Seoul's Climate Card Is Ending: What to Switch To (2026)
If you have been riding Seoul's buses and subways on the Climate Card (기후동행카드) — the flat-price unlimited-ride pass — 2026 is the year to switch. Seoul has announced it is winding the program down: according to the city's notices reported in mid-2026, recharges stopped at the end of July and the cards stop working entirely in late August. Exact cut-off dates and any balance-refund procedures are set by the city, so treat the official Seoul announcements as the final word. The good news: nothing about how you tap and ride changes, and the replacement — the nationwide Modu Card refund system — is open to foreign residents with an ARC. Here is what is ending, what replaces it, and what to do this week if the pass in your wallet is about to go dark.
What is ending, and what is not
The Climate Card was Seoul's own product: pay one flat price, ride as much as you want inside the covered area. That product is being retired — reported timeline: no new recharges after late July 2026, and cards stop working after late August 2026. Because dates like these can shift, confirm them on Seoul's official channels (the Seoul city website or the app you charged the card in) before relying on them.
What is not ending: T-money itself. The regular tap-in, tap-out payment system on buses, subways and taxis is untouched, and any ordinary T-money card keeps working exactly as before. If you do nothing at all, you can still ride — you just go back to paying per trip. Our T-money and transit guide covers the basics if you are new to the system.
The replacement: Modu Card, a refund instead of a flat pass
The government's answer to transit costs in 2026 is the Modu Card (모두의카드), which succeeded the K-Pass program in January 2026. It works on the opposite logic to the Climate Card: instead of paying up front for unlimited rides, you pay per ride as usual and get 100% of your spending above a monthly threshold refunded the following month, with no cap on the number of rides. Through September 2026 the thresholds are temporarily cut in half, so refunds currently start earlier than usual.
We wrote a full walkthrough — how the thresholds work, how to register, and how to stack it with your commute — in our Modu Card guide.
What foreign residents need to sign up
The Modu Card is not citizens-only. To register you will generally need your Alien Registration Card (ARC) and a Korean-issued credit, debit or check card (or a compatible transit card) linked to your identity. That second requirement is the one that trips up new arrivals: it effectively means you need a Korean bank account first.
If you are early in your settling-in and do not have those yet, the order that works is: ARC application → Korean bank account → Modu Card registration. Until then, a plain T-money card from any convenience store covers your rides with no paperwork at all.
Which option fits you now
With the Climate Card gone, the choice simplifies to two paths. If you ride occasionally — a few trips a week — a plain T-money card and per-ride fares are the low-effort answer; there is nothing to register and nothing to optimize. If you commute daily, the Modu Card refund is usually the better deal, because everything you spend above the monthly threshold comes back to you.
The specific threshold amounts and any discounted tiers are government-set figures that get adjusted, so check the official program pages (or our Modu Card guide, which we keep updated) rather than relying on numbers from older blog posts — including comparisons written when the Climate Card still existed.
Switch checklist for Climate Card holders
① Check your card's remaining validity — if you charged it recently, note how many days of the pass you have left before the shutdown date. ② Ask about refunds through official channels — whether and how unused balance is refunded is decided by the city, so follow the instructions in Seoul's official notice or the app you purchased through rather than word of mouth. ③ Get your fallback ready — make sure you have an ordinary T-money card (or phone-based T-money) so your commute does not break the day the pass stops. ④ If you commute daily, register for the Modu Card once you have your ARC and a Korean-issued card. ⑤ Recalculate your monthly budget — flat-pass math and refund math are different; a month of per-ride fares with a refund above the threshold often lands close to what the pass cost, but your mileage depends on how much you ride.
Frequently asked questions
Does my regular T-money card stop working too?
No. T-money is the payment layer for Korean transit and is not affected by the Climate Card shutdown. Any convenience-store T-money card, or T-money on your phone, keeps working for buses, subways and taxis exactly as before.
Will I get the unused balance on my Climate Card back?
Refund procedures for the wind-down are set by Seoul, and the details depend on how you bought and charged the card. Check the official Seoul announcement or the app you charged through for the exact refund steps rather than relying on second-hand information.
Can I use the Modu Card without an ARC?
Registration generally requires an ARC and a Korean-issued card linked to your identity, so most short-term visitors cannot use it. If you are a tourist or still waiting on your ARC, a regular T-money card is the practical option in the meantime.
I just arrived in Korea — what should I do first?
Buy a plain T-money card at any convenience store so you can ride immediately. Then, once your ARC is issued and you have opened a Korean bank account, register for the Modu Card if you commute regularly. Our settling-in guides walk through each of those steps in order.
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