AREX Fares from Incheon Airport: Full Price List

“Card or ticket?” I picked wrong the first time.

The machine offers two things and they are not the same price. A single journey ticket costs 100 won more than a transit card. It also holds a 500 won deposit you have to walk back and reclaim.

On a transit card, Incheon Airport Terminal 1 to Seoul Station is

4,750 won

. Hongik University is 4,650 won and Digital Media City is 4,550 won.

💡 The short version

Terminal 1 to Seoul Station is 4,750 won by card; from Terminal 2 it is 5,350 won. A single journey ticket adds 100 won plus a 500 won deposit you get back at a machine. Children pay a reduced fare, and under-6s ride free with an adult.

AREX fares from Incheon Airport by station

Fares on the all-stop train are distance based, so the number changes with every station. The three stops most visitors use sit within 200 won of each other. From Terminal 1 it is 4,550 won to Digital Media City, 4,650 won to Hongik University and Gongdeok, and 4,750 won to Seoul Station. Terminal 2 adds 600 won to each of those, because the two terminals are a separate section of the line. That surcharge catches people who compare prices online without noticing which terminal they landed at. Check your boarding pass before you check the fare table.

To	From Terminal 1	From Terminal 2
Digital Media City	4,550 won	5,150 won
Hongik University	4,650 won	5,250 won
Seoul Station	4,750 won	5,350 won

📚 Incheon Airport by Train — Related guides

🚄Incheon Airport to Seoul: Express vs All-Stop Train→ 🧳Seoul Station City Airport Terminal: How to Check In Early→ 🔋What You Can't Bring on AREX Trains (2026 Rule)→ 🚉Incheon Airport to Seongsu: How to Get There→

⚠️ The free travel for seniors is for Korean nationals

AREX carries passengers aged 65 and over free of charge, along with holders of a disability card, national merit certificate or independence merit certificate. Those exemptions are granted through a Korean welfare transit card, so a visiting tourist of the same age pays the full adult fare. Children under 6 do travel free with an accompanying adult, up to three children per adult, and that one does apply to everyone.

Look up any AREX station fare →Airport Railroad official site

Paying the lowest fare, in order

Three decisions, made at the machine, in about a minute.

1

Use a transit card if you have one

T-money and Cashbee both work and skip the 100 won surcharge and the deposit entirely.

2

Otherwise buy a single journey ticket

It costs 100 won more and holds a 500 won deposit. Keep the card; it is not a souvenir.

3

Reclaim the deposit before you leave the station

Deposit refund machines sit near the gates. Walk out without doing this and the 500 won is gone.

How the fare is actually calculated

AREX builds every fare from a base charge plus distance. Between Seoul Station and Cheongna International City the base is 1,550 won for the first 10 kilometres, then 100 won for each 5 kilometres up to 50, and 100 won per 8 kilometres beyond that. The stretch from Cheongna to Terminal 1 is priced separately at 1,200 won for the first 10 kilometres and 130 won per kilometre after. Terminal 1 to Terminal 2 uses its own rate again, at about 108 won per kilometre. You never have to do this arithmetic yourself, because the station tables list every pair, but it explains

why the last stretch costs so much

. The airport section is charged at a higher rate per kilometre than the city section. Discounts follow the same structure. Children aged 6 to under 13 pay a 850 won base and half the adult distance charge. Teenagers aged 13 to under 18 pay a 900 won base and 80 percent of the distance charge. Both are applied automatically if the card is registered as a youth card, which a visitor will not have, so families travelling on single journey tickets should select the child fare on the machine screen rather than assuming it applies. The 500 won deposit deserves one more line. It is not a fee and you are not being charged for the card. You put it down when you buy the ticket and take it back at a refund machine after you tap out. The machines are unmissable once you know to look, usually a row of yellow units just past the gates, and they take about 10 seconds. Travellers who skip this step are effectively paying 5,350 won to reach Seoul Station instead of 4,750 won, which is most of the way to a coffee. If you are staying more than a couple of days, buying a transit card at any convenience store pays for itself quickly, because the same card then works on every bus and subway in the city.

📊 Three ways to reach Seoul Station

All three are for the same journey from Terminal 1. The single journey figure adds the 100 won surcharge but excludes the refundable deposit.

Adult fare, Terminal 1 to Seoul Station

Transit card, all-stop4,750 won

 

Single journey ticket, all-stop4,850 won

 

Express ticket13,000 won

 

What Terminal 2 adds to the fare

12.6%

Leaving from Terminal 2 costs 600 won more than Terminal 1 on the same journey, about 12.6 percent on top of the 4,750 won fare.

Who pays what, before any card discount. Find your row and read across. The bottom row is the one visitors most often assume applies to them.

Passenger	Base fare	Distance charge
Adult	1,550 won	Full rate
Child, 6 to under 13	850 won	50 percent
Senior 65+, Korean national	Free	Welfare card required

※ Notes & Disclaimer
Fares, timetables and operating hours come from the Airport Railroad official site as checked on September 1, 2026, and can change without notice. The published journey time of 43 minutes applies to the Express train only; AREX does not publish a single figure for the all-stop train, so check the timetable at the station. Card fares assume a prepaid or postpaid transit card. Check the current fare on the AREX site before you travel. Base and distance rates apply to the Seoul Station to Cheongna International City section; the airport sections are charged at separate rates as described above. Free travel for seniors and merit certificate holders is administered through Korean welfare transit cards and is not available to visitors on a tourist card.
Sources: Airport Railroad (AREX) official site · September 1, 2026