How to Book KTX Tickets as a Foreigner (2026 Step-by-Step)

Korea’s high-speed trains are the fastest way between Seoul and Busan, Gyeongju, Gwangju and most other cities — and booking them as a foreigner is straightforward once you’re on the right site. The catch is that a lot of advice online is now out of date. In the space of two months in 2026, SRT merged into KTX (1 September), KTX fares dropped by about 10%, Korail launched a new app called KORAIL+, and the booking window doubled to two months (1 October).

This guide walks through booking on Korail’s official English site step by step, with fares and rules checked against Korail’s English and Korean pages on 1 October 2026. For getting around within cities, see Getting Around and our transit card comparison.

The short version

• Where: Korail’s official English site, korail.com/global/eng (the old letskorail.com address now redirects there), or the KORAIL+ app, which has an English interface.
• When: tickets go on sale at 07:00 Korea time, two months before the departure date.
• Who: anyone can book; no membership is needed. You set an e-mail and password for the booking.
• How to pay: credit card. The site’s overseas-card option lists Visa, Mastercard and JCB.
• How much: Seoul–Busan economy is ₩54,400 for an adult since 1 September 2026.
• Don’t buy from unofficial resellers: Korail warns they charge far more for the same ticket.

What changed in 2026

The government’s stated reason for the longer booking window was that foreign visitors usually book flights about two months out, while train tickets used to open only a month ahead. In practice this means you can lock in a Seoul–Busan seat for a holiday weekend as soon as you know your dates.

Step by step: booking on Korail’s English site

Fares in 2026

Sample adult economy fares after the 1 September 2026 cut, as published in the transport ministry’s figures and reported by the Korean press:

Discounts that apply to visitors:

• Children aged 6–13 pay 50%.
• Toddlers under 6 get 75% off when they have their own seat (up to two per guardian) and travel free without a seat.
• Groups of 11 or more get 10% off when booking within one month of departure (no group discount when booking 2–1 months ahead), per Korail’s Korean FAQ.
• Free-seating cars (자유석) on some weekday commuter-hour KTX trains are 5% cheaper than economy, but you’re not guaranteed a seat.

Booking early doesn’t make a standard ticket cheaper; it decides whether you get a seat. Weekend and holiday trains between Seoul and Busan are the first to sell out. The two big holiday periods for 2027, Seollal (6–9 February) and Chuseok (14–16 September), are listed with other dates to plan around in our Korea weather by month guide.

Which Seoul station?

High-speed trains leave Seoul from several stations, and since the merger your ticket may start at any of them. Check the station name on your booking.

• Seoul Station — the main KTX hub for Busan-bound trains and the end of the AREX airport railroad. Seoul Station (서울역)Naver MapGoogle Maps
• Yongsan Station — the starting point for many trains towards Gwangju (see the Yongsan – Gwangju Songjeong fare above).
• Suseo Station — in southern Seoul (Gangnam area), the former SRT terminal. Since integration it has more departures (23 extra on weekdays according to ministry figures reported in the press). Suseo Station (수서역)Naver MapGoogle Maps
• Gwangmyeong Station — south-west of Seoul; Korail runs a city airport terminal there where you can check in and drop bags for Incheon Airport departures.

Cancelling and refunds

Korail’s English penalty table for regular tickets:

Rules to know:

• Online refunds work only before departure (web tickets on the site, mobile tickets in the app). After departure, go to a station ticket office; nothing is refunded after the train’s arrival time.
• Card refunds take time. Refunds to overseas cards take about two weeks to a month and appear on your card’s billing date. There are no cash refunds for card payments.
• Lost ticket details (forgotten e-mail or password) mean you can’t view the ticket. If Korail can confirm the purchase through your card, you can buy a new ticket and claim a refund later, minus a minimum penalty, once Korail confirms the original wasn’t used.
• Delays of more than 20 minutes caused by Korail may be compensated under Korea’s consumer dispute standards.

Sold out? Your options

Korail’s Korean FAQ lists two options for sold-out trains: buy a standing ticket (입석) at the station ticket office, or join the waiting list (예약대기) and buy when a seat is assigned. With the two-month booking window, the better fix is usually to book as soon as your dates are firm.

Korail Pass: is it worth it?

The KORAIL PASS is a rail pass for foreign visitors (people with Korean nationality can’t buy it). Since December 2025 it has been sold as a “select” pass: from the start date you pick 2–5 travel days within a 10-day period.

One child under 6 travels free with each adult. You need a valid passport and credit card, and the details must match your passport exactly.

Doing the maths. A 2-day adult pass (₩131,000) covers its cost only if your rides on those two days add up to more than that. A Seoul–Busan return on two separate days costs ₩108,800 at regular fares, so the pass loses money on that simple trip. It pays off only when the fares on your selected days add up to more than the pass price — roughly three or more Seoul–Busan-length rides for a 2-day pass. Before buying, add up the single fares for your actual route; short hops such as Busan–Gyeongju barely move the total.

Other pass rules from Korail:

• Reserve seats through MY TICKET → SEAT RESERVATION, up to two reserved tickets per person per day.
• If seats are sold out, you can ride standing with your pass and passport.
• First class costs pass holders 50% of the first-class seat price.
• Not valid on the metropolitan (subway-style) railway or temporary tourist trains.
• Free refund until the day before the start date (Korea time); no refunds after that. You can change the start date once.
• Screenshots are invalid and the pass is non-transferable; misuse is charged the fare plus 10–30 times the fare.
• Pass holders get the AREX Express for ₩12,000 instead of ₩13,000.

Avoid unofficial resellers

Korail has published a warning about unauthorised ticket resellers, naming RailNinja and RailMonster among others. Its example: a Seoul–Busan standard ticket cost US$43 on the official site versus US$76 from an unauthorised seller (that comparison dates from August 2025, before the fare cut). Official channels are the Korail website, the KORAIL+ app, station ticket machines and ticket offices, and designated sales agencies.

Common mistakes

• Assuming there’s an airport KTX. There isn’t; use AREX to Seoul Station.
• Waiting for “the booking day”. Since 1 October 2026 the window is two months, so popular weekend trains can fill earlier than older guides suggest.
• Buying a pass for one return trip. Single tickets are cheaper for a simple Seoul–Busan return.
• Cancelling a weekend ticket the day before. Friday–Sunday trains carry fees from two days out; Monday–Thursday trains are free to cancel until 3 hours before.

For what a full trip costs, see Practical Tips. If Busan is your destination, the Busan section covers where to stay once you arrive.