How to Use the Seoul Subway

If you can read a colour and a number, Seoul's subway is easy. What makes the difference is three things worth knowing before you ride: express trains, weak-cooling cars, and the fact that "the last train time" does not exist as a single number.

At a glance

338 stations · 359.86 km
Thirteen lines, as of 31 January 2025.
1,550 won base
By card, to 10 km. A single journey is 1,650 plus a 500 deposit.
Line 9 express saves 27.3 min
52.5 minutes instead of 79.8 across the published operating line.
There are weak-cooling cars
Different car numbers per line — and none on Line 2.

The fare is charged by distance

	By card	Single journey
Adult (to 10 km)	1,550 won	1,650 won + 500 deposit
Youth	900 won	—
Child	550 won	550 won

Past 10 km it is 100 won per 5 km up to 50 km, then 100 won per 8 km. Most trips across central Seoul stay inside 10 km, so they cost the base fare and nothing more.

A single-journey ticket carries a 500 won deposit, refunded only if you feed the card into the deposit refund machine at your destination. Walk out without doing that and you do not get the 500 won back. If you expect to ride more than twice a day, a transit card is easier than buying single-journey tickets.

Tap both on the way in and on the way out. Because the fare is distance-based, the tap-out is half the calculation.

Reading the lines

Every line has a number and a colour — Line 2 green, Line 4 blue — and each station carries a code like Line 2 · 222. Signs, maps and announcements are bilingual.

Follow the line colour on the floor and the walls.
Choose your direction by the terminus name on the platform sign, not by "northbound" or "southbound".
Transfers are marked with a walking figure and the colour of the connecting line.

Exit numbers matter as much as station codes. Large stations have more than ten, and surfacing on the wrong side often means going back underground to cross. Searching for a destination will usually name the exit.

If you are carrying a suitcase

Not every station has a lift, and plenty of transfer passages run to stairs. With big luggage, turning on the app's step-free or lift route option when you search will route you the way with the fewest steps.

At rush hour the trains are too crowded to board with a suitcase comfortably. On your first day, coming in from the airport, it is worth avoiding those hours.

Express trains — same fare, fewer stops

Some lines run express services that call only at major stations. The fare is identical.

On Line 9, the published end-to-end operating time is 79.8 minutes for an all-stop train and 52.5 minutes for an express. That saves 27.3 minutes, so waiting for the express can be faster when it serves your destination.

One thing to watch: the express skips smaller stations entirely. Platform signs and the train's own side display mark it as express and list the stops — check your destination is on that list before boarding.

A summer thing worth knowing — weak-cooling cars

Seoul sets ordinary cars to 24°C, and runs designated weak-cooling cars one or two degrees warmer. If you find the air conditioning harsh, knowing where they are changes a summer of travelling.

Line	Weak-cooling cars	Set to
1 · 3 · 4	4th and 7th car	25°C
5 · 6 · 7	4th and 5th car	26°C
8	3rd and 4th car	26°C
2	None	—

Line 2 has none because of congestion. Making one car less cool causes more problems than it solves on the busiest line in the system.

Two kinds of seat to leave empty

Priority seats sit at both ends of every car, for elderly, pregnant and disabled passengers and those with infants.
Pregnancy priority seats are separate: the two end seats of the six-or-seven-seat bench in the middle of the car. The upholstery is pink and the floor is marked. Two per car, and the point is that they stay empty even when nobody is using them.

The reason they exist apart from the general priority seats is practical — early pregnancy does not show, and the seat is there so nobody has to ask.

There is no single 'last train' time

The last train in Seoul differs by line, by station, by direction and by day of the week. "The subway runs until midnight" is a rough feel, not a schedule, and two directions at the same station can be twenty or thirty minutes apart.

So if you are out late, check the last train from your station, in your direction, in an app. Seoul Metro publishes first and last trains per station officially, and Naver Map and KakaoMap use the same data.

If you miss it, the fallbacks are the night bus (2,500 won) and a taxi. Night buses do run through the early hours but on limited routes, so if the evening might pass midnight it is worth deciding in advance.

Boarding before 06:30 takes 20% off

If your first boarding of the day is before 06:30, the base fare drops 20% — 1,550 won becomes 1,240. First boarding only, and not a leg you arrive on as a transfer.

For anyone heading to a palace or a market early, it simply happens.

Which app to use

Naver Map and KakaoMap are what people here mostly use. Both give live train positions, the best car to board for your transfer, exit numbers and last-train times. Seoul Metro's own app is enough if the subway is all you need.

Google Maps does return transit routes in Korea but its walking and driving directions are restricted. For the subway itself that is survivable; the problem starts after you come up the stairs.

Re-check anything time-sensitive — last trains, whether the express is running — immediately before you leave. Apps do disagree.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Seoul subway base fare?

1,550 won for an adult with a transit card, flat to 10 km. A single-journey ticket is 1,650 won plus a 500 won deposit refunded at a machine in your destination station. Youth pay 900 won, children 550.

How many lines and stations are there?

Thirteen lines and 338 stations over 359.86 km, as of 31 January 2025. Seoul Metro runs Lines 1 to 8; Line 9, the Ui-Sinseol Line and the Sillim Line have separate operators.

Do express trains cost more?

No, the fare is the same. On Line 9 the published end-to-end operating time is 52.5 minutes by express and 79.8 minutes by all-stop train. It skips smaller stations, so check your destination is on the listed stops before boarding.

Which car is the weak-cooling car?

The 4th and 7th on Lines 1, 3 and 4 (25°C); the 4th and 5th on Lines 5, 6 and 7 (26°C); the 3rd and 4th on Line 8 (26°C). Ordinary cars are set to 24°C, and Line 2 runs none because of congestion.

Can I sit in the pink seats?

They are pregnancy priority seats — the two end seats of the middle bench, two per car. Early pregnancy is not visible, so the convention is to leave them empty even when nobody is sitting there.

What time is the last train?

There is no single answer. It varies by line, station, direction and day, and two directions at one station can differ by twenty or thirty minutes. Check your own station and direction in an app.

Do I pay again when I transfer?

Not if you meet the conditions. Board the next vehicle within 30 minutes of tapping out — 60 minutes between 21:00 and 07:00 — for up to four transfers a day. The fare is then calculated on the whole journey's distance rather than per leg.

Can I use Google Maps for the subway?

It does return transit routes. Walking directions are restricted, though, which makes the part after you leave the station awkward, so pair it with Naver Map or KakaoMap.

Have a subway question we didn't answer?