Ask for the M-Pass but before that, plan carefully as you have to decide between purchasing the one-day pass ( which costs 10,000 won and lets you take up to 20 subway trips ) or opt for the 2-day, 3-day or 7-day pass instead.
According to the Korean Herald and Yonhap News, " The passes currently are only for travel on subway lines and a railway linking Incheon International Airport to Seoul, but will later be expanded to include all regular buses in the capital area. Discounts on admissions to royal palaces and other tourist destinations will also be given to foreigners with passes."
Never really bothered about checking out passes for transportation around Seoul before but now that I've done a bit of surfing, the options seem to be increasing and at the same time, a tad migraine-inducing if you're like me and hate making consumer comparisons.
Seoul City Plus Passes - Choices Within Choices
I'll leave you to do the math.
The assumption seems to be that most tourists prefer to make Seoul their base but what about those who are not particularly keen on spending so much time in the capital?
Personally, I'd prefer to have a travel pass that gets me on any provincial, local and inter-city bus so that I can travel out from Incheon International Airport, avoid the traffic snarls of Seoul and head directly for the hills. It's early days yet so it would be interesting to see which cities or towns outside Seoul will be involved in this scheme.
sources:
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20111020000820
http://visitkorea.or.kr/enu/SI/SI_EN_3_6.jsp?cid=261307
http://asiaenglish.visitkorea.or.kr/ena/TR/TR_EN_5_4.jsp
