T-money vs WOWPASS vs Climate Card (2026): Which Seoul Transit Card to Buy, Fares, Transfer Rules, Airport Trains, and Busan's Cards — Cost Calculator

Seoul's transit is cheap, dense and cashless in a specific way: the gates want a Korean transit card, not your foreign contactless card, and the passes that promise "unlimited" travel come with exclusions that catch tourists on their airport day. This part compares the three cards you will be offered, gives the 2026 fares and transfer rules, and lets you calculate which option is cheapest for your itinerary — plus the Busan equivalents for Part 4.

The cards

	T-money	WOWPASS	Climate Card (short-term)
What	Transit + small-payments card	Prepaid debit card for foreigners with T-money built in	Unlimited Seoul subway + bus pass
Price	₩2,500–4,000 (non-refundable)	≈ ₩5,000 (non-refundable)	₩5,000 (1 day) · ₩8,000 (2) · ₩10,000 (3) · ₩15,000 (5) · ₩20,000 (7) + ₩3,000 card
Load with	Cash at convenience stores/machines (no foreign cards)	Foreign cash at 16-currency kiosks, or app	Cash at station machines (some new machines take overseas cards since 2026)
Works for	All subways, buses, taxis, convenience stores nationwide	Shops and restaurants like a Korean debit card; transit via the T-money chip (loaded separately)	Seoul subway lines 1–9, Ui, Sillim, Seoul city buses
Excludes	—	—	AREX, Sinbundang Line, Gyeonggi/Incheon lines and buses, express/intercity buses, KTX
Refund	Balance under ₩20,000 at convenience stores (₩500 fee); larger at the T-money centre	Balance via app/kiosk; card not refunded	Not refundable

T-money is the default: buy at the airport convenience store, load ₩20,000, tap in and out on every ride. Any card marked T-money or Cashbee works nationwide — Busan, Jeju, Gyeongju included — and pays for taxis and convenience-store snacks. WOWPASS matters for travellers whose foreign cards get refused (older terminals, small restaurants, some vending machines) or who want to avoid ATM fees: load it with dollars, euros or yen at a kiosk and it behaves like a Korean debit card, with the transit chip as a bonus. Climate Card short-term passes are worth it on heavy sightseeing days inside Seoul only; the airport train and any trip outside the city fall back on T-money.

The 30-day Climate Card (₩62,000) that residents used is being retired in autumn 2026 — no new loads after August 31, no use after September 29 — in favour of a Seoul option within the national K-Pass (20–53% of fares refunded above 15 rides a month, open to registered foreigners). The 1–7-day tourist passes continue.

Fares and transfers (2026)

• Seoul subway: ₩1,550 for the first 10 km by card (₩1,650 by single ticket), +₩100 per 5 km beyond; children ₩550, teens ₩900.
• Seoul bus: ₩1,500 city (blue/green), ₩3,000 red express to Gyeonggi.
• Transfers: free between subway and bus (and bus to bus) if you re-tap within 30 minutes (60 minutes 9 pm–7 am), up to 4 transfers — only with a card, and only if you tap out on buses too. Distance surcharges apply across the whole journey.
• Taxi: base ₩4,800 for 1.6 km, 20–40% night surcharge; card and T-money accepted; hail with the Kakao T app (foreign cards accepted on many but not all vehicles — set "pay in car").
• Busan: subway ₩1,600 (zone 1) / ₩1,800 (zone 2), city bus ₩1,550, taxi base ₩4,800; same T-money card, same transfer logic.

Airport to city

From Incheon (T1) to Seoul Station	Time	Fare
AREX all-stop (T-money)	~60 min	≈ ₩5,000
AREX express (non-stop, reserved seat)	43 min (T1) / 51 min (T2)	₩13,000 online/app · ₩17,700–18,300 at the counter
Airport limousine bus (to hotels/districts)	60–90 min	₩17,000 standard · ₩18,000 premium
Taxi	50–80 min	≈ ₩70,000–90,000 + ₩6,600 toll

The all-stop train is the value choice and is covered by T-money (not by the Climate Card); the express is worth it with luggage at rush hour; buses win for Gangnam and hotels far from Seoul Station. Gimpo (domestic and some Japan/China/Taiwan flights) is on subway lines 5 and 9 and AREX, 30–40 minutes to the centre for a normal fare.

Practical

Tap in and out on buses; keep the card near the reader for a second; carry ₩5,000–10,000 in cash for markets and small taxis; charge at any convenience store ("충전해 주세요"); and for a group, one card per person — cards cannot be shared through a gate. Children under 6 ride free.

With a card in hand, the next question is money: how the tax refund works for shopping, what duty-free allows, and the 2025 change that ended VAT refunds on cosmetic procedures — Part 3.