Namsan Cable Car or Bus 01A/01B: Which Is Faster Up to N Seoul Tower?

Updated November 2026

Ride the Namsan Cable Car (남산케이블카) on a weekday in the first hour after it opens at 10:00, and take Namsan circular bus 01A or 01B at any other busy time. An adult cable car return costs ₩15,000, and a bus ride costs ₩1,500. The cable car runs from 10:00 to 23:00, while the buses start at 06:30.

Every cost in this guide covers the same trip: two adults going up once and coming down once. Fares are the official November 2026 prices from N Seoul Tower and VisitKorea. Wait times come from the bus timetable and from Ablenews, a Korean disability news outlet.

In this guide:

How Do You Get Up to N Seoul Tower in 2026?
Namsan Cable Car vs Bus: 2026 Fares and Hours
Which Subway Exit for the Namsan Cable Car and Bus 01A/01B?
When Is the Namsan Cable Car Least Crowded?
Is the Namsan Cable Car Wheelchair Accessible? Tips for Families and Seniors
Best Time and Route to Visit N Seoul Tower in November 2026
Namsan Cable Car FAQ
Related Reading From Seoul Now

How Do You Get Up to N Seoul Tower in 2026?

You can take the cable car or one of two circular buses, or you can walk. A free incline elevator also shortens the climb to the cable car. Each option starts from a different subway exit, and that affects your day more than you might expect.

The Namsan Cable Car is the classic ride. VisitKorea notes that it opened on 12 May 1962 as Korea's first passenger cable car. Its lower station sits at 83 Sopa-ro, Jung-gu, uphill from Myeongdong.

The Namsan circular buses (남산순환버스), painted as 'Haechi buses', are the budget pick. The mint 01A runs a Namsan-Cheong Wa Dae loop. The pink 01B, once route 8001, covers a shorter Namsan Park loop. The tower's official site now uses the name YTN Seoul Tower, and its transport guide puts Gyeongbokgung Palace and Anguk Station on the 01A loop. One ₩1,500 fare carries you from the palace district to the tower.

The Namsan Oreumi (남산오르미) is a free sloped lift from the Namsan 3-ho Tunnel area to the cable car's lower station. N Seoul Tower's cable car guide points out that it stops there and does not reach the summit. Ablenews adds that drivers with a disability placard can drive past the checkpoint and park at Namsan Plaza near the top. Seoul's disability call taxis also drop passengers there.

Why Can't You Take the Myeongdong Gondola?

The gondola isn't finished. Seoul broke ground in September 2024 on an 832 m gondola from near Myeongdong Station to the summit and aimed to open it in 2026. Work stopped at about 15% complete. The Seoul High Court rejected the city's appeal on 17 September 2026, after more than ₩10 billion had been spent. The city took the case to the Supreme Court in October. The problem is height. Parks law limits structures in an urban nature park zone to 12 m, and the gondola's middle pylon is about 35 m, 2.9 times the limit. No restart date has been set, so ignore any guide that promises a gondola ride this year.

Namsan Cable Car vs Bus: 2026 Fares and Hours

A cable car return costs five times as much as two bus rides, and the buses start three and a half hours earlier.

Option	Adult fare	Hours	Frequency or queue	Nearest subway exit	Step-free access
Namsan Cable Car	₩15,000 return / ₩12,000 one way	10:00-23:00 daily; last return ticket 22:30, last one-way 22:45	1-2 hours on peak days (Ablenews)	Myeongdong (Line 4) Exit 3, about 10 min uphill	Cabin fits a wheelchair, with room to turn
Bus 01A (mint)	₩1,500 per ride, card only	06:30-23:00	Every 6-9 min	Chungmuro (Lines 3/4) Exit 2 or Dongguk Univ. (Line 3) Exit 6	Low-floor bus
Bus 01B (pink)	₩1,500 per ride, card only	06:30-23:00	Every 15-18 min	Same as 01A	Low-floor bus
Oreumi elevator	Free	09:00-23:00; closed Mon 09:00-14:00	-	Namsan 3-ho Tunnel area	Only to the cable car station
Walking	Free	-	No queue	Depends on trail	Namsan Dulle-gil loop is flat

Sources: fares and hours from N Seoul Tower's cable car and bus guides, VisitKorea and YTN Seoul Tower, November 2026. Accessibility notes from Ablenews, February 2024.

On the cable car, children aged 36 months to 12 years pay ₩11,500 return or ₩9,000 one way. Seniors and national merit recipients pay the child fare if they show proof. Jung-gu and Yongsan-gu residents pay ₩7,500 for an adult return if they show ID. Groups of 30 or more pay ₩13,500 per adult return and ₩10,500 per child return. Strong wind can stop the cable car.

The buses don't take cash. Tap a T-money card or a mobile transport card, and you get a transfer discount when you change from the subway. Some older guides still list a ₩1,400 bus fare, an ₩8,000 cable car ticket or intervals of 9 and 14 minutes. Those figures are out of date. Neither fare includes the observatory, which needs its own ticket.

What Does the Trip Cost for Two Adults?

Assuming two adults go up and come down once:

Cable car both ways: 2 × ₩15,000 = ₩30,000
Bus up, cable car down: 2 × (₩1,500 + ₩12,000) = ₩27,000
Cable car up, walk down: 2 × ₩12,000 = ₩24,000
Bus both ways: 2 × (₩1,500 × 2) = ₩6,000

The extra ₩24,000 for the cable car both ways pays for the view from the cabin, and it's only worth it on a weekday morning when you can board almost straight away. On a busy weekend you pay the same and may still queue for an hour. Taking the bus up and the cable car down saves ₩3,000 and skips the queue at the lower station.

Which Subway Exit for the Namsan Cable Car and Bus 01A/01B?

Use Myeongdong Exit 3 for the cable car, and Chungmuro Exit 2 or Dongguk University Exit 6 for the buses.

To the cable car

Take Line 4 to Myeongdong Station and leave by Exit 3.
Walk about 10 minutes, partly uphill, to the lower station. To skip the steepest part, ride the free Oreumi from the Namsan 3-ho Tunnel area. It doesn't run on Mondays before 14:00 or in strong wind or heavy rain.
Buy your ticket at the station and join the line.

To the circular buses

Top up a T-money card or set up a mobile transport card.
Take Line 3 or 4 to Chungmuro (Exit 2), or Line 3 to Dongguk University (Exit 6).
Get on whichever bus comes first, 01A or 01B, and tap your card. YTN Seoul Tower's guide confirms that both stop near these exits and at the tower.

Two route details help you plan. Bus 01A also starts at the Toegyero 3-ga / Namsangol Hanok Village / Korea House stop, so you can walk through Namsangol Hanok Village (남산골한옥마을) first. Bus 01B ends its loop at the Namsan Cable Car stop. That lets you go up by bus and still finish in Myeongdong.

When Is the Namsan Cable Car Least Crowded?

Weekdays from 10:00 to 11:00 are the quietest time. The cable car doesn't run before 10:00, so until then the bus is your only ride up, starting at 06:30. Ablenews reported waits of one to two hours on busy days, longest at weekends and around sunset. It advises going on a weekday.

Bus waits are easier to predict, because on average you wait half the time between buses. That's 3 to 4.5 minutes for 01A and 7.5 to 9 minutes for 01B. At the cable car, a peak queue plus the 10-minute walk from Exit 3 adds up to 70 to 130 minutes.

A one-hour queue is 13.3 to 20 times the average wait for 01A. That gives Seoul Now's rule of thumb: if the cable car line looks longer than about 20 minutes, the bus from Chungmuro is likely faster.

How to check crowds before you leave

Open Seoul Real-time City Data (서울 실시간 도시데이터) at data.seoul.go.kr/SeoulRtd.
Select 'Namsan Park'.
If the live crowd level shows busy, go to Chungmuro for the bus instead of queuing in Myeongdong.

If you're going for night views, watch the clock. The last cable car tickets go on sale at 22:30 for a return and 22:45 for one way, and the last buses leave around 23:00. If you'll stay past 22:30, plan to come down by bus.

Is the Namsan Cable Car Wheelchair Accessible? Tips for Families and Seniors

Yes. Ablenews reported in February 2024 that a wheelchair fits in the cabin with room to turn. The queues and slopes are the bigger problem, so choose the route that suits your group.

Wheelchair users

Go on a weekday. Ablenews listed a 2024 fare of ₩11,500 return for the traveller and one companion. The low-floor circular buses also take wheelchairs but get crowded at weekends. A car with a disability placard or a disability call taxi can take you straight to Namsan Plaza. The tower has accessible restrooms, tactile paving and ramps. In February 2024, Ablenews listed 30% off the observatory for visitors with a disability, plus a discount for companions. Confirm the current terms with the cable car office on 02-753-2403 or 02-757-1308.

Strollers and step-free walks

Take the Oreumi up to the cable car to avoid the steepest climb. It won't help on Mondays from 09:00 to 14:00 or in bad weather. Ablenews describes the Namsan Dulle-gil loop trail as flat, with tactile paving and restrooms about every 1 km.

Older parents

Seniors aged 65 and over pay the ₩11,500 child return fare if they show proof. Two seniors pay 2 × ₩11,500 = ₩23,000, which is ₩7,000 less than two adult returns. Foreign visitors should bring a passport and ask for the senior fare at the ticket window.

Families

Add two children to our two adults and the cable car return costs 2 × ₩15,000 + 2 × ₩11,500 = ₩53,000. The bus both ways costs at most ₩12,000, even if all four pay the adult fare. That makes the cable car ₩41,000 more expensive.

Halal, vegan and other diets

Eat in Myeongdong or near the palaces before you go up, or bring snacks. Ask restaurants directly about ingredients and halal or vegan certification.

Best Time and Route to Visit N Seoul Tower in November 2026

The best time is a weekday at 10:00 by cable car. At weekends, start with the bus. Choose one of these four plans, each priced for the same two adults:

Plan	Best for	Route	Transport cost for two adults
Weekday morning	First-timers who want the cable car ride	Myeongdong Exit 3 → Oreumi (not Mon before 14:00) → cable car up at 10:00 → bus or walk down	₩24,000 to ₩27,000
Weekend sunset	Couples and photographers	01A or 01B from Chungmuro Exit 2 in mid-afternoon → cable car or bus down after the evening rush	₩6,000 to ₩27,000
Palace plus tower	Sightseers on a budget	Gyeongbokgung or Anguk → 01A to the tower → bus down	₩6,000
Accessible	Wheelchair users	Low-floor bus or disability call taxi to Namsan Plaza; cable car on weekdays only	₩6,000 by bus

For first-timers, Seoul Now recommends the weekday morning plan. The queue is shortest at 10:00, and coming down by bus or on foot saves ₩3,000 to ₩6,000 compared with the ₩30,000 return. At weekends, do it the other way round. Take the bus up before the afternoon queue builds, then decide at the top whether the ride down is worth ₩12,000 each.

Before you leave, top up your transport card and check Namsan Park on Seoul Real-time City Data. On a weekday, be at Myeongdong Exit 3 by about 09:45, so the 10-minute walk gets you to the lower station as it opens. On a weekend, go to Chungmuro Exit 2, take the first 01A or 01B, and save the cable car for the way down.

Namsan Cable Car FAQ

Can I book the Namsan Cable Car online?

Buy your ticket at the lower station on the day you ride. For other questions, call the cable car office on 02-753-2403.

Does the cable car ticket include the N Seoul Tower observatory?

No. The observatory needs a separate ticket. Check the price on the tower's official site.

What time is the Namsan Cable Car least crowded?

Weekdays from 10:00 to about 11:00. On peak days, weekends and sunset bring waits of one to two hours.

Can I pay cash on bus 01A or 01B?

No. Tap a T-money card or a mobile transport card. The fare is ₩1,500.

Is the Myeongdong gondola open?

No. Work stopped at about 15% complete, and the city took the case to the Supreme Court in October 2026.