Transportation in South Korea is provided by extensive networks of railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services and air routes that traverse the country. South Korea is the third country in the world to operate a maglev train, which was an automatically run people mover at Incheon International Airport.
History Development of modern infrastructure began with the first Five-Year Development Plan (1962–66), which included the construction of 275 kilometers of railways and several small highway projects. Construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway, which connects the two major cities of Seoul and Busan, was completed on 7 July 1970.
In 1970, around half of the population of Seoul, one of South Korea's most industrial cities, had moved to it only in the prior decade. With the rapid increase of people traveling across the country, a means of transporting large groups of people was needed. Public transportation, such as trams and railways, was installed for these people to move quickly. These people naturally settled in close proximity to jobs or near easy-to-move stations. The concentration of population in large cities continued and more transportation was needed to move these people.
The 1970s saw increased commitment to infrastructure investments. The third Five-Year Development Plan (1972–76) added the development of airports and seaports. The Subway system was built in Seoul, the highway network was expanded by 487 km and major port projects were started in Pohang, Ulsan, Masan, Incheon and Busan.
The development of industry and automobile technology in the 1960s led to a growing number of people having private cars, mainly in advanced countries such as Europe. The number of cars has more than doubled in Europe in a decade. People can go anywhere, anytime by car. Even now, the demand for cars continues to grow. Increased demand for cars has also helped ease the population's downtown concentration. This is because you can buy a cheap house in a relatively remote area that was difficult to access by public transportation and travel by car. At first, residential areas were formed in the center of the city, and the size of the city grew as the concentric circle grew from the center. Of course, new roads had to be built and intersections, circular roads and highways had to be built to accommodate the growing number of cars. In other words, transportation systems such as private cars and road expansion have been developed to speed up travel time. The problem of environmental pollution is also a reason why public transportation has developed. The car's fuel is consumed and pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and dust due to incomplete combustion are also released. By the 1990s, cars also emitted sulfur dioxide.
The railroad network experienced improvements in the 1980s with electrification and additional track projects. Operation speed was also increased on the main lines. Though the railroad was still more useful for transportation of freight, passenger traffic was also growing. There was 51,000 kilometers of roadways by 1988. Expressway network was expanded to connect more major cities and reached a combined length of 1,539 kilometers before the end of the decade.
Rail
The largest railway operator is Korail. Railway network is managed by Korea Rail Network Authority.
Korea Train Express began service in April 2004 as Korea's first high-speed service. Intercity services are provided by ITX-Saemaeul and Mugunghwa-ho. ITX-Saemaeul generally stops less than Mugunghwa-ho. They stop in all stations and seat reservation is not available. On routes where KTX operates, air travel significantly declined with fewer passengers choosing to fly and airlines offering fewer flights.
Nuriro Train service runs between Seoul-Sinchang route and other lines. Nuriro Train serves commuters around Seoul Metropolitan Area, providing shorter travel time than Seoul Subway. The rapid trains have same cost and seat reservation as Mugunghwa-ho. Korail plans to expand the service area.무궁화호 열차 점차 사라진다, YTN, 2009년 6월 6일 (Stopped its service)
Subways
South Korea's six largest cities — Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, Daejeon and Incheon — all have subway systems.
Seoul's subway system is the oldest system in the country, with the Seoul Station – Cheongnyangni section of Line 1 opening in 1974.
Trams The first tram line in Seoul started operation between Seodaemun and Cheongnyangni in December 1898. The network was expanded to cover the whole downtown area (Jung-gu and Jongno-gu districts) as well as surrounding neighbourhoods, including Cheongnyangni in the east, Mapo-gu in the west, and Noryangjin across the Han River to the south.
The networks reached its peak in 1941,서대문-청량리~: 이이화, 《한국사이야기22. 빼앗긴 들에 부는 근대화바람》(한길사, 2004) 49쪽. but was abandoned in favor of cars and the development of a subway system in 1968. Seoul Subway Line 1 and Line 2 follow the old streetcar routes along Jongno and Euljiro, respectively.
A new tram line, Wirye Line is scheduled to open in Seoul in 26 December 2026, and openings are planned in Daejeon and Ulsan.
Buses
Regional services
Virtually all towns in South Korea of all sizes are served by regional bus service. Regional routes are classified as gosok bus (고속버스, "high speed" express bus) or sioe bus (시외버스, "suburban" intercity bus) with gosok buses operating over the longer distances and making the fewest (if any) stops en route. Shioe buses typically operate over shorter distances, are somewhat slower, and make more stops. It is possible to reach another city by intercity buses. From Seoul, the place is Express Bus Terminal, the subway station is served by Seoul Subway Lines 3, 7 and 9.
Local services
Within cities and towns, two types of city bus operate in general: jwaseok (좌석, "coach") and dosihyeong (도시형, "city type") or ipseok (입석, "standing"). Both types of bus often serve the same routes, make the same (or fewer) stops and operate on similar frequencies, but jwaseok buses are more expensive and offer comfortable seating, while doshihyeong buses are cheaper and have fewer and less comfortable seats. Many small cities and towns do not have jwaseok buses and their buses are officially called nongeochon (농어촌, "rural area" bus). The local buses in Seoul and other cities are categorized by colours: the blue buses are trunk lines that cross the entire city, the green ones are circulator/short run lines that connect passengers with subway or railway stations, and the red buses are express lines go out of the city to nearby suburbs.
Some cities have their own bus classifying systems.
Bus type Seoul Busan Daegu Daejeon Jwaseok (좌석) Rapid: Gwangyeok (광역), redTrunk: Ganseon (간선), blue Rapid: Geuphaeng (급행)Coach: Jwaseok (좌석) Rapid: Geuphaeng (급행)Trunk Coach: Ganseon jwaseok (간선좌석) Rapid: Geuphaeng (급행), redTrunk: Ganseon (간선), blue Doshihyeong (도시형 also known as city style)/Ipseok (입석) Trunk: Ganseon (간선), blueBranch: Jiseon (지선), green Regular: Ilban (일반) Circulation: Sunhwan (순환)Trunk: Ganseon (간선)Branch: Jiseon (간선) Trunk: Ganseon (간선), blueBranch: Jiseon, green Village Branch: Jiseon (지선), greenCirculation: Sunhwan (순환), yellow Village: Maeul-bus (마을버스 also known as village bus) N/A Branch: Jiseon (지선), greenOuter: Oegwak (외곽), greenVillage: Maeul-bus (마을버스)
Other services
Incheon International Airport is served by an extensive network of high-speed buses from all parts of the country.
Beginning in the late 1990s, many department stores operated their own small networks of free buses for shoppers, but government regulation, confirmed by a court decision on June 28, 2001, have banned department stores from operating buses. However, most churches, daycare centres and private schools send buses around to pick up their congregants, patients or pupils.
Fares Bus fares vary depending on the type of bus, the method of payment, and the age of the passenger. Passengers pay the right fare by placing their transportation card, which they can fill with money prior, on a card terminal. Among the various types (mainly classified according to distance traveled), there is a separate application for bus booking. The app has a simple payment function and passengers can quickly make a reservation, choosing a boarding date and seat. There are machines at bus stops that allow passengers to check their remaining balance on their transportation cards. In addition, the arrival time and remaining seats of the buses at the bus stop in question are displayed on the electronic display board. Passengers can determine the arrival time of a bus on various transportation applications.
Inclusion of Taxis In South Korea, public transportation methods and facilities, like buses and railroad stations, receive financial support from the government. Not included in the list are taxis. Some South Koreans argue that taxi drivers should be included in public transportation even if they do not have regular connections due to the nature of taxis. On the other hand, other South Koreans disagree and express their opinions that what is considered the current means of public transportation should be maintained.
Some members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea proposed a bill to include taxis in the scope of public transportation in 2012, but bus drivers and operators decided to suspend the operation of buses in Korea in protest. In addition, the bill was opposed by the South Korean government. In April 2023, another bill has been put forward to include taxis in the group of public transportation methods.
Accommodations Public transportation in South Korea lack accommodations for people with disabilities. For buses, there are low floor buses with low footrest heights and though they have increased in number compared to the past, they are still lacking. There are some areas where low-floor buses have difficulty running, making people who use them face difficulty when traveling to those areas. For subways, there are elevators and spaces for wheelchairs to help people with disabilities travel, however these places are often crowded and used by other passengers as well. Even for taxis (which are still being debated on being a part of public transportation), people with disabilities must reserve priorly to ride a taxi, and even then, usually have to wait a long time before it arrives. The lack of accommodations in the transportation system also has a social effect, as it has affected the number of people with disabilities who leave their homes to travel.
Roads
Highways in South Korea are classified as freeways (expressways/motorways), national roads and various classifications below the national level. Almost all freeways are toll highways and most of the expressways are built, maintained and operated by Korea Expressway Corporation (KEC).
The freeway network serves most parts of South Korea. Tolls are collected using an electronic toll collection system. KEC also operates service amenities (dining and service facilities) en route.
There are also several privately financed toll roads. Nonsan-Cheonan Expressway, Daegu-Busan Expressway, Incheon International Airport Expressway, Seoul-Chuncheon Expressway and parts of the Seoul Ring Expressway are wholly privately funded and operated BOT concessions. Donghae Expressway was built in cooperation between KEC and the National Pension Service.
Total length of the South Korean road network was 86,989 km in 1998. Of this, 1,996 km was expressways and 12,447 km national roads. By 2009, combined length of the expressways had reached approximately 3,000 km, it mostly equal to the whole area of South Korea
Total (2014) Expressways National roads Paved Unpaved 105,672 km 4,138 km13,708 km 89,701 km 8,218 km
Bicycle