South Korea Transportation

Visitors can go to South Korea by air or sea. After entering the country, they can travel around by flight, sea, city bus, subway or taxi.

How to Travel to South Korea

Air

Most visitors choose to fly to Seoul or Jeju Island first to visit South Korea. Incheon Airport and Gimpo Airport are two international airports near Seoul and Incheon Airport is the largest in the country and one of the busiest airports all over the world. As of now, South Korea has flights to/from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Osaka, Shanghai, Manila, Taipei, Singapore, Los Angeles, Guam, Cebu, New York, Kuala Lumpur, Amsterdam, London, Bahrain, Paris, Rome, Moscow, etc.

Sea

Ranking as the 13th shipping country in the world, South Korea has a sound sea transportation network. Busan and Incheon are the first and second largest international ports in the country. Tourists can go to the country by sea from China, Japan, or Russia. There are ferries to Incheon from many Chinese cities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Dalian, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao, Yantai, Dandong, Lianyungang, Weihai, and Rizhao. The duration is 13-26 hours for a single journey. Or visitors can take ferries to Busan or Donghae from some Japanese cities including Fukuoka, Shimonoseki, Izuhara, Osaka, Hitachi, Sakaiminato. It takes 2-15 hours for single journey. There are ferries between Vladivostok and Donghae, taking 22 hours for a single journey.

How to Travel Around

Air

It is quite convenient to travel inside the country by air. Wonju Airport, Pohang Airport, Gunsan Airport, Gwangju Airport, Ulsan Airport, Yeosu Airport, and Sacheon Airport are all major domestic airports. Incheon Airport only operates three domestic air routes to/from Busan, Jeju, and Daegu while Gimpo Airport mainly operates domestic flights to/from Busan, Jeju, Yeosu, Ulsan, Pohang, and Sacheon.

Train

Making a train trip is a pretty way to travel in the country. There are three types of train in South Korea: KTX, Saemaeul, and Mugunghwa. When taking a train in Korea, visitors don't need to check in. They can enter the train station directly to find their seats. Stewards will go around checking train tickets when the train is running. KTX train tickets can be purchased online, or at ticket windows, post offices, ticket vending machines, or through travel agents. Passengers can get a discount of up to 20% if buying tickets in advance. There are three major railway stations in Seoul: Seoul Railway Station, Yongshan Railway Station and Cheongnyangni Railway Station. These stations can be easily reached by subway or buses.

City Bus

City bus is an important transportation way in Korea. City buses with different identification colors or numbers to represent different routes can take tourists to any destination. Taking Seoul as an example, blue buses running along main roads are suitable for visitors who travel for a relatively long distance. Green buses mainly connect transfer points like subway stations and bus stops in a short distance. In order to travel between Seoul and suburban areas, red buses, also express buses are what visitors should choose. Tourists traveling within a district in Seoul should take yellow buses.

Buses in other cities are similar to those in Seoul, but the situation may vary a little bit in different cities. Visitors can pay bus fare either by transportation card or cash. They can get a discount when using the transportation card to transfer to other buses or subway lines, but they need to tap transportation card on the card reader near the exit door before getting off. Using the card can save 100 won on each trip. Tourists can purchase transportation card at subway stations and convenient stores with a T-money mark.

Subway

Subway is an easy way to visit major attraction sites. Currently, there are 9 subway lines in major cities such as Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and Daejeon. Different lines have different identification colors for passengers' convenience. The subway ticket price varies in different cities. Tourists can either buy a single journey ticket at ticket vending machines inside subway stations, or buy a transportation card like T-money, Cashbee or M-pass. Besides, paid lockers are provided in many subway stations for passengers to store luggage.

Taxi

More and more taxi drivers can speak English now, so it is easy and convenient for visitors to take a taxi. Usually, tourists can take a taxi at taxi stands or by road sides, or call a taxi at higher fare. Taxi starting price may be a little bit different in different cities, mainly depending on travel distance and time. Most taxis in Seoul accepts payment by cash, credit card and transportation card, while tourists can only pay by cash in small cities, so do prepare some cash beforehand. Three types of taxis are provided in the country: Standard Taxis, Deluxe Taxis and Jumbo Taxis. Taxi marked with T-money accepts payment by T-money transportation cards. Taxis marked with orange credit card reader accept payment by credit cards.

Further Reading: 
Things to Do in South Korea   Useful Travel Tips