This article was written for 14 November 2026.
For the subway and the bus in Korea, the simplest card is T-money. You can buy it at a convenience store or a station. Other cards, such as Cashbee, exist. Transfer rules and the words on the top-up machine differ a little. For a first card, T-money is enough.
Buy it, then add money
Buy it at a station counter, a convenience store, or a top-up machine. Cash is the reliable way to add value. Some machines now take cards. This article will not say that all of them do. Bring cash.
If you cannot read the screen, hold the card out and say 교통카드 충전해 주세요. Please add money to the transit card. Point at the amount.
Getting on, getting off
Tap in, and tap out. If you do not tap out, the transfer breaks and the next ride can charge a full base fare again. In Seoul and the capital region the transfer window is short, often talked about as around 30 minutes. Other cities differ. Read that city’s notice. The time is not frozen here, because the rule is not the same on every line.
On a bus, tap again as you get off. The reader is usually by the back door.
The airport, and getting money back
Many gates on the ordinary airport rail take a transit card. A nonstop train sold as its own ticket may not. Look at the card mark on the gate before you walk through.
Leftover value can often be refunded at a station or a convenience store. A fee is charged. The counter will tell you the amount. It is not printed here.
Cards made only for visitors change their names and their shops. On the first day, one ordinary T-money is clearer. Next to Japan’s Suica or Pasmo, the job is the same, and tapping out matters more, because that tap keeps the transfer.
Questions that keep coming up
Can I top up with a credit card?
Some machines yes, some no. Cash is the sure one.
When does a transfer break?
If you skip the tap-out, or you miss that city’s window. The capital region is a short window. Check other cities.
Does the airport line take it?
Many ordinary gates do. A separate express ticket may not. Read the gate.