Busan Station First Hour: Subway Tickets, Lockers, the Shark Park and Pizza Tips
Just off the KTX at Busan Station? A first-hour checklist: subway ticket, luggage, the shark park and a famous pizza
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Busan Station is the first stop for most KTX travelers. This checklist follows the order you will need things: a subway ticket, somewhere to leave your bags, then, if you have the time, the waterfront park that became famous this autumn for a shark, and a pizza place that foreign visitors queue for.
Busan Station and its square Β· Photo: hyolee2 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
1. Subway ticket
Busan Station is on Line 1. The Busan Transportation Corp. English fare page lists adult fares (age 19 and over):
| Ticket | Section 1 | Section 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Transit card or mobile ticket | KRW 1,600 | KRW 1,800 |
| One-time QR ticket (station machine) | KRW 1,700 | KRW 1,900 |
Visit Busan says one-time QR tickets are sold by machines inside stations, and that transit cards also work. The fare page mentions no deposit. A reprint is free if you chose the wrong direction and fix it within 5 minutes at the same station, and you get a refund if you return to the same station within 10 minutes without boarding.
A Herald report from September 2026 says that choosing a foreign-language menu on the machines shows QR codes for WeChat Pay, KKday, Alipay+ and UnionPay. It does not name the languages. The same fare page lists a 1-day pass (KRW 6,000) and a 3-day pass (KRW 13,000) sold in the mobile app only, and these exclude buses, the Donghae Line and the BusanβGimhae light rail. Foreign tourists can buy them in the BUSAN Pay app, according to the city.
2. Leave your bags
The city’s luggage list shows ZimCarry inside KTX Busan Station, near Exit 5 on the building’s first floor, phone 1544-8215. It lists no hours or prices. The Busan Transportation Corp. also lists metro lockers run by With Locker (051-441-2100), with basic rates of KRW 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and 6,000 for small to extra-large, plus an extra fee after midnight. That page carries a 2015 copyright date, so treat the prices as old.
3. The waterfront park and the Bukangi shark
North Port Waterfront Park is at 164 Yisunsin-daero, Dong-gu. The city’s English page says it is about a 15-minute walk from Busan Station (Line 1), open 05:00β24:00. Phone: (051) 519-3500. A Nocut News report from October 2026 says a pedestrian bridge connects the station to the park.
This autumn a shark that swam into the park’s waterway made international news. Dated reports say:
| Date (2026) | What was reported |
|---|---|
| Sept 18 | First sighting in the waterway |
| Sept 26 | The city restricts access to the waterway area from 18:00 to 06:00 (one report; no later confirmation found) |
| Oct 5 | The city stops trying to guide the shark out and decides to watch; over 900,000 visitors by then |
| Oct 21β22 | A third rescue effort. The barrier is opened and the shark leaves the waterway. AP says about a month after it arrived, and reports more than 1.7 million visitors |
| Oct 24β27 | Seen near the International Passenger Terminal, about 2 km away. The last confirmed sighting is Oct 27 |
| Oct 30 | No sighting for days. Daily monitoring is suspended; authorities say they cannot conclude it has left the port |
The city says it will watch for visitors. Night flash photography at the waterway was a concern in October, and staff could only give verbal warnings. Be considerate near the water.
4. The pizza place near the station
Lee Jae-mo Pizza has a branch near Busan Station, listed at 197 Jungang-daero, 2F, with one report giving 10:00β21:00 Monday to Saturday and a last order at 20:20. Other sources give different closing times and days, and we found no official page, so check hours on a map app the day you go.
A June 2026 blog reports a long wait on a Saturday: a waiting number over 100 at about 09:30, seated around 11:10. The blogger says the waiting-registration machine is on the entrance stairs and that payment is by card at the table, with no cash. These are one person’s observations, not official policy. We found no mention of an English menu.
5. Where to go next
From here, Line 1 takes you to Nampo in 2 stops and to Seomyeon in 6, with no transfer. Our guide Busan Station, Seomyeon or Nampo? compares those areas, and the beaches are covered in Gwangalli or Haeundae?.
π¨ Compare Busan hotels on Agoda
Ratings, review counts and discounts are shown live from Agoda and refresh about every 6 hours. Prices change daily, so check the dates you need.
Bottom line
We have not tested this route for this guide. Information comes from the sources below, several of which are undated, and may change. As of October 31, 2026.
Cover: AI-generated illustration created for this site.
- Busan Transportation Corp. β fares
- Visit Busan β subway tickets and cards
- Busan City β North Port Waterfront Park
- Busan City β luggage storage list
- Busan Transportation Corp. β lockers
- Busan City β BUSAN Pay metro passes (2024)
- Herald β metro machines with foreign payment QR (Sept 2026)
- Nocut News β park and pedestrian bridge (Oct 2026)
- Korea JoongAng Daily β Busan stops guiding the shark (Oct 5)
- CTV/AP β officials free the shark
- Korea Times β monitoring halted (Oct 30)
- FN News β shark status (Oct 29)
- Blog report on pizza waits (June 2026)
