Do You Need Cash in Seoul? Yes, But Not Much
Seoul runs on cards, but there's one cash-only moment a day — a market stall, an old restaurant, a flea market. Here's how much to carry, where to withdraw it, and why KakaoPay isn't an option for visitors.
Partly personally verified — Daniel checked some of these in person
How we verify →·Updated Sep 2026·4 min read
Short version: Seoul runs on cards. Convenience stores, taxis, the subway, even street stalls with a card reader. On a trip of a few days you can get through most of it without touching cash.
The catch is that "most of it" isn't "all of it." There's usually one moment a day where cash is the only thing that works.
When you'll actually need cash
- Traditional market stalls — bindaetteok at Gwangjang, banchan at Mangwon Market. Many take cards, but some run a separate, lower "cash price."
- Old-school restaurants — the gukbap or baekban place with "cash only" or "cards for ₩50,000 and up" posted on the wall.
- Flea markets and market homeware shops — somewhere like Dongmyo is mostly cash.
- Some older unmanned machines — coin noraebang, claw machines, and arcades mostly take cards now, but an older machine here and there is still coins only.
How much to carry
₩50,000–100,000 per person is plenty. The goal isn't to carry a lot — it's to never be caught with zero. When it runs out, pull more from an ATM.
Where to get it — the part people get wrong
Your foreign card won't work in just any ATM. Look for a machine marked "Global ATM" or "Global" — major banks (Shinhan, Woori, KB Kookmin, Hana) and some convenience-store ATMs. Common at the airport, in tourist areas, and in subway stations.
- Choose English, then the "Foreign card" / "Global" menu.
- If it asks whether to charge in your home currency (DCC), choose won (KRW). Home-currency conversion gives you a worse rate.
- Fees are usually ₩3,000–3,500 per withdrawal plus your own bank's charge. One larger withdrawal beats several small ones.
- Carry two cards on different networks (a Visa and a Mastercard). One card getting declined happens.
Mobile payment
- KakaoPay and Naver Pay — what Koreans use, but they generally need a Korean alien registration card to set up. Don't count on them as a visitor.
- Samsung Pay (Galaxy phones) works at almost every terminal, including older ones, so it's accepted nearly everywhere. Apple Pay works at the major convenience-store chains (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven, Emart24) but only around 10% of merchants overall so far.
- WOWPASS — a prepaid card for visitors. Load it with foreign cash (16 currencies) or a card at airport and city kiosks, tap it like a Korean card; it has a T-money transit chip built in.
- T-money — transit plus small convenience-store purchases. Since March 2026, some subway-station machines take foreign cards for top-ups (not every station).
The setup that works
- On arrival, pull ₩50,000–100,000 from a Global ATM at the airport (choose won, decline DCC).
- One transit card: T-money or WOWPASS.
- Everything else: a foreign card, plus a little cash. Always two cards.
Cards work almost everywhere in Seoul. Carry ₩50,000–100,000 per person for market stalls, old restaurants, and flea markets. Withdraw won from a "Global ATM" (major banks or some convenience-store ATMs); decline home-currency conversion (DCC); expect a ~₩3,000–3,500 fee per withdrawal. KakaoPay/Naver Pay usually need a Korean alien registration card. Samsung Pay (Galaxy) is accepted nearly everywhere; Apple Pay works at major convenience-store chains but a minority of merchants overall. WOWPASS is a prepaid card (with a T-money chip) loadable with foreign cash or cards at kiosks. Fees and coverage change — check current terms.
A Note From Daniel — our real human editorApple Pay barely works in Korea in practice — convenience stores, yes, but not much else. If you carry a Samsung Galaxy phone, Samsung Pay is accepted almost anywhere in the country; nearly every card terminal takes it. It's convenient enough here that I eventually switched from an iPhone to a Galaxy for it.
Soo's TipWithdraw once, at the airport, a bit more than feels necessary — the fee is per transaction, not per won. Keep an emergency ₩20,000 folded somewhere separate from your wallet. The day you need cash is usually the day the one ATM nearby won't take your card.
