Seoul Subway Single-Journey Ticket 2026: How to Get Your 500 Won Deposit Back

Bottom line: When you buy a single-journey subway ticket in Seoul without a transit card, you pay the fare plus a 500-won deposit. After you get off, insert the card into the "deposit refund machine" near the ticket gates to get that 500 won back. Skip that one step and you're simply throwing away 500 won every time you ride.

If you didn't know: Skipping the refund loses 500 won per ride. Take five rides in a day and that's 2,500 won gone; over a four-night trip with about twenty rides, roughly 10,000 won disappears for nothing. Even on a short, one-ride trip with no transfers, walking off with the card means that 500 won never comes back.

The single-journey card is the ticket most foreign visitors without a transit card end up using. Select your destination at the machine, and it shows the fare plus the 500-won deposit; pay cash and the card comes out. The trouble starts after that — many travelers pass through the gate and simply pocket the card on their way out. The deposit refund machine is usually a separate unit right next to or near the gates, easy to miss if you're not looking for the sign. Insert the card and it returns the 500 won in well under 10 seconds. A damaged or bent card is still eligible for a refund as long as the damage wasn't your fault, though asking a station staff member directly is the fastest way to confirm. If finding the machine feels like a hassle, or you're planning another ride soon, station donation boxes or ordinary mailboxes will also take the card — in that case the deposit and any remaining balance go through the Seoul Community Chest to help people in need, and the card itself is returned to the operator for reissue. Whether you can pay at the ticket machine directly with a foreign-issued credit card isn't stated in this official information, so it's safer to have cash ready.

Journey stage: During the trip · Verified 2026-10-26 · Source: Seoul Metropolitan Government transportation website