You just landed at Incheon. Your luggage is somewhere behind you. You're staring at a departure board, jet-lagged, and someone just rattled something past you in Korean. Your first real decision in Seoul is about to be a transportation one — and you're going to make it wrong if you just wing it.
I'm not saying this to scare you. I'm saying it because I did wing it, took the expensive express train when the regular one was sitting right there, and paid about twice as much as I needed to on my very first morning. Seoul's public transport is genuinely one of the best systems in the world — but it has a learning curve that nobody warns you about.
Here's what I wish someone had handed me at baggage claim.
First Thing: Get a T-money Card
Before you do anything else, walk to a convenience store — there will be one in the arrivals hall at Incheon, probably a GS25 or CU — and buy a T-money card. The card itself costs ₩3,000 (non-refundable), and you'll want to load at least ₩20,000–30,000 onto it right away to cover your first week of casual travel.
T-money is a reloadable transit card, Korea's standard. It works on every Seoul subway line, every city bus, most taxis, and — this caught me off guard — at convenience stores and even some traditional markets. The card never expires and your balance stays until you use it, so there's no pressure to spend it down before you leave.
The practical reason to get T-money immediately is the ₩100 discount you get on every single ride, compared to a single-journey ticket. That sounds trivial, but here's where it actually matters: free transfers. T-money holders get up to four free transfers between buses and subways within a 30-minute window (extended to 60 minutes between 9 PM and 7 AM). That means a trip from your apartment in Mapo, requiring a bus to the subway, across town, and a connecting bus at the other end, costs the same as a single base fare. That's enormous.
If your T-money balance runs low mid-trip, look for the fare adjustment machines near the turnstiles at subway exits — you can top up just enough to get out. But it's better to just keep ₩5,000 or more as a buffer. You can reload at any convenience store cashier (just tap your card on their reader and say the amount you want, or show it on your fingers) or at subway station charging machines, which have English interfaces.
For short-term visitors, there's also the T-money MPASS tourist pass — a fixed-rate card allowing up to 20 rides per day on most subways and buses. These are sold at Seoul Station's T-money Town counter and come in 1-day through 7-day options. If you're only passing through for a few days and don't want to think about reloading, it's worth looking into — but for anyone staying more than two weeks, a regular T-money card is simpler.
Getting from Incheon Airport to Seoul
This is where most new arrivals make their first expensive mistake. There are two trains at Incheon: the AREX All-Stop and the AREX Express. They leave from the same platform area. The express is flashier and branded for tourists. Most people assume it's the obvious choice.
It's probably not.
The AREX All-Stop runs every 6–12 minutes, takes about 60 minutes to Seoul Station, and costs roughly ₩4,150–4,950 with T-money — essentially regular metropolitan subway fare. The Express is non-stop, takes 43 minutes, costs ₩9,500, and requires a separate reserved ticket (T-money doesn't work for it). That's a savings of nearly ₩5,000 for 17 minutes. With luggage and no urgent meeting, the All-Stop is the right call for most people.
Once you're at Seoul Station, you're connected to Line 1, Line 4, and the KTX/SRT intercity train network — from there, you can reach most of the city.
If you're headed to Gangnam, Jamsil, or the south side of the city, Line 9 from Gimpo Airport is worth knowing about — though most international arrivals come through Incheon. Airport limousine buses (₩10,000–17,000 to various neighborhoods) are good if you're headed somewhere awkward to reach by train and don't mind Seoul's unpredictable traffic. And taxis run ₩60,000–100,000 or more from Incheon to central Seoul, depending on traffic and time of day.
The Subway: Easier Than It Looks
Seoul's subway covers nine core numbered lines plus several extension lines stretching into Gyeonggi province. The whole thing is color-coded and signed in Korean, English, and Chinese. After a few days you'll start navigating by color and number without thinking about it.
The fare is distance-based — not zone-based — starting at ₩1,550 for up to 10km with T-money (check the Seoul Metro official site for the most current fare; figures have shifted over the past few years and the authoritative source is the metro itself). Transfers between lines within the same station are free and don't restart your distance count.
One practical thing: pay attention to exit numbers. A major Seoul station can have 15 or more exits, each opening onto a different street. Knowing to use Exit 5 instead of Exit 3 can save you a ten-minute detour. Your navigation app will tell you this if you let it — which brings me to apps.
The early bird discount is also worth knowing: if your first tap is before 6:30 AM, you get 20% off the base fare. Useful if you have an early flight or ungodly commute.
What App Should You Actually Use?
This is a common question and the honest answer is: use Naver Maps, not Google Maps.
I know that sounds wrong. Google Maps is what you've used everywhere. It works fine for walking and driving in Seoul, but for bus and subway navigation, Naver Maps is noticeably more accurate — real-time bus arrivals, correct exit recommendations, live bus positions on the map. The English mode isn't a perfect translation, but all the core transit features work.
For taxis, the answer is Kakao T. It's like Uber but for Korea's regular and deluxe cab fleet, shows you upfront fare estimates, and the app has solid English support. When the subway closes around midnight and you need to get home, Kakao T is the move. A word of caution: some features may require a Korean phone number. Verify the current signup process when you arrive, as it has changed over time.
Google Maps is a fine backup, especially if you're just walking somewhere nearby. But if you're trying to catch a specific bus on a tight connection, trust Naver.
Buses: The Other Half of the Network
Seoul's buses are color-coded too. Blue and green buses are your standard city routes — blue runs longer arterial routes, green handles neighborhood connections to subway stations. Yellow buses loop around the city center. Red buses are express routes to the suburbs and cost more (around ₩3,000). The small green "maeul" (village) buses cover hyper-local routes within a single district for ₩1,200.
The critical thing about buses: tap out. When you board, you tap your T-money at the front. When you exit through the rear door, you tap again. That second tap is how the system calculates your transfer discount. If you forget it, the next ride counts as a brand-new fare. Almost every foreigner misses this at least once.
Bus stops are primarily labeled in Korean, and the in-stop arrival displays are often Korean-only. Naver Maps shows live bus locations so you can see your bus approaching in real time rather than guessing. Use it.
Also: Seoul has been expanding cashless bus service since March 2023. On many routes, cash simply isn't accepted. T-money is non-negotiable.
After Midnight: No Train, Now What?
The subway runs from roughly 5:30 AM to midnight daily. After that, a network of Owl buses (심야버스) covers some major routes until about 5 AM, but coverage is patchy. Kakao T is your most reliable option for getting home at 2 AM. Budget ₩15,000–25,000 depending on distance.
A few things I learned the hard way: the Sinbundang Line (the red express from Gangnam to Pangyo/Suwon) charges a surcharge on top of your regular T-money fare — if you work in Pangyo, that adds up. And if you're a parent of young kids, registering their T-money card for the child discount requires jumping through some hoops at tmoney.co.kr — the process is in Korean, but it's worth doing.
Seoul's transport system is genuinely good. Once you've tapped in and out a dozen times, loaded T-money at a GS25 at midnight, and navigated a 10-exit station with your phone's map, it stops feeling foreign. It just becomes your commute.
Start with the T-money card. Everything follows from there.
