Express and intercity bus fares in Korea: sample routes, seat classes and how to book
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
On the official express bus system, a one-way adult ticket from Seoul (Gyeongbu) to Busan costs ₩29,100 in the standard class, ₩43,300 in the deluxe class and ₩56,200 in the premium class for a trip on 20 October 2026; the late-night versions of the deluxe and premium classes cost ₩51,900 and ₩67,400. Intercity buses from Dongseoul are much cheaper because the trips are shorter: ₩13,000 deluxe or ₩10,000 ordinary to Wonju. There is no fixed price list for Korea as a whole, because the fare depends on route, bus class and time of day, so you read it off a route lookup before you book.
Express bus (Kobus): sample adult fares
These come straight from the official Kobus timetable and fare lookup (the "bus schedule lookup" page, a read-only search). The lookup lists every departure that day with its own class and fare; the table gives the fare for each class that appeared. A dash means that class was not listed on that route for that date.
| Route | Distance / time shown | Standard (고속) | Deluxe (우등) | Premium (프리미엄) | Late-night deluxe (심야우등) | Late-night premium (심야프리미엄) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seoul Gyeongbu to Busan | 380.4 km, 4h 0m | 29,100 | 43,300 | 56,200 | 51,900 | 67,400 |
| Seoul Gyeongbu to Dongdaegu | 282.9 km, 3h 30m | 22,100 | 32,700 | 42,500 | 39,200 | 51,000 |
| Central City (Seoul) to Gwangju (U-Square) | 290.8 km, 3h 20m | 22,700 | 33,500 | 43,500 | 40,200 | 52,200 |
| Seoul Gyeongbu to Daejeon Complex | 153.2 km, 2h 0m | 12,400 | 18,100 | 23,500 | 21,700 | 28,200 |
On the Daejeon route the lookup also lists a late-night standard class (심야고속) at ₩14,800. The time shown is the lookup's own estimate ("4 hours 0 minutes expected"), not a guarantee.
What the classes look like in the data: the lookup returns a total seat count per bus. In these four searches standard buses show 45 seats, deluxe buses 28 and premium buses 21. So the higher price goes with fewer seats per bus; the lookup does not describe seat width or legroom, so we do not either. Late-night classes carry the extra fare you see in the last two columns. For Seoul to Busan, the late-night deluxe fare is ₩8,600 above the daytime deluxe fare (₩51,900 − ₩43,300, derived arithmetic).
Child and teen fares on the same lookup
| Class | Adult | Child fare | Teen fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard (고속) | 29,100 | 14,600 | 23,300 |
| Deluxe (우등) | 43,300 | 21,700 | not shown |
| Premium (프리미엄) | 56,200 | 28,100 | not shown |
| Late-night deluxe (심야우등) | 51,900 | 26,000 | not shown |
| Late-night premium (심야프리미엄) | 67,400 | 33,700 | not shown |
The lookup labels these columns only as child and teen fares and does not print the age ranges on that screen, so check the age rule at the ticket counter before relying on a child price. A teen price appears only for the standard class in this data; for the other classes it comes back as 0, which we show as "not shown".
Intercity bus (Tmoney): sample fares from Dongseoul
Intercity buses are sold through a separate system, the Intercity Bus Integrated Reservation System run by Tmoney Mobility. Its lookup shows adult, child and middle/high-school fares side by side. For departures from 06:00 on 20 October 2026 from the Dongseoul terminal:
| To | Class | Adult | Child | Middle/high school | Time shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wonju | Deluxe (우등) | 13,000 | 6,500 | 10,400 | 1:30 |
| Wonju | Ordinary (일반) | 10,000 | 5,000 | 8,000 | 1:30 |
| Cheongju | Deluxe (우등) | 14,000 | 7,000 | 11,200 | 1:30 |
| Cheonan | Ordinary (일반) | 8,200 | 4,100 | 5,700 | 1:20 |
| Cheonan | Deluxe (우등) | 10,700 | 5,400 | 7,500 | 1:20 |
The page warns that travel times are "for reference only" and can change with traffic and weather. It also says that routes with non-reserved seating cannot be booked online and must be bought at the departure terminal counter, and that routes that sell only electronic tickets cannot be booked on the website and need the Tmoney intercity bus mobile app.
Deluxe-bus discounts on the intercity system
The intercity system lists discounts that apply only to intercity deluxe buses, only to adults, and not to ordinary (direct or regular) intercity buses. They do not stack. Booking online or in the app is required, except for the back-seat discount, which also works at the counter.
| Discount | Condition on the page | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Advance booking | Booked up to 2 days (48 hours) before departure; at most 10 tickets | 10% of the normal deluxe fare |
| Group booking | 5 to 10 passengers booked in advance; at most 10 tickets | 10% of the normal deluxe fare |
| Round trip | Both directions of the same route booked; at most 10 tickets | 10% each way |
| Back seat | The last row of the deluxe bus (4 seats); online or at the counter | 10% of the normal deluxe fare |
If a discounted deluxe fare would fall below the ordinary intercity fare, the ordinary fare is charged instead.
How to book as a visitor
- Pick the system. Long-distance express buses (Seoul to Busan, Gwangju, Daegu and so on) are sold at kobus.co.kr. Shorter intercity routes from terminals such as Dongseoul are sold at txbus.t-money.co.kr. Both sites list English in their language menus; the Kobus notices quoted on this page are in Korean.
- Look up the route and date first. The timetable lookup shows each departure, class, fare and seats left, so you can choose the class before paying.
- Book on the web up to one hour before departure. The Kobus guide says web booking for same-day buses closes one hour before departure; for later departures it points to the express bus mobile app.
- Pay. Kobus lists card payment, bank transfer and premium mileage; it warns that some debit cards and some corporate cards may be refused. Since 24 February 2026, guests who are not logged-in members can no longer type a card number on the Kobus website: the notice says they pay through Toss Pay or Naver Pay instead. The notices do not say whether foreign-issued cards work in those wallets or on the member card form, so test with your own card or ask the helpline at 1644-9030 (Kobus customer centre).
- Get the ticket. Choose the mobile ticket when booking and you can board with the express bus app, or print a home ticket, or collect a paper ticket at the departure terminal before the bus leaves. Collecting needs the card you paid with. A guest who paid with an easy-pay wallet collects at the counter or kiosk with their phone number plus either the 6-digit birth date typed at booking or the departure date in 8 digits.
- Check the booking. Both systems say to confirm in the "check/cancel/change" menu if the connection drops during payment, because a failed screen does not always mean a failed booking.
Changing and cancelling a Kobus ticket
The Kobus cancellation fees, revised from 1 May 2025, depend on the day of the week and how close you are to departure:
| When you cancel | Mon to Thu | Fri to Sun and public holidays | Lunar New Year / Chuseok |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 days or more before departure | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| 1 day before, until 3 hours before | 5% | 7.5% | 10% |
| Less than 3 hours, until departure | 10% | 15% | 20% |
| After departure, before the scheduled arrival | 60% | 60% | 60% |
| After the scheduled arrival time | 100% | 100% | 100% |
The "after departure" rate is a stepped schedule on the page: 50% for 2025, 60% for 2026 and 70% from 2027 (the table above shows the 2026 rate; the page puts the switch at 1 May each year). Changing the time, number of tickets or class is free, but only once and up to one hour before departure; the date cannot be changed. A ticket bought with mileage cannot have its time changed. For a ticket issued on the day of departure, no cancellation fee is charged within one hour of issue, but not after the bus has left.
Intercity buses have their own rule for no-shows: if you neither collect nor cancel a booked ticket and the departure time passes, a no-show fee of 30% of the fare applies if the bus left less than 6 hours ago and 100% after 6 hours.
Common questions
Is the bus cheaper than the KTX?
This page does not compare, because train fares are on a different official system; see our KORAIL PASS page for rail passes. For Seoul to Busan the standard-class bus is ₩29,100 and the deluxe is ₩43,300 on the lookup above.
Do I need a Korean phone number?
Check the operator's page for any phone requirement for foreign visitors. The guest collection method in the Kobus notice uses a phone number, so have a number that works for booking confirmations.
The official lookups print no revision date; the express bus fares were read on 2026-10-19 for departures on 2026-10-20, and the notices carry the dates 2026.09.22 and 2026.02.24. Not covered here: every route and every departure time, the age ranges for child and teen fares, free-pass and commuter-pass prices, and the Seoul airport limousine fares (see our airport limousine page).
Official sources
- Kobus (Express Bus Lines Association) — bus schedule and fare lookup — read-only timetable lookup for Seoul Gyeongbu to Busan and Dongdaegu, Central City (Seoul) to Gwangju, Seoul Gyeongbu to Daejeon Complex, departures 2026-10-20; fares by class (checked 2026-10-19)
- Kobus — notice: fare adjustment from 1 October 2026 (posted 2026.09.22) — 9% fare rise for express and intercity buses from the first bus on 1 October 2026; the notice list page, the notice itself is opened from this list (checked 2026-10-19)
- Kobus — notice: non-member card payment stopped (posted 2026.02.24) — non-members pay through Toss Pay or Naver Pay; how they collect the ticket (checked 2026-10-19)
- Kobus — ticket reservation guide, payment guide and refund guide — booking cut-off, ticket types, cancellation fee table, change rules; payment methods at /ugd/mrsgd/MrdgdPrch.do and refund at /ugd/rygd/Rygd.do (checked 2026-10-19)
- Intercity Bus Integrated Reservation System (Tmoney Mobility) — route lookup — read-only lookup from Dongseoul to Wonju, Cheongju and Cheonan, departures 2026-10-20: adult, child and middle/high-school fares (checked 2026-10-19)
- Intercity Bus Integrated Reservation System — deluxe bus discount guide and cancel/change guide — advance, group, round-trip and back-seat discounts; no-show fee rule at /useinf/cancInf.do (checked 2026-10-19)
Prices change. If an official page shows a different number from this page, the official page wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.