In Korea, there are rechargeable cards called T-money Card. It is advised for one to own a T-money Card, especially for tourists as it is a magic wand that will make one’s journey and life super convenient in Korea! T-Money cards can be used to pay for transportation (교통) and also when buying things in convenience stores (편의점) and vending machines.
The “T” in T-Money stands for travel, touch, traffic and technology. One can easily purchase the basic T-money Card at retail convenience stores like CU, GS25, Ministop and 7-Eleven. The card itself costs KRW 2,500 but prices can vary as there are T-money cards with cute designs (디자인) of Kakao Friends, BT21and many more.
Right now, there’s the new BTS (방탄소년단) x T-Money card mirror design that has every army outside of Korea so jealous right now! The cards are a limited number of 150,000 units only. Customers who want to keep BTS members such as RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook as “my own mirror” should hurry. It is available at CU convenience stores in Korea.
Keep in mind that you must tap your card when boarding and getting off buses or entering and exiting subway stations. Transfer discounts (할인) are available but they are limited to four times a day within a transfer time limit of 30 minutes (up to 1 hour from 9pm to 7am the next day). If you are transferring to the bus with the same numbers or re-entering the same subway station after exiting, the transfer discounts won’t be applied even if you are transferring within 30 minutes.
Not all but some taxis (택시) do accept T-money as a form of payment. Look out for the signs of the “T money” logo (로고) on the taxi and inform the driver that you want to pay with a T-money card. Please be aware that you should have enough balance on your T-money card in advance to pay the full fare.
There also T-Money cards for foreign tourists called the Korea Tour Card! These cards cover more than just public transportation, convenience store and vending machines. Some of the attractive benefits that the Korea Tour Card has to offer are covering tourist attractions, duty free shopping (면세점), accommodations (숙박), wifi (와이파이) and food and beverages at restaurants (음식점)!
We hope that this was a fun read for all of you and that you've learned something new about these T-Money cards!
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