The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced the installation of 440 newly upgraded transport card kiosks across 273 stations on Subway Lines 1 through 8. These machines will enable commuters to purchase and recharge transportation cards using foreign credit and debit cards, as well as popular domestic mobile payment services such as Kakao Pay and Naver Pay, The Korea Herald reported.
Initially, the machines will support these expanded payment options specifically for the Seoul Climate Card. This pass allows unlimited travel on buses and subways within the city limits and offers short-term options ranging from one to seven days. Transport authorities noted that a 30-day pass may be added to the system later depending on overall user demand. The city government also clarified that any transactions made with overseas-issued cards will incur a standard 3.7% service fee.
Tourists can purchase the physical Climate Card at ticket machines on subway platforms along Lines 1 through 8, or at nearby convenience stores.
According to the Korea JoongAng Dailythe blank physical card costs 3,000 won (US$2). Users can then top it up with their desired duration, ranging from 5,000 won for a single-day pass to 20,000 won for a full seven-day pass.
The pass grants unlimited rides on Seoul subways and buses during the selected period and can be easily recharged once it expires. It is important to note that the mobile version of the Climate Card, which is currently available to foreign residents holding an alien registration card, only supports domestically issued payment methods at this time.
To aggressively promote the new program, the city will set up dedicated informational booths at Seoul Station, Hongdae Station, and Myeong-dong Station, three of the capital’s busiest tourist hubs.
These promotional booths will provide comprehensive information on the Climate Card and hand out multilingual brochures on March 17, 20, and 21.
City officials chose these dates to coincide with an expected massive surge in international visitor numbers ahead of a highly anticipated BTS comeback performance scheduled for March 21 at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul.
Comments are closed.