Two rail companies, one country — how to actually book a train here

Korea has two high-speed operators and they do not share a booking site. People miss cheaper or faster trains simply because they only ever check one. Links to the official booking pages.

KTX and SRT are not the same company

KTX is run by Korail, SRT by a separate operator, and they leave from different Seoul stations — Seoul Station and Suseo. Same destination, different site, different seats. Check both before deciding the train is full.

Departs from Seoul Station and Yongsan. Has an English site, though the seat map is easier in the app.

Often has seats when KTX shows none, and is usually a little cheaper. Suseo is easier than Seoul Station if you live south of the river.

The bus nobody checks

Express buses reach places no train goes, cost less, and almost never sell out. The seats recline properly on the premium ones.

Book here rather than at the terminal on a holiday. Premium seats are worth the difference on anything over two hours.

Register the card to your name if you want refunds on a lost card. Most people never do this and then cannot.

Holiday tickets open on a fixed date weeks ahead and sell out in minutes. Buses are the fallback and are rarely full — and on a clear road they are not much slower.

Where did you go last, and was the train worth it over the bus?