind: a prepaid card. You put money on it in advance, each ride takes its fare off the balance, and when the balance runs low you top it up again. The second kind is a credit card with the transit feature added, billed monthly with the rest of your spending.

For a visitor, one advantage of the prepaid card is that the leftover balance can be refunded before you fly, within the limits set out in the refund section below.

Do children and teenagers need a different card?

Young children travel free:

Preschoolers (under age 6) ride free of charge.

Teenager and child cards come with paperwork:

Buying a teenager or child transportation card requires an ID card, and the card must be registered online within 10 days of purchase.

For a trip within the base distance, a teenager paying by transportation card pays ₩900, against ₩1,550 for an adult. On a short visit, weigh that saving against the ID check and the online registration deadline.

For a child travelling without a card, the single-journey child fare for a trip within the base distance is ₩550.

How much does a T-money card save over single-journey tickets?

A single-journey ticket is the alternative to a card. It works for a ride or two, but within the base distance it costs more than the card fare, and it ties up a deposit until you return it.

The single-journey deposit comes back at the end of the ride:

The 500 won single-journey card deposit is refunded by placing the card on the deposit payment return machine after getting off at the destination station.

On a transportation card, longer rides add a charge set by distance:

100 KRW for every 5km between 10 and 50km; 100 KRW for every 8km beyond 50km.

Over a few days of sightseeing, with several rides a day and bus connections in between, weigh the lower card fare within the base distance, the transfer discount within its limits and not having to return a deposit after every ride against the price of the card itself. If you are making a single trip and do not want a card at all, a single-journey ticket avoids paying the card price.

How do transfers and discounts work with T-money?

Transfers between subway lines do not involve the gates at all:

Transferring between subway lines does not require passing through turnstiles or buying a separate ticket.

Between the subway and buses, the card carries the fare across:

Transfer between bus and subway is free up to 10km, and up to 30km for Seoul metropolitan, Gyeonggi Express and Nonstop, and Incheon Express and metropolitan buses; the highest basic fare among the modes used is applied.

There are conditions on how and when you transfer:

Up to four transfers are allowed per trip, each within 30 minutes (within one hour between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.); transferring to the same bus route is not permitted. Re-swiping the same transportation card within 15 minutes at the same station avoids a second base fare.

These rules apply to transportation cards such as T-money, not to single-journey tickets. So on a card, a transfer between a Seoul city bus and the subway is free if you stay within both the time window and the distance limit, and the highest basic fare among the modes used is applied.

Early starts are also rewarded, for prepaid and credit transit cards alike:

20% off the base fare from the first train of the day until 6:30 a.m. Whatever you pay with, make sure it registers at the gate. Seoul Metro treats a missing or invalid ticket seriously:

30 times the single-journey fare, for fare evasion, an invalid ticket, or refusing to show a ticket to an inspector.

If the gate does not open when you tap, step back and try again, or ask at the customer service centre, rather than following someone else through. Check the balance before a long ride, so that it covers the distance charge as well as the base fare.

How do you get your leftover T-money balance back before you leave?

You can reclaim the unused balance on the spot at two kinds of place, each with its own limit:

The station counter accepts a higher balance, so it is the place to go if you have more on the card than the convenience-store limit. A convenience store is handy for a small balance. The same fee applies at both.

What you cannot get back is the price of the card itself. Seoul Metro's refund rules put it plainly:

Unused single-journey and group tickets are fully refundable at any Seoul Metro station; a commuter ticket refunds the lower of remaining days or remaining rides. The transportation card price itself is not refundable.

A simple way to avoid a large refund is to top up in small amounts during the last few days, so that the balance on your final morning is close to what you need for the ride to the airport.

What if your balance is above both refund limits?

Neither on-the-spot option covers a balance above the station limit. This guide has no confirmed procedure for a larger refund, so contact the T-money customer centre before your last day and ask how to proceed:

• T-money customer centre: 1644-0088.

Do this with a few days to spare.

If you are simply short of time on the last day, remember that the fee is charged per refund. Spending the balance down on rides, or topping up less, saves chasing a small amount.

What if you leave your T-money card on a train?

A prepaid card is worth whatever is on it, so treat it like cash. If you leave it, or anything else, on a Seoul Metro train, the lost property centres are organised by line:

Line 1/2: City Hall Lost & Found Center (02-6110-1122). Line 3/4: Chungmuro Lost & Found Center (02-6110-3344). Line 5/8: Wangsimni Lost & Found Center (02-6311-6765/6768). Line 6/7: Wangsimni Lost & Found Center (02-6311-6766/6767). After hours: call center 1577-1234.

Have the line, the direction of travel, the station and the approximate time ready when you call. Found items are passed on to the police:

A found item is transferred to the jurisdictional police office within seven days of acquisition.

This guide has no confirmed rule on whether the balance on a lost card can be recovered, so keep the balance modest, particularly in the last days of a trip.

Can tourists use K-Pass instead of T-money?

Only if you meet its residency rule. K-Pass is a refund scheme, and its eligibility rule is:

Only residents registered in a participating local authority, aged 19 or over, are eligible for the K-Pass refund scheme.

If you are visiting without resident registration in a participating local authority, the scheme is not open to you. In that case, use a standard T-money card for pay-as-you-go travel on the subway and buses.

Who can you call about T-money, subway or bus questions?