KTX Fares Drop 10% From September, Booking Now Unified in One App
If you're planning to ride Korea's high-speed rail to a regional festival or city over the Chuseok holiday (Korea's harvest holiday, similar to Thanksgiving), it helps to know that fares and booking changed on September 1, 2026. Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and state rail operator Korail merged the previously separate SRT service into the KTX system, so both trains now run under the single "KTX" brand — and the old, pricier KTX fares dropped to match SRT's lower level.
At a glance: integration took effect September 1, 2026; average fares fell about 10% (e.g., Seoul–Busan from 59,800 won to 54,400 won, Yongsan–Gwangju Songjeong from 46,800 won to 42,000 won); booking is now unified in the app "Korail+" (revamped from the old Korail Talk); the change was led by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korail.
The biggest practical change is that booking is no longer split across two systems. Previously you needed the Korail Talk app for KTX and a separate SRT app for SRT; now the unified "Korail+" app lets you search and pay for seats on all high-speed trains in one place. Korail says the app supports English, simplified Chinese and Japanese, with Vietnamese, Thai, Malay and traditional Chinese being added in phases, making it easier for a wider range of international visitors to use. Seat supply has also grown — roughly 15,000 extra seats on weekdays and up to 17,000 on weekends, with about 30% more seats on routes departing from Suseo Station, the former SRT hub.
The old SRT app still works for bookings for now, but new perks are limited there, so first-time visitors booking Korean trains will have less confusion by downloading "Korail+" from the start. At major stations like Seoul Station and Yongsan Station, scanning the foreign-visitor QR code near ticket windows or vending machines links directly to a foreign-language site where overseas-issued credit cards are accepted. If Chuseok travel to a regional festival or palace is on your itinerary, it's worth checking the new fares and seat availability before you book.