Seoul Climate Card Tourist Pass (2026): Price, Where to Buy

Last checked: October 7, 2026 · Sources: Seoul Metropolitan Government transport pages (news.seoul.go.kr/traffic) and T-money — linked below.

Tourists can still buy short-term Climate Card passes: 1 day 5,000 won, 2 days 8,000, 3 days 10,000, 5 days 15,000, 7 days 20,000. They give unlimited rides on Seoul subway and Seoul city buses, plus getting off at Incheon Airport T1/T2. Buy a physical card (3,000 won) from a Line 1–8 station machine or a convenience store near a station, then charge a pass on the day you start using it. Since March 17, 2026, Seoul says the Line 1–8 machines accept foreign-issued credit and debit cards. The 30-day pass ended in October 2026; its replacement, the Climate Pass (기후동행패스), is for Seoul residents.

What changed on Oct 1, 2026

30-day Climate Card (prepaid and postpaid): ended.

Short-term passes (1/2/3/5/7 days): still on sale, same prices. The Seoul FAQ says they “are maintained as before.”

But the area got smaller: stations in Gimpo, Goyang, Gwacheon, Guri, Seongnam, Hanam and Namyangju, which used to be covered, are no longer included. The pass now works inside Seoul only (plus getting off at Incheon Airport).

Ttareungyi bikes and the Hangang Bus: not included in short-term passes.

Prices

Pass	Price	Per day
1 day	5,000 won	5,000
2 days	8,000 won	4,000
3 days	10,000 won	~3,333
5 days	15,000 won	3,000
7 days	20,000 won	~2,857
7 days, youth (13–18)	13,000 won	from Sept 1, 2026, until the resident Climate Pass gets its own youth discount (no end date set); needs age verification on the T-money site
Physical card	3,000 won (one-time, reusable)

Seoul’s FAQ says short-term passes, which are aimed at foreign travellers and short-term visitors, get no other discounts (low-income, multi-child, young adult). The youth 7-day price is the one exception. Seoul says it will run until the resident Climate Pass gets its own youth discount and gives no end date. Eligibility goes by birth year (2008–2013 in 2026), and you must register the card and verify age on the T-money website first.

How the days are counted

The day you charge is day 1. You can’t pre-charge for a later date. Charge a 3-day pass on Monday and it covers Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Each pass runs from the first train (04:00) on day 1 to the last train on the final day, which Seoul describes as “usually 04:00 the next day.”
Night buses: Seoul’s FAQ says a card can still be tagged on a night bus between 00:00 and 04:00 after its last day.

So don’t charge a pass the evening you land unless you’ll use it that night. Charge it the next morning.

Where it works

From Seoul’s short-term pass page (service range “from Oct 1, 2026”):

Included	Not included
Subway within the Seoul area	Sinbundang Line
Getting off at Incheon Airport T1 / T2 (AREX)	GTX
Seoul-licensed city buses (trunk, branch, circular, night)	Subway stations outside Seoul
Seoul-licensed village buses	Metropolitan (red) buses and airport buses
	Buses licensed by other cities (Gyeonggi, Incheon)
	Ttareungyi bikes, Hangang Bus
	Taxis

Two rules catch people out:

Leaving Seoul by subway costs extra. If you board inside Seoul and get off outside it (Seoul’s example: Jongno 3-ga to Indeogwon in Gyeonggi), the card isn’t accepted at exit and you pay the full fare from your boarding station.
The airport works one way. You can ride to Incheon Airport T1 or T2 and get off there. You can’t board at those stations with the pass. Going from the airport into Seoul, you pay normally.
Gimpo Airport is covered, except one line. Seoul’s station search shows Gimpo Airport station as usable (boarding and exiting) on Line 5, Line 9, AREX and the Seohae Line, but not on the Gimpo Goldline. You can buy the card at the Line 5 station there and charge it at the Line 5 or Line 9 station.

Seoul buses are fine even when they cross into Gyeonggi, as long as the bus is Seoul-licensed. Seoul has a service-range search tool (in Korean) for checking a specific station or route.

Not sure the pass beats a plain T-money card or WOWPASS? See our T-money vs WOWPASS vs Climate Card comparison.

Where to buy and charge

The Climate Card page on T-money's official Climate Card page (Korean only) — The Climate Card page on T-money’s official Climate Card page (Korean only), captured October 6, 2026. (1) Physical card: the one most visitors use. (2) Mobile card. (3) Mobile card works on Android only.

Physical card (works for most visitors)

Buy the card (3,000 won) from the new-type ticket machines in Seoul Metro Line 1–8 stations, or from convenience stores near stations. T-money names GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, emart24 and Storyway. On Line 9, the Ui-Sinseol Line and the Sillim Line, buy it at nearby convenience stores.
Charge your pass at the unmanned charging machines in Line 1–8, Line 9, Ui-Sinseol, Sillim and Gimpo Goldline stations, or by holding the physical card to your phone in the Mobile T-money app (T-money lists the menu for both Android and iPhone).
Payment: cash, or a credit/debit card (not corporate cards). Seoul’s FAQ says foreign-issued cards have been accepted since March 17, 2026, both for buying the card at the Line 1–8 machines and for charging. T-money adds that foreign-issued cards may be declined or charged a separate overseas card fee. Carry some cash in case a machine rejects your card.
Register the card (optional) via the QR code on the back, which opens the T-money website. Seoul’s FAQ says you can ride without registering, but only registered cards can check usage, report loss and request a refund.

Already have a Climate Card from the old 30-day pass? You don’t need a new one. Seoul’s FAQ says the pass type is chosen when you charge, so you can charge a short-term pass onto the card you already own.

Mobile card (mostly not for tourists)

The mobile version needs an Android phone (OS 12+) with the Mobile T-money or Samsung Wallet app, plus identity verification with a phone in your own name. Seoul’s FAQ says that without identity verification you can’t get a mobile card and should use a physical card instead. Apple Pay is not supported.

Rules to know

One person, one card. You can’t pay for a friend with your card, and you can’t transfer it.
Unlimited transfers, and no distance-based extra fares within the covered range.
Lose the card, lose the pass. Seoul’s FAQ says the remaining days are not carried over to a new card, registered or not. A registered card can at least apply for a refund after reporting the loss.
Tag-less gates don’t work with the Climate Card. Tag it.

Refunds

From Seoul’s page: refund = amount charged − fares you actually used − 500 won fee. T-money’s steps: stop the card before the pass expires (at a station charging machine or in the Mobile T-money app), then file the refund on the T-money website within 15 days of the expiry date. Miss the first step and there’s no refund.

For a tourist this is hard in practice, and Seoul’s own pages don’t fully agree:

Seoul’s pass page says refunds go to a bank account or as a partial cancellation on the card you paid with, and that foreigners without a Korean bank account can get a cash refund by visiting T-money’s head office.
Seoul’s FAQ says short-term passes can be refunded only if the card is registered on the T-money website. Joining T-money needs verification with a phone in your own name or an I-PIN, and the I-PIN route needs a Korean alien registration number. Visitors without a Korean phone in their own name or an alien registration number usually can’t do either. The same FAQ also says refunds can only be requested online, to a bank account, which doesn’t match the head-office cash refund above.

If you need a refund, call T-money (1644-0088) before the pass expires. Better still, buy the shortest pass that covers your plans and don’t count on getting money back.

What ended on Sept 29–30, 2026

Product	What happened
Prepaid 30-day Climate Card	Charging ended Aug 31, 2026; last day of use Sept 29; unusable from Sept 30
Postpaid Climate Card	Discount applied to September use; ended Sept 30. From Oct 1 it works as an ordinary transport card
Climate Card (30-day) as a whole	Operation ended Oct 1, 2026
Short-term passes (1/2/3/5/7 days)	Continue (Seoul says they’ll keep running, valid in Seoul)

Seoul’s replacement for residents is the Climate Pass (기후동행패스), built on the national “Everyone’s Card” (모두의카드, K-Pass). Seoul’s description targets residents aged 19+ with a Seoul address. Its FAQ says foreigners can join only if they have an alien registration number and can complete Korean identity verification. If you’re visiting for a week or two, ignore it.

People who bought a physical Climate Card for the 30-day pass can’t get the card’s purchase price back.

Short-term pass vs paying per ride with T-money

The adult subway base fare by transport card is 1,550 won for the first 10 km (Seoul city fare page). Rough break-even, using the per-day prices above:

Pass	Worth it if you take, per day, about…
1 day (5,000)	4+ separate base-fare trips
3 days (10,000)	3+ trips a day
7 days (20,000)	2+ trips a day

This is a simplified comparison. With an ordinary T-money card, transfers between subway and bus within the time limit are already free or cheap, so a “trip” here means a separate journey, not each vehicle. Longer subway rides cost more per trip on T-money, which favours the pass. Cheaper rides, such as Seoul village buses, work the other way: if most of your trips are on those, you need more rides a day to break even. Trips outside Seoul, on the Sinbundang Line, by airport bus or from the airport into Seoul need a normal transport card anyway, so many visitors carry both.

Private prepaid travel cards sold to tourists (such as WOWPASS) are separate products with their own terms, so check those with the seller.

Climate Card problems and fixes

I charged a 3-day pass at 9 p.m. on arrival.

That evening counted as day 1. Charge on the first morning you’ll ride.

The gate rejected my card at the airport.

The pass covers getting off at Incheon Airport T1/T2, not boarding there. Pay for that ride with another card.

I got charged at Pangyo / Suwon / Ilsan.

You got off outside Seoul’s covered range, or rode the Sinbundang Line. You pay the full fare for that ride.

Can my partner use my card?

No. One person per card, one tap per ride.

Can I add it to Apple Pay?

No. iPhone users need the physical card.

I lost my card on day 2.

The remaining days are gone, even for registered cards. Keep it separate from your other cards.

Does it include the Hangang Bus or Ttareungyi bikes?

Not on short-term passes.

Incheon Airport arrival, step by step: the pass can’t be used to board at the airport, so here is how to get into Seoul
Naver Map in English (2026): subway and bus routes with live arrival times.
Korea eSIM vs USIM vs pocket Wi-Fi: getting mobile data for maps and transit apps.
Booking KTX/SRT with a foreign credit card: for trips beyond Seoul.

Help

T-money customer centre (charging, refunds, errors): 1644-0088
Seoul Dasan Call Center: 120 (from abroad +82-2-120)
Korea travel hotline (English): 1330

Read next

Paying per ride instead? Fares by distance, transfer rules and gate fixes are in our Seoul subway fares, single tickets and transfers.