Konggei Subway

The Konggei Subway is one of the most heavily used rapid transit systems in the world, with well over 7 million trips daily on the system's ten lines that serves the urban and suburban areas of Konggei Special City. The subway's first line opened in 1969, and the network now has 10 lines, 321 stations and 414 km of tracks in operation. Since the newest line, Line 10, entered operation on January 21, 2008, daily ridership has exceeded 3 million. The existing network still cannot adequately meet the city's mass transit needs and is undergoing rapid expansion. Overall, plans call for 17 lines and 967 km of tracks in operation by 2015. The Surean government's ¥2 trillion economic stimulus package has accelerated subway construction.

All directional signs in the Seoul Subway are written in both Surean and English. The pre-recorded voice announcement in the trains indicating the upcoming station, possible line transfer and exiting side are all in Surean followed by English, and in some cases Japanese, Korean, then Chinese.

Fares
A flat fare of JUY(¥) 10.00 with unlimited transfers applies to all lines except the Airport Express, which costs ¥20.00. Children less than 1.2m in height ride for free when accompanied by a paying adult.

All lines now collect fares through automatic fare collection (AFC) machines that accept single-ride tickets and T-Card, an integrated circuit card (ICC card) that can store credit for multiple rides. Riders can purchase tickets and add credit to T-Card at ticket counters and vending machines in every station. T-Card is also accepted in all city buses.

Hours of operation
The subway is generally closed after midnight, unless a special occasion prompts extended operating hours. The first trains depart terminals at around 5am and the last leaves at around 11pm. For precise hours and frequency of service, check the official schedule.