Seoul has one of the best public transport systems in the world, and once you know two things, a single travel card and the right map app, you'll move around like you live here. Here's how I get around, minus the tourist confusion.
The subway is your best friend
The Seoul metro is clean, cheap, punctual, and signed in English at every station. A single ride starts at ₩1,550 with a transit card, and the fare rises a little with distance. Trains run from about 5:30am until midnight. Each line has its own number and color, and platform signs count down to the next train, so it's genuinely hard to get lost once you're underground.
Buses fill in the gaps
Buses reach the spots the subway misses, and they're just as cheap. They're color-coded: blue for long main routes, green for short neighborhood loops, and red for express runs out to the suburbs. Tap your card when you get on and again when you get off. That keeps your fare right and your transfers free.
Taxis are cheap, and easy with one app
Taxis in Seoul are affordable by big-city standards and easy to find. The simplest way to catch one is the Kakao T app, where you set your destination in English so there's no back-and-forth with the driver. Almost every cab takes cards, or you can tap your transit card.
Use Naver or Kakao Map, not Google
This is the tip that saves visitors the most frustration. Google Maps barely works for getting around Korea. Because of a longstanding law on exporting map data, Google can't offer full driving and walking directions here, so routes come back broken or missing. Download Naver Map or Kakao Map instead. Both are free and both work in English, and Kakao Map even shows live bus arrivals down to the minute. Naver will tell you which subway car to board for the fastest transfer.
One card pays for all of it
Do yourself a favor on day one and pick up a T-money card. You tap the same card on the subway, on buses, and in most taxis, and you top it up with cash at any convenience store. It turns the whole city into one tap-and-go network. Coming straight from the airport? Here's how to get from Incheon to Seoul.
Fares and hours here are checked against Visit Seoul and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, last verified July 2026.