Don't Buy the KORAIL PASS 2-Day Pass (KRW 131,000) for Just a Seoul–Busan Round Trip — You'd Lose KRW 22,200

If you only do a Seoul–Busan round trip, the KORAIL PASS loses you over 20,000 KRW

The KORAIL PASS lets foreign travelers visiting Korea ride trains run by Korail for a set number of days. Korail's official English site says the Seoul Metropolitan Subway and temporary tourist trains are not included in the pass.^[1]

The pass types and age categories changed on December 11, 2025, and passes bought before then follow the old rules.^[6] As of October 2026, the sales screen shows only 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-day passes and the adult and child categories.^[3] But when the KTX and SRT merged on September 1, 2026, the Seoul–Busan KTX standard-class fare dropped from 59,800 KRW to 54,400 KRW. As single tickets got cheaper, the pass saves you less.^[9][8]

1. Who Can Buy It: Anyone Who Isn't a Korean Citizen

Korail's English guide says any foreigner visiting Korea can travel with the KORAIL PASS, and Korean citizens can't buy one. Adults are age 13 and over and children are ages 6–12, and children under age 6 are free (1 child per 1 adult aged 13 or over). To buy one, you need a valid passport and a credit card.^[1]

The information you enter on the purchase screen must match your passport exactly. After you buy, you can't change the pass type, passenger category or personal details, so if you bought the wrong one, you have to get a refund and buy again.^[3][2] Only the person named on the pass can use it, and selling or handing it to someone else is illegal. If you use it improperly, you pay an additional charge of 10 to 30 times the fare on top of the basic fare.^[1]

• Copy your passport's English name exactly.
• If you're traveling with a child, first check the free allowance for children under age 6 (1 per 1 adult).

2. Types and Prices: Four Passes From 2 to 5 Days, Used Within a 10-Day Window

As of October 2026, Korail's official adult prices are 2-day 131,000 KRW, 3-day 186,000 KRW, 4-day 234,000 KRW and 5-day 275,000 KRW. Child prices are 66,000 KRW, 93,000 KRW, 117,000 KRW and 138,000 KRW respectively. Once you set a start date, you pick 2 to 5 days to ride within the 10-day window from that date, and prices are calculated in Korean won.^[1]

In its November 2025 notice, Korail announced that the pass types and age categories would change from December 11, 2025.^[6] The purchase screen now shows only the ‘KORAIL pass FX’ 2-, 3-, 4- and 5-day passes, with adult and child categories. The consecutive-day passes and youth or saver (group) categories still seen in posts from overseas resellers may be pre-overhaul information.^[3]

The adult prices for the 2- to 5-day passes in Korail's December 2025 press release are also the same as today's.^[7]

• When reading a reseller's post, first check that it was written after December 2025.
• Pass dates can only be chosen within the 10-day window from the start date, so first check whether your train days are bunched up within your trip.

3. Where to Buy: Korail's English Website, Stations and Authorized Sellers

If you go to the old English website address (letskorail.com), you're now redirected to korail.com. You can buy the KORAIL PASS from the ‘BOOK KORAIL PASS’ menu on Korail's English website (korail.com/global/eng), at train stations, and from authorized resellers.^[2]

In December 2025, ‘KORAIL PASS Plus’, which adds a prepaid transit card function to the pass, was launched. After buying a KORAIL PASS, you pay 8,000 KRW more and apply with your pass number on the dedicated website (korailpassplus.korailnetworks.com), then pick up the card at dedicated kiosks at places like Incheon International Airport and Seoul, Busan, Dongdaegu and Daejeon stations. You can top it up and use it on subways and buses nationwide and at some convenience stores.^[7]

• Buy online so you can get a refund online later. For a pass bought from a reseller or at a station, you get the refund where you bought it.
• If you don't have a transit card, decide whether to apply for KORAIL PASS Plus too.

4. How to Reserve Seats: Register Your Travel Date, Then Reserve a Seat, in Two Steps

Buying a pass doesn't give you a seat. On Korail's English website, enter your pass number or email under ‘MY TICKET’, and under ‘DETAILS’ press ‘Add’ next to ‘Departure Date’ to register the date you'll ride first. Then go back to the list, press ‘Seat Reservation’, search for a train and pick a standard-class seat. You can check your seat on the last screen's ‘Print’ or ‘Usage History’.^[1][2]

Seat reservations open two months before departure, and the per-person daily seat limit is 2. You can't reserve the same route twice on the same day, so to change times, cancel your existing seat before departure and reserve again. If you choose first class, you pay 50% of that route's first-class price separately.^[1] Daily seat limit when you reserve with a transfer ticket: only 1.^[4]

If seats are sold out, you can ride standing with a valid pass and your passport. When you board, you must carry your pass, passport and seat reservation slip together, and a screenshot on your phone isn't accepted as a ticket. The screen that appears when you open the website on your phone is accepted as a valid ticket.^[1]

• Register your travel dates as soon as you buy the pass, and reserve the weekend seats first.
• The daily seat limit is 2, so if your plan involves transfers, split the route up in advance.
• Show your ticket on the website screen or a printout, not a screenshot.

5. Which Trains You Can Ride: KTX and Regular Trains Yes, Subways and Special Tourist Trains No

Korail's English notice (November 2024) lists the trains you can ride with the pass as the KTX (including KTX-Sancheon and KTX-Eum), ITX-Cheongchun, ITX-Saemaeul, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa, Nuriro and regular tourist trains. The same notice says you can't ride the SRT, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway or special tourist trains.^[4][5] As of October 2026, the pass introduction screen lists only the Seoul Metropolitan Subway and temporary tourist trains as excluded.^[1]

Since September 1, 2026, the SRT has been merged into the KTX, and the former SRT trains run under the name ‘KTX-Sancheon’.^[9][10] So you may wonder whether you can ride the KTX that leaves from Suseo Station with the pass, but we couldn't find any Korail notice that addresses this since the merger. If you plan to ride a Suseo departure, be sure to ask the Korail customer center (+82-1599-7777, 08:00–20:00) before you buy.^[1]

Tourist trains have the same problem. We couldn't confirm in official guidance whether the West Gold Train, East Sea Santa Train and Namdo Ocean Train covered in Randomtrip's tourist train articles are ‘regular tourist trains’ you can ride with the pass or ‘special or temporary tourist trains’ you can't. If a tourist train is the center of your trip, it's safer to check before you buy the pass.^[4]

• If you plan to ride a train from Suseo Station or a tourist train, ask the customer center (+82-1599-7777) before you buy.
• The pass doesn't work for getting around Seoul, so prepare a transit card separately.

6. Is It Worth It: Only When You Do Long Round Trips in a Day

Divide the pass price by the number of days you use it and you get the price per day. For an adult, the 2-day pass works out to 65,500 KRW a day, the 3-day to 62,000 KRW, the 4-day to 58,500 KRW and the 5-day to 55,000 KRW.^[1] On the KTX fare table as of September 1, 2026, a one-way standard-class ticket is 54,400 KRW for Seoul–Busan, 27,600 KRW for Seoul–Gangneung (KTX-Eum), 44,500 KRW for Seoul–Gyeongju and 46,800 KRW for Busan (Bujeon)–Gangneung. A single one-way trip, even on the longest route, Seoul–Busan, falls short of the daily price.^[8]

Itineraries that don't fit: A Seoul–Busan round trip is 108,800 KRW, which is 22,200 KRW cheaper than the 2-day pass (131,000 KRW). A 3-day loop from Seoul to Busan to Gangneung and back to Seoul comes to 128,800 KRW in single tickets, which is 57,200 KRW cheaper than the 3-day pass (186,000 KRW). For trips where you stay several days in one city, single tickets almost always win.^[1][8]

Itineraries that fit: You base yourself in Seoul and take day trips. If you do a Busan day round trip on the first day (108,800 KRW) and a Gangneung day round trip on the second (55,200 KRW), single tickets total 164,000 KRW, so the 2-day pass saves you 33,000 KRW. Also factor in the 2-seat daily limit: one round trip a day is the maximum. First class costs an extra 50% of the first-class price even with the pass.^[1][8]

• On each day you ride, write down the fare for that route, then compare the total with the pass price.
• Fares vary by the route taken. The same Seoul–Busan trip is 49,300 KRW on a KTX that goes via Gupo.

7. Refunds: Only Through the Day Before Your Start Date

In Korea time, there's no refund fee through the day before the pass start date, and no refunds from the start date on. Refunds are made under ‘MY TICKET’ → ‘DETAILS’ → ‘REFUND’ on the English website, and if you've reserved seats, you have to cancel the seats first to refund the pass. A pass bought from a reseller or at a station can't be refunded online and must be refunded where you bought it.^[2]

You can change the start date once after buying.^[2] The guidance also says that you can't get compensation if a train you ride with the pass is late or canceled, and that pass use may be restricted on certain days.^[1]

• If your plans are shaky, think first about moving the start date once.
• Finish any refund within the day before the start date, Korea time.

Cities worth visiting with this guide

• Gongju: 1-Hour KTX Ride from Yongsan, a 20-Minute Taxi, Then the Baekje Walls of Gongsanseong and Jemincheon Bookshop Alleys
• Gunsan 1-Night 2-Day: Take a Photo at the Studio From 'Christmas in August,' Then Cross Six Bridges Out to the Islands
• Donghae: 2h 20min on the KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni, an Emerald Lake Born from a 40-Year Cement Quarry
• Seosan: Walk Across to Ganwolam at Midday Low Tide, Watch It Float at Sunset
• Andong 1-Night 2-Day: 2-Hour KTX-Eum Ride from Cheongnyangni — Hahoe Village by Day, Lantern-Lit Woryeonggyo Bridge by Night
• Yangyang: Korea's First Surf-Only Beach, and Hongnyeonam's Floor Window onto the Waves

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