Short answer: For the physical prepaid Tmoney card, you top up with KRW cash. A full refund returns unused balance in cash, minus a KRW 500 fee, and does not return the price of the card. Treat any separate payment-wallet balance as its own thing.
| What you paid or hold | Is it refunded? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Card purchase price | No | Excluded from refunds (Tmoney guide) |
| Transit stored value | Yes, under the guide's conditions | KRW cash, card returned, KRW 500 fee |
| Separate payment-wallet balance (if your product has one) | Not covered here | Follow that product's own operator terms |
1. Identify your product first
These rules apply to the physical prepaid Tmoney card described in Tmoney's guide. If you hold a TRAVEL CARD, TRAVEL CARD+ or older KOREA TOUR CARD, check that product's own page (see section 5) before assuming the same terms apply.
2. Topping up the physical card
Per Tmoney's card-use guide, checked 2026-10-04:
- Top up with KRW cash, with the card.
- Amounts are in units of KRW 1,000, from KRW 1,000 to KRW 90,000 per top-up.
- The maximum balance on the card is KRW 500,000.
- Listed top-up places include convenience stores and subway top-up machines or information centers.
The guide lists these places in general, so not every branch or machine is guaranteed to work at every time. The guide does not establish foreign bank-card or app top-up for this card, so don't plan on either unless your card's own source says so.
3. Full refund: what comes back
For a refund, the guide says you receive KRW cash, the card is returned, the card's purchase price is excluded, and a KRW 500 fee applies.
Hypothetical example, not a quote: if a card held KRW 12,000 of unused balance, a full refund under these terms would be KRW 12,000 minus KRW 500 = KRW 11,500, with the card price not included. This only shows the arithmetic. The guide does not say whether a given counter accepts a given balance, so check your channel first.
4. Partial refunds
Partial refunds are limited. According to the guide, they are available only at Tmoney Town or a subway Tmoney service center, for amounts from KRW 10,000 to KRW 50,000 in KRW 10,000 units, for the physical plate-type card. Don't assume other counters or machines offer partial refunds. The guide's text does not say how a partial refund interacts with the fee, so ask the service center before choosing it.
5. Travel Card, Travel Card+ and older Korea Tour Card
Tmoney's tourist-products page says KOREA TOUR CARD sales have ended, but existing holders keep their partner benefits. It lists TMONEY TRAVEL CARD and TRAVEL CARD+ as separate products, and says the plus version has WOWPASS IC payment and balance-management features (Tmoney tourist products).
- Ended sales does not mean existing cards stop working.
- A wallet balance on a WOWPASS-linked product is a different balance. Don't assume its top-up or refund works like the physical card's transit balance. Check the operator terms for that product.
- Advice written for the old Korea Tour Card may be out of date.
6. Before you leave Seoul
- Worked out which card and which balance I hold
- Used up as much transit balance as practical
- Read the current guide for my exact product
- Checked which channel handles my refund type and amount
- Allowed for the KRW 500 fee and for not getting the card price back
- Kept the card and any receipt until the refund is complete
- Checked any wallet balance separately with its operator
Sources
- Tmoney, physical card-use guide, checked 2026-10-04
- Tmoney, tourist products, checked 2026-10-04
Update triggers
Product rename or discontinued sales; top-up channel, unit or cap change; refund fee, channel or amount change; wallet/transit integration change.
