The short answer
- Per one-way kilometer, Namsan Cable Car is the priciest at about ₩19,800; Chuncheon Samaksan is the cheapest at about ₩3,300.
- The gap between round-trip and one-way tickets is typically ₩3,000–4,000. One way only pays off on routes you can walk back down.
- At Haeundae, if you will ride the Beach Train just once, buying separately is ₩9,000 cheaper than the package.
Most cable car fare charts fit neatly into two lines: round trip and one way. But what your money actually buys depends entirely on route length and how you get back down. If the 605 m Namsan Cable Car, which climbs in about three minutes, sits in a similar price bracket to the 3.61 km Samaksan Cable Car, which glides for nearly 15 minutes, those two tickets are fundamentally different products.
For this post I took the standard adult fares shown on each operator’s official site as of August 2026 and divided them by the official route length to work out the price per one-way kilometer. I have also added the round-trip vs. one-way-plus-walk trade-off and the conditions under which a package deal turns out to be the worse option. Fares I could not confirm are left out of the tables and noted as conditions instead.
Which cable car costs the most per one-way kilometer?
Namsan Cable Car. At 605 m long and ₩12,000 one way, it converts to roughly ₩19,800 per kilometer. In the table below I used the one-way standard fare where one-way tickets are sold, and half the round-trip fare where they are not.
🏆 Price per one-way kilometer (standard adult fare, August 2026)
| Route | Official route length | One-way fare used | Per one-way km |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namsan Cable Car | 605 m | ₩12,000 (one way) | about ₩19,800 |
| Busan Songdo Marine Cable Car — Air Cruise | 1.62 km | ₩15,000 (one way) | about ₩9,300 |
| Seohaerang Jebudo Marine Cable Car — standard cabin | 2.12 km | ₩19,000 (one way) | about ₩9,000 |
| Haeundae Sky Capsule (per person, 2-seater) | about 2 km | ₩20,000 (one way) | about ₩10,000 |
| Chuncheon Samaksan Lake Cable Car — standard cabin | 3.61 km | ₩12,000 (half of ₩24,000 round trip) | about ₩3,300 |
How this is calculated
The Sky Capsule's route length is derived by multiplying the average speed of 4 km/h stated in the official fare guide by the roughly 30-minute one-way ride. Samaksan Lake Cable Car does not sell one-way tickets, so I used half the round-trip fare. Daegu Palgongsan Cable Car is left out because its official fare table is posted only as an image, so the standard price could not be confirmed.
By distance alone, Samaksan is an overwhelming bargain. But its 8-seat cabins require boarding with at least six people, so a group of two or three has to wait until another party joins. Namsan, by contrast, is the most expensive per kilometer, yet you can walk there from Myeongdong Station and it runs until 11 pm. In other words, the per-kilometer fare also buys you accessibility and operating hours.
Cross 1.62 km of open sea, round trip
The Air Cruise standard round-trip fare is ₩19,000, and the Crystal Cabin is ₩24,000. Online prices vary by seller, so compare them against the on-site standard fare before you commit.
On weekday mornings the ticket queue barely backs up, so buying at the booth is plenty. Prices and availability as of August 2026; vary by date and option.
Round trip vs. one way: how big is the gap?
For adults, it is ₩3,000–4,000. Two separate one-way tickets cost at least ₩11,000 more than a round trip, so if you plan to return, the round trip is the clear choice. The real question is what happens when you do not.
🏆 Round trip vs. one way (standard adult fare, August 2026)
| Route | Round trip | One way | Gap | Two one-ways vs. round trip |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Namsan Cable Car | ₩15,000 | ₩12,000 | ₩3,000 | Two one-ways cost ₩9,000 more |
| Yeosu Marine Cable Car — standard cabin | ₩17,000 | ₩14,000 | ₩3,000 | Two one-ways cost ₩11,000 more |
| Songdo Marine Cable Car — Air Cruise | ₩19,000 | ₩15,000 | ₩4,000 | Two one-ways cost ₩11,000 more |
| Seohaerang Jebudo — standard cabin | ₩22,000 | ₩19,000 | ₩3,000 | Two one-ways cost ₩16,000 more |
| Chuncheon Samaksan — standard cabin | ₩24,000 | Not sold | – | Round trip only |
To sum up: a one-way ticket only makes sense when you have a solid way back down. Namsan Cable Car's lower station sits partway up the mountain, so walking back down is a realistic option — and then a ₩12,000 one-way is all you need, saving ₩3,000 over the round trip. On a sea route where the return leg is uncertain, buying one way is a gamble.
The same Namsan Cable Car round-trip ticket is sold separately on KKday as a weekday-only product. If you are planning a weekend visit, this one will not work, so check the on-site ticket office or other fare types instead.
When does buying a one-way ticket backfire?
Seohaerang Jebudo Marine Cable Car is the classic case. Jebudo is reachable by car only while the tidal causeway is open, so if you ride one way and miss the tide window, you will have to buy another one-way ticket.
₩19,000
Seohaerang standard cabin, one way (adult)
₩22,000
Seohaerang standard cabin, round trip (adult)
₩38,000
If you end up buying two one-ways
1 hour before
Official ticket cutoff (before closing)
Ride one way and slip out along the causeway, and you save ₩3,000 over the round trip. Miss the tide and buy a second one-way, though, and you are at ₩38,000 total — ₩16,000 more than a round trip. On August 15, 2026, Hwaseong City posted Jebudo’s causeway hours as 08:18–16:58 (first window) and 20:09–05:03 (second). Those times shift by more than two hours every day, so unless you have checked the schedule for your visit date, the round-trip ticket is the safe play.
Ticket cutoff times cause more trouble than fares do
- Seohaerang Jebudo and Chuncheon Samaksan: ticket sales close 1 hour before operations end.
- Busan Songdo Marine Cable Car: sales close 30 minutes before closing; as of August 2026, hours are 09:00–22:00.
- Namsan Cable Car: open 10:00–23:00 year-round, with the last ticket sold 30 minutes before closing.
- Samaksan: no exchanges, cancellations, or refunds after 1 hour before same-day closing.
There is also a KKday product that folds Jebudo into a half-day tour of southwest Gyeonggi. The catch is that tour-style packages fix your cable car boarding time, so it is hard to line things up with the tide or sunset.
Is the Haeundae Sky Capsule cheaper as a package?
If you only plan to ride the Beach Train once, buying separately is ₩9,000 cheaper. The Sky Capsule only sells one-way tickets, so getting back to your starting point means buying another one-way in the opposite direction or taking the Beach Train — and that is where the math splits.
🏆 Total cost per combination, two people (official fares, August 2026)
| Combination | Math | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Sky Capsule one way + Beach Train single ride | ₩40,000 + (₩8,000 × 2) | ₩56,000 |
| Official package (Sky Capsule one way + Beach Train all stations) | Flat rate | ₩65,000 |
| Sky Capsule one way + Beach Train all-station pass bought separately | ₩40,000 + (₩16,000 × 2) | ₩72,000 |
In short, if you will ride the capsule from Mipo to Cheongsapo and take the train back just once, buying separately wins; if you will go all the way down to Songjeong and hop on and off at several stations, the package is ₩7,000 cheaper. A single Beach Train ride ends the moment you get off at any station, so hopping off for photos means your ticket is done right there.
Lock in your Sky Capsule seat in advance
Sky Capsules are sold per capsule, with a two-seat one-way ride at ₩40,000. Remaining seats at popular times vanish quickly on site, so if your time slot is fixed, book ahead.
Discount-eligible riders (Haeundae-gu residents, Busan citizens, seniors, people with disabilities) can only buy tickets on site, so if that is you, skip the booking and head to the ticket window. As of August 2026.
When can you skip the cable car altogether?
Three situations. First, when getting somewhere is the goal rather than the view from the top. Namsan’s circular bus goes right up near the summit, so there is no reason to spend ₩15,000 on the cable car. Second, when you are a small group on a route with a boarding requirement — Samaksan requires riding with at least six people. Third, when you qualify for a local-resident discount.
When a cheaper alternative comes first
- Namsan: take the circular bus instead of the cable car and you will only pay the city bus fare. A free shuttle from Myeongdong Station to the cable car station also runs 12:00–20:30.
- Chuncheon Samaksan: booking online through the website alone gives 25% off on weekdays and 15% on weekends. Same-day booking is not possible, so reserve at least a day ahead.
- Busan Songdo: Busan citizens get ₩3,000 off the Air Cruise on weekdays, and Seo-gu residents ₩5,000. Note that citizen discounts do not apply on weekends or public holidays.
- Ganghwa Seaside Resort: the cable car round-trip ticket is ₩17,000, but for just ₩2,000 more there is a ₩19,000 luge + cable car combo. Choosing the cable car alone is the worse deal.
In Yeosu, the gap between the cable car alone and the Fantasy New World bundle is ₩6,000 (₩17,000 vs. ₩23,000 for an adult round trip), so if you do not plan to see the indoor exhibition, the single ticket is the right call. In fact, Fantasy New World is sold separately at ₩6,000 to cable car ticket holders and ₩9,000 to everyone else.
Compare the single and bundle fares before you commit
The standard cabin round trip is ₩17,000, and the Crystal Cabin is ₩24,000. The bundle adds an indoor exhibition for ₩6,000 more, so if you will not visit it, the single ticket is better.
Yeosu residents, seniors, people with disabilities, and national merit recipients get discounts only with on-site proof at the ticket office, so booking is unnecessary if you qualify. As of August 2026.
If you want to add the Chuncheon cable car without a car, a full-day tour from Seoul covering Nami Island and Samaksan is a realistic option. The trade-off is that tours fix your time at the cable car, so if you want to stroll the upper station’s walking trails at your own pace, going on your own is better.
Sources
- Namsan Cable Car official guide (operating hours, ticket cutoff, route specs) — namsancablecar.com
- Busan Air Cruise Songdo Marine Cable Car fares, discounts, and cable car intro (1.62 km) — busanaircruise.co.kr
- Chuncheon Samaksan Lake Cable Car fares, hours, and discount info — samaksancablecar.com
- Seohaerang Jebudo Marine Cable Car fares and hours (2.12 km) — seohaerang.com
- Yeosu Marine Cable Car fare guide (cable car, packages, discounts) — yeosucablecar.com
- Haeundae Blue Line Park Sky Capsule & Beach Train fares and refund policy — bluelinepark.com
- Ganghwa Seaside Resort fare guide — ganghwa-resort.co.kr
- Hwaseong City Jebudo causeway hours (August 2026) — hscity.go.kr
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