Seoul’s subway system began accepting overseas-issued payment cards on Tuesday for transportation card purchases and recharges, ending a long-standing inconvenience for foreign visitors: having to convert currency and pay with cash.
The move comes ahead of a BTS comeback performance scheduled for Saturday, along with concerts in the nearby city of Goyang, which are expected to draw large numbers of international fans. Many are also likely to visit locations across Seoul associated with the group and Korean pop culture.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said it installed 440 new transportation card kiosks at 273 stations across subway Lines 1 through 8. The machines allow payments using overseas credit and debit cards, as well as mobile payment services including Apple Pay, Kakao Pay and Naver Pay.
The machines initially support expanded payment options for the Seoul Climate Card, which offers unlimited use of buses and subways within Seoul, and short-term passes ranging from one day to seven days. Depending on demand, the city plans to expand the offering to include a 30-day pass.
A 3.7 percent service fee applies to transactions made with overseas cards, according to the city government.
The city will also operate promotional booths at Seoul Station, Hongdae Station and Myeong-dong Station on Friday and Saturday, when international visitor numbers are expected to surge ahead of the BTS comeback performance.
The booths will provide information about the Seoul Climate Card and distribute multilingual brochures.
The subway system offers convenient access to BTS-themed locations across Seoul, including Gyeongbokgung Palace, where the group’s performances were filmed for broadcast on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in 2020 and 2021, as well as Achasan (Achasan Station) and Oil Tank Culture Park (World Cup Stadium Station), which were filming locations in BTS' online series "Run BTS!"
In addition, the city will promote the convenience and benefits of the Climate Card to foreign tourists through overseas influencers and short-form videos on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
“The Climate Card has recorded more than 18 million cumulative recharges and has become one of Seoul’s most widely recognized public transit policies,” a city official said. “We will continue improving services to make public transportation more convenient for international visitors.”
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