Korea: Getting around using the KR railpass

As many countries do, Korea also offers a rail pass that allows you to travel around by train without any limit.
This rail pass is very cheap, comes in different versions and I recommend you using it whenever you travel at least twice.

The KR website offers information about the different types of rail pass, so you can choose whichever you need.

You can use the rail pass when you are a tourist. If you live in Korea as foreigner, you can also use the rail pass but you need to make sure to use the "Happy Rail pass" instead.

There are different types of this rail pass so you need to plan ahead:
Types

I, for example, went with my friend to Busan for a two day trip so we chose the 3-day Saver pass for 167,000Won which was cheaper than individual tickets.

You can reserve the pass in advance via their website. You need to enter your name, the ID of your passport and your credit card information. Reserve rail pass
 You then need to print out the reservation details and bring them with you to Korea. You can also reserve the rail pass while being in Korea already.

Then you have to go to a major KR station such as Seoul or Busan, that has a KR information center. Caution, this is not the ticket window, you need to go to the information center.
At Seoul station the information center is located at the center of the arrival hall in front of Lotteria and the entry to Lotte department.

You will then have to show your reservation and your passport. They will ask you for the start date of the rail pass which should be the first day of your travel.
You then proceed to pay with the credit card you used for the reservation and that's it.


I recommend looking up the trains you want to take in advance since you can also reserve trains here as well and don't have to go to the ticket office to get a reservation. Check train schedule

If you don't know when to travel or the dates change, no worries. All you have to do is go to a KR ticket window, show them your exchanged pass and reserve a train.

You will then get a receipt containing the train information and your reservation information. The departure platform will be announced at the bill board in front of the train platforms up to 15 minutes in advance.

If you don't know whether you'll end up using the rail pass at all, no worries. Your credit card will only get charged when you actually exchange the rail pass.
If you reserve it but do not exchange it within one month, reservation will become invalid.

If you have questions or you need further information, let me know and I will try to help.

For further and detailed information, please visit the official Korail website