T-money card guide for Korea: buying, topping up, refunds and the Climate Card

By the Real Korea 101 editorial team · Published November 13, 2026 · Facts checked November 13, 2026

Short answer: a T-money card is a prepaid transport card you buy and top up with cash at convenience stores such as GS25, CU and 7-Eleven, or top up at subway station machines. You tap it on the reader when you board and again when you get off, and it is cheaper per ride than a single-journey subway ticket. When you leave Korea, a store can refund the remaining balance in cash minus a 500 KRW fee, but not the price of the card. If you will ride a lot inside Seoul, the Climate Card short-term pass (from 5,000 KRW for 1 day, checked November 13, 2026) gives unlimited subway and bus rides for a set number of days.

What a T-money card is

T-money is a prepaid, contactless transport card run by Tmoney Co., Ltd. You load money onto it first, then the fare is deducted each time you tap.

You use the same card on the subway and on buses. Tap the reader when you enter or board, and tap again when you exit or get off. That second tap matters: Seoul Metro says that if you do not tap when getting off, you lose the free transfer and are charged a separate fare for each ride.

Where to buy and top up

According to Tmoney's official foreigner guide, you show your card and Korean won cash at a Tmoney sales location and say how much you want to add. The rules on that page are:

• Top-ups are made in units of 1,000 KRW, from 1,000 KRW to 90,000 KRW per top-up.
• The balance stored on one card may not exceed 500,000 KRW.
• Top-up uses Korean won cash.

The Tmoney guide does not list a price for the card itself, so check it at the counter. The card price is not returned when you refund the balance.

Traveling with children? Tmoney says children (6 to 12) and youth (13 to 18) get discounted fares only after the card is registered with their date of birth, at a convenience store or a subway information center, by showing the card and an ID such as a passport. Adults caught using a child or youth card face a fine of 30 times the base fare.

Subway fares and transfers

Seoul Metro's English fare page says fares across the whole metropolitan subway network are distance based, using the shortest route. As read on November 13, 2026:

• Longer trips: for adults, 100 KRW is added for every 5 km between 10 and 50 km, and 100 KRW for every 8 km beyond 50 km.
• Single-journey tickets also take a 500 KRW deposit, which a refund machine returns when you insert the ticket after your trip.
• Early bird discount: Seoul Metro lists a 20% discount for prepaid or deferred transport cards from the start of service until 6:30 a.m., excluding transfers from other transport.
• Transfers: subway and bus fares are combined by distance if you board the next vehicle within 30 minutes of getting off (60 minutes between 21:00 and 07:00). Within 10 km you pay only the base fare, and up to five transfers are allowed per trip.

Getting your money back

Before you fly home, you can cash out what is left on the card. Tmoney's foreigner guide says:

• Hand the card to staff at a Tmoney sales or top-up location and say how much you want refunded.
• The refund is paid in Korean won cash, and you keep the card.
• A 500 KRW service fee is charged, and the cost of the card is not refunded.
• Partial refunds are only available at Tmoney Town and at the Tmoney service center in a subway station, for amounts between 10,000 and 50,000 KRW, paid in units of 10,000 KRW, and only for plate-type (standard flat) T-money cards.

The Climate Card short-term pass

The Climate Card is the Seoul Metropolitan Government's unlimited-ride transport pass. The city's English page says the 30-day Climate Card could be recharged only until August 31, 2026, and that its replacement, the Climate Pass, is for Seoul residents with a foreigner registration number. Short-term visitors are left with the short-term pass, which can still be charged on new and existing Climate Cards.

The break-even column is our own arithmetic (price divided by 1,550 KRW). A subway-and-bus trip with a transfer within the time limit is charged as one journey, so count trips, not vehicles. The city also lists a 7-day youth pass at 13,000 KRW, which needs age verification.

What it covers

• Included: subways within Seoul, plus getting off (not boarding) at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 on the Airport Railroad; Seoul-licensed city and town buses, including late-night and circular buses. Gimpo Airport Station is inside Seoul and covered.
• Not included: the Sinbundang Line, GTX, subway stations outside Seoul, express and airport buses, buses licensed in other regions, the Ttareungi bike share and the Hangang Bus.
• Time: from the first train (04:00) on the start date to the last train on the end date (typically 04:00 the next day). The charging date is the start date.

Mobile or physical card

• Mobile card: Android 12 or higher only, through the Mobile Tmoney app. The city lists bank transfer or a domestic credit or debit card in your own name as payment, which most visitors will not have.
• Physical card: for iPhone users and anyone who prefers a card. It costs 3,000 KRW at new transport card vending machines in Seoul Metro Line 1 to 8 stations, or at convenience stores near Line 9, Ui-Sinseol Line and Sillim Line stations. Pay with cash or a domestic credit or debit card (no corporate cards). Charge it at kiosks in stations on Lines 1 to 9, the Ui-Sinseol, Sillim and Gimpo Goldline lines.
• Registration: one card per person, registered on the Tmoney Card & Pay website. Unregistered cards cannot be refunded.

Climate Card refunds

The city's formula is: refund = total charged amount, minus the amount used on public transport, minus a 500 KRW fee. You must apply before the use period ends; after it expires, no refund is possible. The page says visitors without a Korean bank account can get a cash refund by visiting Tmoney headquarters.

T-money or Climate Card: which to choose

• Choose plain T-money if you will take a few rides a day, ride outside the Climate Card coverage area (Gyeonggi-do stations, the Sinbundang Line, airport buses), or want the simplest cash top-up and refund.
• Add a Climate Card short-term pass if you will ride the Seoul subway and Seoul buses many times a day for several days in a row, and you can start the pass on the day you charge it.

Landing at Incheon? The Climate Card lets you get off at the airport stations but not board there, so on arrival you pay your first ride into the city with T-money or a ticket. Planning your entry paperwork too? See our guide to Korea entry requirements, K-ETA and the e-Arrival card, and for phone data, eSIM vs SIM card in Korea.

Fares and pass rules change. For anything that affects your trip, the official pages below are the final authority.