Booking Express and Intercity Buses in Korea as a Foreigner: KOBUS, Bustago, Terminal Tickets, Cancellation Fees and Platforms

Long-distance buses in Korea come in two kinds, express (gosok) and intercity (sioe), and each has its own booking sites and apps. Express buses are booked on KOBUS (kobus.co.kr) and the Express Bus T-money app; intercity buses on Bustago, T-money's intercity bus site and the T-money GO app. For foreign visitors the sticking point is payment: since February 2026 KOBUS no longer lets non-members pay by typing in a card number, and Bustago lists overseas cards as a payment method but bookings are made on its Korean-language site. If online booking doesn't work for you, you can buy at the terminal counter or ticket machine. This guide covers booking, picking up tickets at the terminal, mobile tickets, the official cancellation fees and how to find your platform, based on the operators' own pages (checked 29 October 2026).

1. 1

   Express vs intercity — different places to book

   Express buses are booked on KOBUS (kobus.co.kr), the integrated express-bus booking site, and on Express Bus T-money, the official app made by T-money. Intercity buses are booked on Bustago (bustago.or.kr) and on T-money's intercity bus booking site (txbus.t-money.co.kr); the app that T-money's intercity site points to is T-money GO. Each intercity terminal is signed up with a particular booking site, so Bustago's own FAQ says that if a route doesn't show up, the terminal isn't one of its members and you should try another site. Leaving Seoul, the terminal names can be confusing too: on KOBUS, "Seoul (Gyeongbu Line)" is the Gyeongbu building of the Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Gangnam, "Central City" (Seoul Honam) is the Honam building of the same terminal, and "Dong-Seoul" is the terminal at Gangbyeon station on subway Line 2.

2. 2

   Can you book online? — it comes down to payment

   KOBUS has English, Chinese and Japanese screens and allows booking without an account, but since 24 February 2026 non-members can no longer pay by typing in a card number — only Toss Pay or Naver Pay. KOBUS's payment-method page does not mention overseas cards. The English KOBUS home page carries a banner linking to Klook's Korea express-bus booking page. Bustago's official FAQ lists "overseas card" as a payment method, alongside credit and debit cards, PAYCO, Naver Pay and Kakao Pay. However, Bustago's English site is for looking up routes and schedules; bookings are made on the Korean site. T-money's intercity site has a booking menu on its English screens, but we found nothing about overseas cards there. Among the apps, the App Store lists English and Chinese for Express Bus T-money, while T-money GO and the Bustago app (by EZL, listed as 전국 시외버스 승차권 통합 예매(버스타고)) are Korean only. The App Store also has an app called "BustaGo" from a different developer, so check the developer name before installing. Which services take overseas cards is also covered in the guide to apps that accept foreign cards.

3. 3

   What a non-member booking asks for — date of birth and phone number

   A non-member booking on Bustago means agreeing to the terms, entering your date of birth and a contact number, then paying. Non-members can book, look up, change and cancel just like members. To look up a booking you use the card number you paid with, or your date of birth plus mobile number. To pay on Bustago with PAYCO, Naver Pay or Kakao Pay, the phone and the card must be in the same person's name, and these wallets can't be used for return bookings. Tickets booked on KOBUS with a mobile wallet (easy pay) are picked up at the counter or machine with your mobile number plus a 6-digit date of birth, or your mobile number plus the 8-digit departure date. We couldn't confirm from either operator's official pages whether a Korean mobile number is required. Either way, the phone number is what you use to find your ticket later, so remember exactly which number you entered.

4. 4

   When you can book — from when schedules are posted until shortly before departure

   There is no fixed opening date: a trip can only be searched and booked once the departure terminal has entered its schedule. KOBUS's FAQ says the next month's schedules are usually entered around the 20th of the month before, though it varies by terminal. The KOBUS website sells same-day tickets up to one hour before departure and points you to the express-bus mobile app for anything closer than that. Bustago takes bookings up to 20 minutes before departure. Some routes can't be bought online at all: KOBUS says certain small-town terminals haven't introduced card ticketing, and Bustago marks some routes "on-site purchase" (현장구매) — for both, buy at the terminal.

5. 5

   Terminal counters and ticket machines — bring the card you booked with

   If you booked by card, take that card to the counter or ticket machine at the departure terminal to get your ticket. Bustago says only some terminals insist on the payment card; the rest issue the ticket from the mobile number and date of birth you entered. If you are collecting a paper ticket for a Bustago booking, it asks you to be at the terminal at least 10 minutes before departure. Tickets are issued and used only at the departure terminal — you may be refused if you try to board at an intermediate stop. We could not find any official statement on whether terminal counters and machines accept overseas cards, so if you plan to buy on the spot, ask at the counter first and carry another way to pay. According to KOBUS, if an express bus has empty seats you can also board without a booking by tapping a transit card (including credit cards with a transit function) — see the T-money guide for transit cards.

6. 6

   Mobile tickets — scan your QR code on the bus's reader

   When booking on KOBUS, choose "mobile ticket" and you can board with the express-bus mobile app without collecting a paper ticket. To see a website booking in the app, you must pick mobile ticket when you book — a "regular ticket" booking won't appear in the app. A "home ticket" printed from a computer also means no trip to the counter. Express buses use the E-PASS system: whether you hold a paper ticket, home ticket or mobile ticket, you scan its QR code on the reader fitted to the bus as you board. For intercity buses booked in T-money GO, the e-ticket lets you board without going to the counter, though some routes still require a ticket from a machine or counter. Bustago has no home tickets and offers mobile tickets only on routes that support them.

7. 7

   Changes and cancellation fees — free up to two days before

   Express and intercity buses charge the same fees for cancelling before departure: nothing up to two days before; from one day before until three hours before, 5% Monday–Thursday, 7.5% Friday–Sunday and public holidays, and 10% over Seollal and Chuseok; from under three hours until departure, 10%, 15% and 20% respectively. The Seollal/Chuseok rate applies from two days before the holiday through the day after. After departure the rules differ. Express buses (KOBUS) charge 60% from departure until the scheduled arrival time (1 May 2026 to 30 April 2027; 70% from May 2027) and 100% after that. Intercity buses (Bustago and T-money) charge 40% within the first hour after departure, 60% from one to four hours (same period; 70% from May 2027), and after four hours it is 100% and can't be cancelled. The fee waivers differ too. On intercity buses, cancelling within one hour of booking is free as long as the bus hasn't left. On express buses, only a ticket issued on the day of departure can be cancelled free within one hour of issue, and once the bus has left a fee applies however recently the ticket was issued. On KOBUS you can change the time, number of tickets or class once, free of charge, up to one hour before departure, but not the date. With Bustago, a paper ticket collected at the terminal can only be cancelled at that departure terminal's counter.

8. 8

   Finding your platform — ask at the departure terminal

   Boarding spots are managed on site by each terminal, which is why Bustago's FAQ says to ask the departure terminal where to board and KOBUS directs schedule questions to the departure terminal. Signs at small terminals may be in Korean only, so show your ticket and ask. Useful Korean phrases: "○○ 가는 버스 어디서 타요?" (○○ ganeun beoseu eodiseo tayo? — Where do I catch the bus to ○○?), "이 버스 ○○ 가요?" (i beoseu ○○ gayo? — Does this bus go to ○○?) and "몇 번 승차장이에요?" (myeot beon seungchajang-ieyo? — Which platform number is it?).