SHOW THIS IN SEOULStep 1 Before you fly
What a day in Seoul costs
Seoul can be cheap. Palaces cost ₩1,000–3,000, many museums are free, and a subway ride is ₩1,550. Work out your own trip from official prices only.
Your trip, per person, before your stay and flights
Your numbers
| Pay per ride0 rides × ₩1,550 + ₩3,000 card | ₩0 |
| Climate Card pass– day pass + ₩3,000 card | ₩0 |
| Transport: the Climate Card is cheaper for youTransport: pay per ride is cheaper for youNot included: your airport train or bus. The Climate Card can't be boarded at Incheon Airport, so arrive on T-money. | ₩0 |
| Taxis0 rides × 0 km at the meter rate for distance; traffic and late nights add more | ₩0 |
| Paid sights | ₩0 |
| Food (your number) | ₩0 |
| Total | ₩0 |
Rides over 10 km cost ₩100 more per 5 km. Switching between subway and bus within 30 minutes is a free transfer, so a trip with one change still counts as one ride here.
What visitors actually spend on eating out
In Korea's official 2025 visitor survey, foreign visitors spent on average US$209 at restaurants over their whole trip, and stayed 6.5 days on average. Spread evenly, that's about US$32 a day (our arithmetic, not a survey figure).
It's an average across all visitors to Korea, not a Seoul price list. We don't invent meal prices, so the calculator only adds food if you type your own number.
Six money savers that are official
- Wear hanbok and entry to the four palaces and Jongmyo is free.
- Palace free days: Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, Deoksugung and Jongmyo are free every Wednesday (Gyeongbokgung isn't). From 29 Oct to 15 Nov 2026, all four palaces and Jongmyo are free (not the Huwon tour). Palace calendar
- Seeing them all? The integrated palace pass is ₩6,000 for the four palaces and Jongmyo (Huwon not included), less than the ₩9,000 of single tickets.
- Free museums: the National Museum of Korea's permanent galleries and the National Palace Museum cost nothing.
- Transfer within 30 minutes and you don't pay a second base fare.
- Ride before 06:30 and the first fare is 20% off.
Sources
Official pages, checked 2026-10-23. Sight prices come from our sight data, each checked on its official page.
- Seoul city: subway, bus and taxi fares, transfer rules
- Seoul city: Climate Card
- 2025 International Visitor Survey (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism · KCTI), Table 3-96 and Table 3-53
- Our palace page (fees and free days, with official links)