Seoul City Bus Tours    

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The Seoul City Bus Tours cover areas north of the Han River and passengers can get on and off throughout the day for a flat rate. Although the departure point of each of the three courses (Downtown, Palace and Night) is in front of the Donghwa Duty Free Shop in Gwanghwamun (Exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station, Subway Line 5 – stop 533) you can get on for the first time at any of the City Bus Tour Stops. The tour takes about two hours if you don’t get off (the time can vary depending on traffic conditions and the number of people getting on/off).  The tours do not run on Mondays unless it’s a public holiday. 

Tickets can be purchased on the bus and also inside the Gwanhwamun Tourist Information Center (02-777-6090), the War Memorial in Yongsan (02-709-3139) as well as from various hotels around the city.  A full-day pass/night tour ride is W10,000 (W8,000 for students and minors) while a one-ride ticket is W5,000 (W3,000 for students and minors). Discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more (10%), child under 4 free if accompanied by an adult, if paying with T-money (5%), if holding KTX tickets on a train departing within 2 days (15%), KR pass holders (15%) or Japanese with Seoul Navi coupons (10%). Receipts available for cash payments.
Note: for informaton on T-money go to http://www.korea4expats.com/article-seoul-bus-subway-cards.html

Tickets can also be purchased at Incheon International Airport as well as the Seoul and Yongsan Train Stations. At the Airport, go to the Limousine Bus ticket booth at the airport and buy both an Airport Bus and a Seoul City Tour Bus ticket. Get on Airport Bus No. 605 from bus stops 6B or 13A outside the Arrival level. Get off at the Gwanghwamun Bus Stop where you will transfer to the City Tour bus. There is a stop in front of both the Seoul Station and the Yongsan Station. Just check the bus times at the stations' Tourism Information Desk (2nd floor of Seoul Station, 3rd floor of Yongsan Station).

Tour options:
The Downtown Tour starts at 9AM and ends at 7PM with the last bus of the day leaving the Gwanghwamun point at 7PM (NB, during the day, some buses stop at this point and passengers must change to another bus that my be coming along in 10-30 minutes while the driver takes a break). Buses run every 30 minutes between 9 AM and 9PM. The route includes 27 stops: Gwanghwamun → Deoksugung Palace → Namdaemun Market → Seoul Station → USO → Yongsan Station → National Museum of Korea → War Memorial → U.S Army Post → Itaewon → Crown Hotel → Myeong-dong → Namsangol Hanok (traditional Korean house) Village → Sofitel Ambassador Hotel → National Theater of Korea → Namsan Seoul Tower → Grand Hyatt Hotel → Tower Hotel → Shilla Hotel → Dongdaemun Market → Daehangno → Changgyeonggung Palace → Changdeokgung Palace → Insa-dong → Cheongwadae (The Blue House) → National Folk Museum → Gyeongbokgung Palace → Gwanghwamun.

The Palace Tour starts at 9AM and ends at 5PM with the last bus of the day leaving Gwanghamun at 4PM. Buses run every 30 minutes. The one-hour course has 11 stops: Gwanghwamun → Deoksugung Palace → Seoul Station → Cheonggye Plaza → Gyeongbokgung Palace → Insa-dong → Changdeokgung Palace → Daehangno → Changgyeonggung Palace → Changdeokgung Palace → Insa-dong → Cheongwadae (The Blue House) → National Folk Museum → Gyeongbokgung Palace → Gwanghwamun

The Night Tour starts at 8PM at the Gwangwhamun bus stop and ends at 9:30PM at Chongye Plaza. The course includes Gwanghwamun → Deoksugung Palace → *Holiday Inn, Mapo → *National Assembly → *Yangwhadaegyo → *Gangbyeon Expressway → *Seongsudaegyo → *Hannamdaegyo → Namsan Seoul Tower → *Namsan Library → Sungnyemun Gate → Cheongye Plaza. The only stops where one can get on or off are: Gwnaghwamun (start), Holiday Inn, National Assembly, Yangwhadaegyo, Gangbyeon Expressway, Songsudaegyo and Namsan Library.

Getting off the tour buses: To let the driver know that you wish to get off, press the buzzers located on the bus walls, beside about every other seat. As you get on, the ‘guide’ will likely ask where you want to get off (some will be very insistent on knowing the answer), but you may still have to press the buzzer. Note: If you get off the bus to visit Insa-dong, please note that you have to cross the street at the traffic light, turn right and then left at the Information Kiosk - very few of the guides will tell you that.

Tour bus guides are mainly there to take your money, check your ticket and get you on/off the bus. She (have not seen any male guides yet) may speak English, but it’s more likely that she will be more comfortable in Chinese or Japanese if she speaks a language other than Korean. However, each seat comes equipped with headsets and the option of listening to a taped description for each stop in various languages including Chinese, Japanese, French, English and Korean. If the bus is not full, you may want to check and make sure that the equipment is working in your chosen seat. The pamphlet you receive when you get on the bus provides information on the different stops and also provides discounts to museums, palaces and other tourist attractions.

Note: The Seoul City Bus Tours are run by the City of Seoul through a sub-contracted company. Should you have any complaints about the City Tour Bus, you can contact City Hall via 120 (http://www.korea4expats.com/article-seoul-call-center-120.html) or telephone the City Tour Bus company at 02-777-6090 and ask for an English speaker.

For more information on the City Tour Bus, go to http://www.seoulcitybus.com and click on English.

K4E Editor: Korea4Expats wants to provide the most accurate and complete information possible, so if you noticed an error or omission in the contents above, please contact us at info@korea4expats.com