Seoul Metro in Numbers

Seoul Metro's lines 1–8 carried 2.44 billion passengers in 2025, an average of 6,692,000 a day, up 1.3% from 2024. The count is boardings plus transfers onto these lines; Line 9 and the suburban railways are not included.

Seoul Metro (서울교통공사) runs lines 1–8: 325.2 km of route and 276 stations, as listed in October 2026 (three stations on the Line 4 Jinjeop extension are not counted). The wider capital-area network, run with other operators, is larger still.

On lines 2, 4, 5 and 7 a train comes every 2.5 minutes in the morning rush, and every 5.5 to 6.5 minutes during the day, according to Seoul Metro's operating table (October 2026).

The adult fare for the first 10 km, in force since 28 June 2025. After that it rises ₩100 for every 5 km up to 50 km. A single-use ticket costs ₩100 more (₩1,650).

With one transit card you can change between subway and buses up to four times (five rides) and pay by total distance, if you board within 30 minutes of getting off (60 minutes between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.). Tap the card when you get off as well. The system began in July 2004.

The Climate Card (기후동행카드) short-term pass gives unlimited subway rides within Seoul and Seoul city buses: ₩5,000 for 1 day, ₩8,000 for 2, ₩10,000 for 3, ₩15,000 for 5 and ₩20,000 for 7, as of October 2026. The physical card costs ₩3,000; the Sinbundang Line, GTX and airport buses are not covered.

Since 17 March 2026 the ticket machines on lines 1–8 accept foreign-issued cards and mobile payment for single-use tickets and Climate Card short-term passes. In the first month 9,158 people a day used them, most of all at Seoul Station, Hongik Univ. (홍대입구) and Myeongdong (명동).

Jamsil (잠실) on Line 2 was the busiest station for the third year running in 2025, counting people entering and leaving. Next came Hongik Univ. (홍대입구) with 153,298, Gangnam (강남) with 152,232 and Seoul Station (Line 1) with 139,553.

The green loop line carried 1,988,000 passengers a day in 2025, the most of lines 1–8 and more than twice the next busiest, Line 5 (953,000).

Scheduled weekday services on lines 1–8, including 760 run by Korail trains that share the tracks, as listed in October 2026. Seoul Metro's own fleet is 3,667 cars.

In 2024 trains on lines 1–8 made 1,600,499 runs and covered 42,040,917 km, which Seoul Metro put at 1,049 times around the Earth.

The subway's share of all daily trips in Seoul in 2023, up from 37.1% in 2011, in the city's key transport statistics. Public transport as a whole took 64.4%.

Seoul began fitting platform screen doors in 2006 and by 2009 had them at all 262 stations then on lines 1–8. City figures reported in April 2026 show deaths on the tracks falling from 37.1 a year in 2001–2009 to 0.4 a year in 2010–2024.

Cameras in operation across all 276 stations of lines 1–8 as of February 2025, alongside 6,539 emergency call devices.

Seoul's Line 1 opened on 15 August 1974, running 7.8 km from Seoul Station to Cheongnyangni (청량리). Construction had begun in April 1971.