How to Book KTX as a Foreigner: korail.com, Cards, Korail Pass & Refunds

The official way for foreign visitors to buy KTX tickets is Korail's foreign-language website, korail.com. You can book without signing up, using just an email address and a numeric password, and pay with an overseas credit card. A lot changed in 2026: from 1 October booking opens two months before departure, on 1 September Korail and SR merged so the SRT trains from Suseo now run under KTX names, and the Korail Talk app became KORAIL+. Here is how booking and payment work, what the Korail Pass costs, the refund fees, and what is still unconfirmed (checked 12 October 2026).

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Last checked: 2026-10-12·Desk-researched — not yet verified on site

1. 1Where to book — korail.com's foreign-language site

   The foreign-language site is korail.com/global, in seven languages: English, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian (it grew from three to seven in September 2025). The old address, letskorail.com, now forwards to korail.com. Besides the website, tickets are sold in the KORAIL+ app, at station ticket machines and at train station counters (not at subway station counters). The foreign-language links on SR's booking site (etk.srail.kr) all point to korail.com's foreign-language site too — there is no separate foreign-language SRT site. Avoid unofficial resellers: in a notice dated 18 August 2025, Korail warned that sellers such as RailNinja and RailMonster add large fees, giving the example of a Seoul–Busan economy seat at 43 USD officially versus 76 USD from an unofficial seller (2025 fares).

2. 2When booking opens — 07:00, two months ahead

   From 1 October 2026 the booking window grew from one month to two months before departure (announced by the transport ministry and Korail on 20 September, so that travelers in and outside Korea can secure seats while planning a trip). Sales open at 07:00 two months before departure — for example, tickets for 28 April go on sale on 28 February. You can buy online and at station counters until departure, and at ticket machines until 10 minutes before. Seollal and Chuseok holiday tickets get their own special booking dates: for Chuseok 2026, special booking required a Korail membership, was not available at station counters, and was capped at 12 tickets per person (6 per booking). Leftover seats were later open to non-members too, but had to be paid for immediately.

3. 3The SR merger — Suseo's SRT trains are now KTX

   When Korail and SR merged on 1 September 2026, the high-speed trains from Suseo Station joined the KTX system and were renamed — for example, "SRT-355" became "KTX-Sancheon 347". Search Suseo→Busan on korail.com's English site and the Suseo trains do show up as "KTX-Sancheon". High-speed fares were aligned to the SRT level, which works out to an average cut of about 10% from the old KTX fares. The merged trains are booked on korail.com and in KORAIL+. The SRT app is Korean-only and, since the merger, offers non-member booking only.

4. 4Picking your Seoul station — Seoul, Yongsan or Suseo

   Seoul's high-speed trains leave from three different stations: Seoul, Yongsan and Suseo. The English site makes you pick one departure station per search, so if "Seoul" has nothing at the time you want, search "Suseo" (on the Gangnam side) separately. Yongsan is where the Honam Line KTX (Yongsan–Iksan–Gwangju Songjeong–Mokpo) and the Jeolla Line KTX (Yongsan–Iksan–Jeonju–Yeosu EXPO) start — heading to Gwangju, Jeonju or Yeosu, check Yongsan first. Since the merger, Honam Line (Suseo–Iksan–Gwangju Songjeong–Mokpo) and Jeolla Line (Suseo–Iksan–Jeonju–Yeosu EXPO) KTX trains also leave from Suseo, if you are starting from the Gangnam side.

5. 5Booking without an account — email and a 6–13 digit password

   After you pick a train on the English site, the booker details screen asks for an email address, a password (6–13 digits, numbers only), the password again, and your agreement to the terms. Once saved, these cannot be changed, and you need the same email and password — exactly as typed — to look up or cancel the ticket, so write them down. For regular tickets, neither the booker screen nor the payment screen has a passport number field; a passport is needed for buying and riding on a Korail Pass. We did not go as far as completing a payment, though. Note that non-member booking on the Korean site and in the KORAIL+ app requires Korean identity verification such as Naver or Kakao before you can pay, so travelers without a Korean verification method should use the email-and-password flow on the foreign-language site.

6. 6Paying — overseas cards: Visa, Mastercard, JCB

   You pay by credit card. The English payment screen offers two card options: "issued overseas (VISA, MASTER, JCB)" and "issued in Korea". Amex and UnionPay are not on the screen, so we could not confirm they work. WeChat Pay and Alipay are not accepted yet (reported as under development in September 2026). Whether an overseas card triggers extra verification such as 3D Secure is not in any official guidance, so that is unconfirmed too. Refunds to an overseas card take two weeks to a month after you request them and follow your card's billing date; card payments cannot be refunded in cash.

7. 7Your ticket — screenshots don't count

   After payment the ticket is issued as a mobile ticket or a home ticket. Screenshots and copied tickets are not valid; for a receipt for a ticket bought on your phone, go to a station ticket office. Seats come in Economy class and First class, and there are also standing and non-reserved tickets. Riding without a ticket costs an extra charge equal to the base fare.

8. 8The KORAIL+ app — formerly Korail Talk

   Korail Talk became KORAIL+ through an app update on 3 August 2026. Its App Store listing gives Korean, English, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese — no Indonesian, unlike the seven-language website. The app description mentions multilingual support for foreigners, Korail Pass reservations and card-number scanning with the camera. But there is no official documentation on whether the app's foreign-language mode supports email-and-password non-member booking, overseas phone verification or overseas card payment, so that is unconfirmed — the sure route is the foreign-language website.

9. 9Korail Pass — prices and rules

   A rail pass for foreign nationals only (Korean citizens cannot buy it). Under the select-pass rules in force since 11 December 2025, you choose 2 to 5 travel days within 10 days of the start date. Prices (adult/child, per the official page on 12 October 2026): 2 days ₩131,000/₩66,000, 3 days ₩186,000/₩93,000, 4 days ₩234,000/₩117,000, 5 days ₩275,000/₩138,000. Adults are 13 and over, children 6–12, and one child under 6 rides free per adult. You need a valid passport and a credit card to buy it, and the details must match your passport exactly — the pass type, passengers and personal details cannot be changed after purchase. Seat reservations open two months ahead, up to two per person per day, with no duplicate bookings for the same route on the same day. If a train is sold out you can stand with your pass and passport; if you want a First-class seat, you pay 50% of that route's First-class fare. Refunds are free until the day before the start date and not possible after. There is no compensation for delays or cancellations. Seoul-area commuter trains and temporary tourist trains are excluded. Whether the pass covers Suseo trains (the former SRT) since the 1 September merger is not stated anywhere official — if you plan to board at Suseo, check with 1599-7777 first.

10. 10Refund fees — they depend on the day and timing

    Before departure, refund it yourself online (home ticket) or in KORAIL+ (mobile ticket). Fees — Mon–Thu: free until 3 hours before departure, then 5%. Fri–Sun, public holidays and Seollal/Chuseok: ₩400 until two days before, 5% the day before, 10% on the day until 3 hours before, then 20%. After departure, only at a station counter: 15% within 20 minutes (30% Fri–Sun and holidays), 40% at 20–60 minutes, 70% from 60 minutes until arrival. Nothing back once the arrival time has passed. KTX tickets bought in KORAIL+ can still be refunded in the app within 10 minutes of departure if you are confirmed not on board. Refunds to overseas cards take two weeks to a month (see the payment step).

11. 11Buying at the station — newer machines take overseas cards

    According to a Korail press release of 29 December 2025, new ticket machines that accept overseas credit cards had been installed at 148 stations nationwide. Not every machine is a new one, though — if yours rejects your card, go to the counter. Machines sell tickets only until 10 minutes before departure.

12. 12Getting help — 1599-7777

    The foreign-language helpline is 1599-7777 (+82-1599-7777 from abroad). Official pages give different opening hours (08:00–20:00 in the site footer, 08:00–22:00 for English-speaking customers in the FAQ), so check the site before calling. If a train is more than 20 minutes late for reasons on Korail's side (natural disasters excluded), you can be compensated under Korea's consumer dispute resolution standards.