The honest version, verified July 2026 — including the Apple Wallet rules nobody mentions.
Most travelers: your regular Visa/Mastercard already works at stores and restaurants — you only need transport covered. iPhone: add T-money to Apple Wallet (works for foreigners since March 2026) or buy a ₩3,000–5,000 physical T-money at any convenience store. Carrying foreign cash: get a WOWPASS (~₩5,000) — it's currency exchange + prepaid card + T-money in one. NAMANE (~₩7,000) is the same idea with a custom-printed design — get it for the K-pop photo card, not the utility.
A tap card for subway and buses nationwide (also pays at convenience stores). Physical card: ₩3,000–5,000 at any CU, GS25, 7-Eleven or Emart24, top up with cash at the till or station machines. It is not a debit card — think of it as transit credit.
Feed foreign cash into an orange kiosk (300+ locations: Incheon Airport, Seoul Station, Myeongdong, Hongdae) and it becomes a prepaid debit balance you can swipe like a card, with a separate built-in T-money chip for transport. App top-ups with foreign Visa/Mastercard also work. Issue fee ~₩5,000. Best single card if you arrive with cash.
Prepaid + transport like WOWPASS, but you print your own design on it (kiosks at Incheon, Myeongdong, Hongdae; ~₩7,000; app top-up supports foreign cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay). Functionally it overlaps WOWPASS — people buy it as a souvenir photo card that happens to work.
Seoul's unlimited subway+bus pass. Only pays off if you ride a lot within Seoul specifically — do the math against ~₩1,500 per ride before buying.
Since March 2026 foreigners can add T-money directly to Apple Wallet — no Korean phone number required — and tap the phone at gates. Two catches: internationally-issued Visa cards can't top it up (use Mastercard, Amex or UnionPay), and foreign-card top-ups carry a ~3.7% service fee — topping up with cash via a physical card path stays cheaper. And no, you can't tap your regular credit card directly at the gate — Korea's open-loop EMV gates aren't planned until around 2030.
Email me this as a pre-departure checklist — free briefing PDF included
The free trip2kr app shows reference prices for taxis, markets and tickets — so you can tell in one glance whether a price is a tourist price.
Fees and rules change — treat this as orientation, and check the operators' official pages for today's numbers. Last verified July 2026.
Also useful: K-ETA & e-Arrival Card → · eSIM & SIM → · Incheon Airport → Seoul → · Visa checker →