Choosing a Seoul transport card: T-money, Climate Card short-term pass, WOWPASS

How the three cards differ: one table

T-money is a regular stored-value transport card that deducts each ride; the Climate Card short-term pass is Seoul's unlimited-rides-for-a-period pass; WOWPASS is a prepaid card for international visitors that you can use for currency exchange and card payments at ordinary stores, and the same card also works as T-money.

All three require having a card first. The Climate Card needs its own dedicated card (physical ₩3,000, or a mobile card on Android); you can't load the short-term pass onto a regular T-money card or WOWPASS.

How many rides for the Climate Card to pay off

Method: each ride counted at the Seoul subway transport card base fare of ₩1,550 (up to 10 km; beyond 10 km, ₩100 more per 5 km), compared with the short-term pass price. The ₩3,000 physical card isn't included, since with T-money you also have to buy a card first (about ₩3,000).

How to read it: averaging 3+ rides a day for several days in a row, short-term passes of 3 days or more pay off; the 1-day pass needs 4 rides in a day.

With T-money, Seoul's subways and buses give transfer discounts when you transfer within the time limit, so the actual pay-per-ride fare may be lower than in the table above, and you'd need a few more rides to break even.

Climate Card short-term pass: coverage, how to buy, how to get a refund

Coverage (from 2026/10/1): subways within Seoul, plus boarding at a covered station and getting off at Incheon Airport Terminal 1 or 2 station; Seoul-licensed city buses and village buses (including late-night and circular buses). Not valid on: the Shinbundang Line, GTX, subways outside Seoul, metropolitan express buses and airport buses, and buses in other cities. If you board in Seoul and get off at a station outside Seoul, you pay the extra fare at the exit station.

Validity: from the first train (around 04:00) on the day you top up until the last train on the final day; short-term passes can't be topped up in advance, so the top-up day is the start day.

Where to buy: physical cards are sold at new-type transport card machines inside Seoul Metro Line 1–8 stations, and at convenience stores near stations on Line 9, the Ui-Sinseol Line and the Sillim Line; on Android (OS 12 or later) you can get a mobile card through Mobile T-money or Samsung Wallet, while iPhone users need the physical card. Physical card users must register on the T-money Card & Pay website, or they can't get a refund.

Refunds: refund = amount topped up − fares actually used − ₩500 fee, and must be requested within the validity period; foreigners without a Korean bank account must go to T-money headquarters for a cash refund.

1. On the day you start, buy the physical card (₩3,000) at a new-type transport card machine in a Seoul subway Line 1–8 station.
2. Top up the short-term pass at a ticket machine or self-service top-up machine (e.g. 3-day pass ₩10,000); it starts counting that day.
3. Register the card on the T-money Card & Pay website (you'll need this to get a refund later).
4. During the valid period, just tap in and out at stations and when boarding buses; you can't tap in at airport stations.

The 30-day pass has been discontinued: Seoul city announced that prepaid 30-day passes could be topped up until 2026/8/31 and postpaid ones used until 2026/9/30; the Climate Pass that replaced it is only for registered Seoul residents, and travelers can't apply.

T-money: simplest, works everywhere

T-money official blog (updated 2026/8): a regular T-money card costs about ₩3,000 (some designs cost more) and is sold at convenience stores such as GS25, CU, 7-Eleven and emart24 and at subway ticket machines, with no ID needed for foreigners; you can also buy one at airport convenience stores or ticket machines.

Top-up: the easiest way is to ask staff at a convenience store; station top-up machines have Chinese, English and Japanese menus, but some only take cash.

Fares: Seoul subway base fare by transport card ₩1,550 (up to 10 km); a single-journey ticket (a 1-time transport card) costs ₩100 more; Seoul city buses about ₩1,500. Tap your card when getting off the bus too, or you may miss the transfer discount.

WOWPASS: for currency exchange and card payments

WOWPASS is a prepaid card: top it up at a WOWPASS machine with foreign currency, won or a credit card, or in the app with a foreign credit card, then pay by inserting the card at stores in Korea that accept local cards. Any remaining balance can be withdrawn as won cash at the machines, up to ₩100,000 per withdrawal with a ₩1,000 fee.

Transport: the card has a T-money function that works on subways and buses throughout Korea. But the T-money balance is separate from the WOWPASS balance and must be topped up on its own (with Korean won cash at subway stations or convenience stores, or by moving WOWPASS balance to T-money via NFC in the app).

Note: if you lose the card, the WOWPASS balance can be recovered by suspending the card in the app and getting a replacement, but the T-money balance can't. T-money balance refunds cost a ₩500 fee and, depending on the amount, are handled at convenience stores, subway station service desks or T-money headquarters.