Seoul metro ticket machines accepting foreign cards
Reverses advice that is repeated in essentially every travel guide to Korea: that ticket machines take cash or domestic cards only, so bring notes. That stopped being true in March 2026 for a large part of the Seoul network. The figure is worth watching rather than stating once, because the rollout is partial by design — other operators, regional networks and older machines are not covered, and the count is how you tell how far it has actually reached.
- Applies to
- Visitors and new arrivals buying single-journey tickets or short-term passes on the Seoul metro
- Review cadence
- Checked quarterly
What we have recorded
- 2026-03-17440 machines, 273 stations
Across lines 1 to 8. Overseas-issued Visa and Mastercard can buy or top up single-journey tickets and the short-term Climate Card. Buying a ticket with a foreign card is not the same as tapping a foreign card at the gate: open-loop EMV acceptance is being introduced in stages and should not be assumed. Ordinary T-money top-up machines, other operators and regional networks are separate questions.
Seoul Metropolitan Government — new ticket machines accepting overseas-issued cards
One reading so far. This becomes a history the first time the figure moves while we are watching — which is the part that cannot be reconstructed later.
Guides that depend on this figure
When this figure moves, every guide above needs the same edit. That is why it is tracked here rather than copied into each one.