I was able to convince my friends to stay for a night at Busan since I saw somewhere that the sunrise at Busan was too beautiful for words and photos cannot give justice to how it looks in real life.
Busan is actually far from Seoul and you need to ride the KTX train. There were not much blogs that wrote about this so I’m glad to be able to be one of those who will share the “how to” to you guys! The train ride from Seoul to Busan is around 2hr40min and from Busan to Seoul is the same (2hr40min).
First thing to do is book a Korail ticket on the KTX website -> click me
This is what you’ll see when you click the “click me”
1. Choose your Korail Pass Type
2. Enter your necessary details
3. click No for Railplus
Since we were going to spend 2 days in Busan we chose the Korail Pass FX (2days) – this is the flexi 2day Korail pass.
These are the rates:
*2023 UPDATE*
There is NO MORE “Youth” option on Korail’s site. They are only offering these kind of tickets on their site.
Upon checking, if you are considered an adult (age 28 up) – will be cheaper if you purchase from Klook’s website : click me.
Ticket still looks the same!
After paying, there will be a PDF file that you have to print/save that looks like this.
Have the option to book your seats in advance! (but you can also opt to get your seat and show your ticket on the day you are heading to Busan or back to Seoul)
How to reserve seats:
1. Head over to this website (click me)
2. Click “My Reservation” and enter your Korail Pass No. and click “Inquiry”
Your Korail pass number can be found on the e-ticket which was emailed to you
3. Click your pass and “details”
4. Click “Add” beside “Date of travel 1” and “Date of travel 2” 
5. Enter your dates of travel
Date of travel 1 : date when you will leave Seoul
Date of travel 2 : date when you will leave Busan
6. At the bottom part of the page, click list
7. You will be redirected to this page. Now you can click “seat reservation”
8. a. Select the same travel type, travel path, and type of train as the photo below
b. Date of departure: date where you will leave Seoul, enter the hour where you plan to leave Seoul
c. Passengers : number of passengers you booked
d. click “Inquiry”
9. You will be redirected to this page where you can choose your departure time.
Click “select” under economy class of your desired departure time from Seoul and “next”
10. You will be redirected to a page where you can see your seats and other details. All you have to do here is click “next”
11. You will be then re-directed to this page.
IMPORTANT: Click print and print your train ticket because this is your ticket as you board the train
12. Hooray! You have reserved a seat.
13. Follow the same steps if you also want to book a seat from Busan to Seoul.
Seoul – Busan
1. Go to Seoul Station (Airport railroad line, line 1, line 4)
2. Get out at exit 1
Busan – Seoul
Go to Busan Station (this is where you go out coming from Seoul)
all photos taken using an iPhone
Hope this can help anyone who are coming from Seoul and would like to travel to Busan!
Disclosure
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I’ll get a small commission if you make a purchase at NO extra cost to you. I would really appreciate your support as this helps me keep this website going. Thank you!
💚, R
Hi! I want to ask about Saver Pass. Can we buy 1 Saver Pass for 2 person?
Hi Sarah! One saver pass/person (min 2) so when you buy via Klook, you should buy 2 passes under Savers Pass option 🙂
Hi! Just wanted to clarify, when you booked your KORAIL pass for your Day 4-8 from your latest Busan trip, did you choose the 4 DAY FLEXIBLE pass? We just wanted to understand how they count the number of days when buying the tickets. 🙂 So if we plan our Busan trip on Oct 30-Nov 3, does that fall on the 4DAY pass? Thank you!
Hi Joy! I chose the 2 DAY flexible pass 😊
The 2 days flexible pass should be what you will get on your Oct 30-Nov 3 trip since you only need to choose 2 dates (date of arrival and depature at/from Busan) and the 2 dates are within the 10 day gap as per their requirements 💖
If I wasn’t able to explain clearly please let me know!
Thank you for the quick response! 🙂 Okay, from what I understand, the 2 day flexible pass means the “usage” of the pass and not the duration of your stay. Oct 30 (1st day pass) and Nov 3 ( 2nd day pass)? Is that correct?
PS. Been following your blog for a long time now and we once were in the same train heading to Nami. 🙂
Yes, correct! It’s just “usage” of the pass 😊and since your first chosen date and second chosen date is within a 10 day gap, you can avail the 2 day flexible pass 💖
Aww! Thank you for supporting my blog! Oh really? Say hi when you see mee next time! Would love to meet you
Oh okaaayyy. Got itttt. 🙂 Thank you for clarifying and for responding so patiently. Sorry, I have another question though. Were you able to reserve a seat and time for the tickets in advance? If so, is it easy? 🙂
I was too shy to approach you. Maybe next time! 🙂
Yes 🙂 I think there was an instruction on Korail’s page for the reservation! If not, you can head to the station and show the ticket you bought and they will give you a seat and the closest time avaible 🙂
Don’t be shy next time!! 😆
Got ittttt. Thank you soo much, Regine. Looking forward to your future travel blogs. ♥️
hi , I would like to ask it will be good tat to purchase the ticket in advance 1st or its fine to buy on the day we travelling down busan?
Hi Ting! It would be best to purchase the ticket in advance to have assurance that you will have a seat inside the train 😃
ok , thank you .coz I see a lot ppl say it was quite hassle and no English language from the machine . Tats reason why I’m checking .
Oh! I see 🙂 yes! It is really best to get your tickets in advance so you won’t have a hard time there
we have 3 person travelling there , but from the link you given “Click Me” I don’t see the option for 3 person (Saver option) .How should I go with that ?
There is an option under Klook where you can select “saver” and click for 3 people 🙂
ok.Thank you
Of course, anytime 🙂 please don’t hesistate to message or comment if you have more questions ❤️
Hello Regina, does the tickets include 2 ways / round trip ? Means Seoul – Busan- Seoul ?
Hello Yvonne 🙂 it depends on what ticket you will purchase . If you copy my ticket then yes it is the 2 way / round trip from Seoul to Busan and vice versa
Hi Regine, nice informative blog! yours is the only one with pictures and idiot-proof instructions 😀
I have questions:
1. How many types of KTX to Busan are there? Is there like a version where it is first-class (more spacious, more legroom, etc)? Also, where did you store your suitcases and stuffs when you take the KTX?
2. The PDF is kinda like the invoice where I have to print it out and show them to the counter staff in exchange for the tickets? In the event that I reserved a round-trip, both tickets (to and fro) would be issued on the same day?
Thanks!
Hello Mel! Thank you for your kind words💖
1. The train name is KTX so there is only 1 type.
For suitcases – during my first trip, I only brought a hand carry so it was easy to squeeze it in front of my seat since I am small but during my second trip, my parents brought a big luggage and they placed it at the back of the cart (you will notice a space as you enter)
2. Yes the PDF is sort of like your invoice and proof that you paid for your ticket.
For the reservation of round-trip, you will be issued tickets on the day that you will use it. So let’s say you are headed to Busan on the 1st, they will only issue you tickets as you depart for Busan on the 1st. Then, if you are leaving Busan let’s say on the 5th, then they will issue you tickets as you leave Busan on the 5th.
Hope I was able to answer your questions! Don’t hesitate to ask me if you want to know something
Hi ! When u came back from Busan , did u arrive at Seoul Station ?
Hi Abel, yes! We arrived at Seoul Station after coming back from Busan 🙂