Riding Seoul's Subway and Buses

At a glance

Seoul's subway and buses are fast, cheap and dense, but they are also the commute of a city of ten million. A traveler should know four things.

• Avoid weekdays around 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. The most crowded half hours are 8:00–8:30 and 18:00–18:30
• Crowding runs in one direction. In the morning it flows from the outer districts into downtown and Gangnam, and in the evening back out
• Board an express by mistake and you'll pass your stop. This applies to Line 9, Line 1, Line 4 and the Airport Railroad
• The last trains run around midnight. After that it's a night bus or a taxi

For fares and transit cards, see the T-money guide; for map apps, the Naver Map and KakaoMap guide.

Times to avoid

Seoul Metro runs extra trains at rush hour, 7–9 a.m. and 6–8 p.m. The real crush is a shorter window within each.

• Morning: 8:00–8:30 is the worst, and it thins out noticeably after 9:30
• Evening: 18:00–18:30 is the most crowded half hour of the day. It builds from 17:30 and eases after 19:00, and Friday evening is the worst
• Saturday: no commuter rush, but trains are steadily busy from about 10 a.m. through the afternoon, peaking around 4:30 p.m.
• Sunday: fairly quiet all day

For a travel day, start your first ride after 9:30 and travel in the evening before 17:00 or after 19:00, and you'll miss most of the crush. This matters most on days you're carrying luggage to or from the airport.

How far to trust the time

Over the same distance, how much rush hour slows you down depends heavily on what you ride.

• Subway: the most dependable. It runs apart from road traffic, so trip times barely change. It isn't never late, though: over a year, more than 80% of the delay certificates Seoul Metro issued were for first train to 9 a.m., usually for delays of 5–15 minutes, and mostly on Lines 1–4
• Bus: depends on the road. Median bus lanes down the middle of the road (13 roads in Seoul, about 129 km) carry only buses all day, so they back up less than ordinary lanes. Off those lanes, buses sit in the same traffic as everyone else
• Taxi: the least predictable. In 2025 Seoul's roads averaged 22.5 km/h, and downtown dropped to 15.4 km/h in the evening rush (17–19), the slowest of the day. Fridays are the slowest day of the week, and September and November the slowest months. A weekend-afternoon rally downtown slows it further

So at rush hour the subway is almost always fastest. A taxi's meter keeps charging for time while it sits in traffic, so the fare goes up too.

From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., taxis are also hard to find: about half as many are on the road as in the daytime, and Friday nights are the worst. On Friday nights from 11:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., the city runs temporary taxi stands at Gangnam Station, Jongno and Hongik Univ. See the taxi guide for more.

Busiest stations

In 2025, these Seoul Metro (Lines 1–8) stations had the most people entering and leaving each day.

1. Jamsil (Line 2)
2. Hongik Univ.
3. Gangnam
4. Seoul Station
5. Guro Digital Complex
6. Sillim
7. Samseong
8. Seongsu

The stations where the most people transfer are, in order, Sindorim, Dongdaemun History & Culture Park, Express Bus Terminal, Wangsimni, Seoul Station, Sadang and Jongno 3-ga. Their transfer passages are long and people bunch up at the stairs, so think twice about a route that transfers at one of them at rush hour.

At Seongsu, the area around exit 3 is especially crowded in the evening rush.

Lines that crowd in one direction

Rush-hour crowding flows one way. When morning trains into downtown are packed, trains in the other direction can have empty seats. These were the most crowded sections in Seoul Metro's Q4 2025 survey and Q2 2026 data.

• Line 2: in the morning, Sadang toward Bangbae and Gangnam is the most crowded stretch on the line. In the evening it's the reverse, Seocho and Bangbae toward Sadang
• Line 7: in the morning, Junggok, Gunja and Children's Grand Park toward Gangnam, plus Cheolsan to Gasan Digital Complex in both directions
• Line 4: in the morning, Hansung Univ. and Hyehwa toward Dongdaemun, heading into downtown
• Line 8: in the morning, Gangdong-gu Office toward Mongchontoseong and Jamsil
• Line 3: in the morning, Hongje and Dongnimmun toward downtown
• Line 9 express: the most crowded trains in Seoul. At rush hour, around Noryangjin, Dongjak and Express Bus Terminal, they are packed in both directions. At those hours a local train is far better, even if it's a little slower
• Sillim Line: one of Seoul's most crowded light-rail lines in the morning

On weekends, almost no section gets this crowded.

Nights and event days

On weekend nights, the nightlife districts stay busy late. On Saturday nights, Hongik Univ. and Hapjeong, and Gangnam, are as crowded after 10 p.m. as at rush hour.

On days with big events, a station may effectively close. When crowds get too large, trains pass through without stopping.

• Seoul International Fireworks Festival (one autumn Saturday, Yeouido): the date changes every year; in 2026 it was September 5. That day Line 5 trains passed Yeouinaru Station from 6 to 10 p.m. Use Yeouido, Saetgang or Mapo stations instead
• Large concerts and rallies around Gwanghwamun: on some days trains pass Gwanghwamun, City Hall and Gyeongbokgung stations
• Halloween weekend: trains have passed Itaewon Station late at night. Use Noksapyeong or Hangangjin instead
• Baseball and concerts in Jamsil: Jamsil and Sports Complex stations get very crowded when a game or show lets out

On event days, it's quicker to get off a stop or two away and walk than to ride to the station right by the venue.

When it's crowded

• The car right by the stairs is the most crowded. Walk a few cars down the platform and there's much more room
• Crowding by car: Seoul Metro's official app 또타지하철 (Ttotta Subway) shows live crowding for each car as roomy, normal, caution or crowded. It has an English option
• Luggage: you can bring a bag whose length, width and height add up to less than 158 cm and that weighs 32 kg or less. The rules don't ban it at rush hour, but a big suitcase on a rush-hour train is hard on everyone. See also the luggage storage guide
• Leave the pink seats empty. Each car has two, reserved for pregnant women. The seats at each end of the car are for older people and people with disabilities
• Let people off first. Wait in line on either side of the screen doors

Express and local trains

On some lines, express and local trains take turns at the same platform. Board an express by mistake and it carries you past your stop.

• Line 9: expresses run often, at the same fare. On the line map, express stops are marked in red
• Line 1, Line 4, Gyeongui–Jungang Line, Suin–Bundang Line: some trains are express
• Airport Railroad: between Incheon Airport and Seoul Station, the Express runs non-stop, while the All-Stop train calls at Hongik Univ., Digital Media City and others. They use separate platforms and fares, so take the one that suits where you're going

When a train pulls in, check the destination sign at the front for "급행" (express). Map apps also tell you whether a train is an express.

Bus colours

Seoul's city buses are colour-coded by type.

• Blue (trunk, 간선): long routes linking the outer districts with downtown
• Green (branch, 지선): link neighbourhoods with subway stations
• Yellow (circular, 순환): loop around downtown
• Red (wide-area, 광역): express buses between Gyeonggi Province and downtown Seoul. Standing isn't allowed, so long queues form at stops in Myeongdong, Gangnam Station and Sadang in the evening rush
• Small green buses (village, 마을버스): short routes through narrow neighbourhood streets

When you board, check the number and that the stop is on the side heading your way. The stop across the street goes the opposite direction. Stop displays and map apps also show whether a bus is roomy, normal or crowded.

Last trains and night buses

The Seoul subway stops running around 1 a.m. on weekdays, counted by arrival at the end of the line, and around midnight on weekends and holidays. The last train from a downtown station leaves earlier, usually between midnight and 12:50 a.m.

• If you'll be out late, set the departure time in advance when you search a map app. Routes that have stopped running are left out
• After the subway stops, night buses (N buses) run from about 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Their numbers start with N, and the card fare is ₩2,500
• Later than that, it's a taxi. See the taxi guide