2026 Chuseok KTX Ticket Booking Schedule and Unified Membership Checklist

To book 2026 Chuseok train tickets, first check the travel date, booking date for each route, and your membership status. Booking applies to designated trains listed in the announcement that operate from September 23 to 27, 2026. Advance booking for passengers with transportation needs begins on September 3, while general booking begins on September 7. Online booking is available through the Korea Railroad Corporation’s official ticket booking channel.

Eligible Trains and What to Prepare

Eligible Trains and Travel Period

This holiday booking period covers designated trains listed in the announcement that operate from September 23 to 27, 2026. The trains actually available for sale may vary, so check whether a train is operating on the search screen.

Deciding on the following information before booking will help you use the limited connection time efficiently.

• Departure and arrival stations
• Departure date and preferred time range
• One-way or round trip
• Number of passengers and seating requirements
• Alternative train to choose if your first-choice train is sold out
• Payment method, such as the card you will use

Eligibility for Advance Booking for Passengers with Transportation Needs

Advance booking is available to people with disabilities, eligible seniors, national merit recipients eligible for transportation assistance, and others specified in the official announcement. Advance registration or eligibility verification may be required depending on the eligibility category, so check your membership information and eligibility registration status before the booking date.

If you are unable to secure a seat through advance booking, you can check again during general booking or subsequent sales of remaining seats. Being eligible for advance booking does not itself guarantee a seat assignment.

2026 Chuseok Train Ticket Booking Schedule

General booking does not make all routes available simultaneously on a single day. Because eligible routes are divided by date, you must check the route containing your departure station and its booking date, not the train type, in the route table in the official notice. If operating lines overlap or the route classification of the departure station is unclear, check both the ticket search results and the official announcement.

Because the announcement details or trains offered for sale may be adjusted, the latest guidance posted by the Korea Railroad Corporation takes precedence immediately before booking.

Integrated Railroad Membership Conversion Checklist

Because Chuseok 2026 is the first holiday booking period under the integrated high-speed rail system, existing SR members must check whether they have converted to an integrated railroad membership before booking. If you attempt the conversion after booking begins, identity verification or duplicate-account checks may reduce the time available for making a reservation.

1. Log in with your existing account on the official ticket booking page.
2. Check whether guidance on integrated membership conversion or membership information verification appears.
3. If you have an existing SR account, follow the instructions to complete identity verification and account linking.
4. Update notification contact information, such as your mobile phone number and email address.
5. Log out, then test whether you can log back in with the integrated membership account.
6. If an old account is saved in password autofill, replace it with the correct account.

Creating a new account first because you do not remember your account may result in duplication with your existing membership information. First use the ID recovery and identity verification options, and if the issue remains unresolved, follow the official customer service center’s guidance.

How to Book Through the Official Channel

1. Check the Booking Date for Each Route

Find the booking date based on your departure station in the route table organized by date in the official announcement. If the departure stations for the outbound and return journeys belong to different routes, their booking dates may differ, so check each one separately.

2. Log In Before Booking Begins

Prepare your integrated railroad membership account, password, and identity verification method. Repeatedly connecting through multiple browser windows or devices may reset the queue or login session, so it is better to maintain one stable session according to the on-screen instructions.

3. Select a Train Within the Time Limit

The holiday booking screen may limit the available time and number of reservation requests after login. The remaining time or number of available requests is generally shown on the screen, so use that display as the final standard. Writing down your preferred train numbers and alternative time ranges in advance can reduce the time spent repeating searches.

4. Check the Number of Tickets Booked

Check the official guidance and actual booking screen for the per-transaction and per-person booking limits. Round-trip tickets also count toward the total limit, so verify the number actually applied on the reservation confirmation screen. If a separate restriction is displayed for a train or booking type, the conditions shown on that screen take precedence.

5. Save the Reservation Number and Payment Deadline

Even after selecting seats, ticket issuance is not complete until payment is made. Check the reservation number, train time, travel date, travel segment, and payment closing time, and save the reservation details screen.

Payment and Automatic Cancellation Rules

Payment begins on September 12. However, do not assume that the same closing time applies to every reservation. You must follow the payment deadline shown in the reservation details. Different payment deadlines may apply to advance bookings for passengers with transportation needs and general online bookings.

Reservations not paid by the payment deadline will be automatically canceled after the deadline and the seats may be placed back on sale. A screenshot of the reservation screen or a reservation number alone is not a valid ticket, so confirm that payment and ticket issuance have been completed.

After making payment, check the following items.

• Whether the status shows payment or ticket issuance completed rather than reserved
• Whether the travel date and departure time are correct
• Whether the direction between the departure and arrival stations is correct
• Whether the number of passengers and seats is correct
• Whether a payment approval notification has arrived

How to Use the Waitlist When a Train Is Sold Out

If a waitlist button appears for a sold-out train, you can apply for the waitlist. Waitlisting is not available for every train or seat, and joining the waitlist does not itself mean that a seat has been secured.

1. Check whether waitlisting is available for a sold-out train in the ticket search results.
2. Apply for the waitlist and verify notification information such as your mobile phone number.
3. Check the assignment status directly on My Page or in your reservation details.
4. If a seat is assigned, pay within the stated payment deadline.
5. Because the assigned seat may be canceled if the deadline passes, do not rely solely on notifications; check your reservation details again.

Along with joining the waitlist, you can search nearby time ranges, different departure stations, and transfer combinations. However, separately check whether the transfer time is sufficient and review the payment and cancellation conditions for each segment.

Checks to Reduce Booking-Day Failures

The parts that are easy to overlook in the schedule guidance are recovering login access and confirming payment, rather than searching for seats. Checking the following items immediately before booking can reduce the risk of losing time because of account issues.

• Check whether pop-up blocking is enabled and whether required security programs are running.
• Use the mobile or PC environment on which you tested logging in beforehand.
• Remove outdated SR or Korail passwords saved in your browser.
• Make sure the mobile phone that will receive verification messages is nearby.
• Note at least 3 preferred trains and alternative stations.
• After successfully making a reservation, add a payment deadline reminder to your calendar.
• Distinguish between the payment completion screen and the final ticket when checking them.

Do not enter your account password or card information if a message outside the official booking page requests it. A screenshot or reservation number received during a ticket transaction is not sufficient to verify that it is a valid ticket.

What to Check Before Making Changes or Cancellations

If you need to change your itinerary after booking, check whether an alternative seat is available before canceling the existing ticket. During the holiday period, a seat may be sold to another customer immediately after cancellation, making it impossible to secure the same seat again.

Cancellation and refund fees may vary depending on when the cancellation is made and whether it occurs before or after the train’s departure. Check the refund conditions shown on the payment screen and ticket, and determine whether procedures at a station ticket counter or through the customer service center are required after the train has departed.