Kakao T (카카오 T) is Korea's taxi-hailing app. Install it, sign up with a Kakao Account, verify your phone number, and you can call a metered regular taxi or one of several higher tiers, all from the same app.
Signing up and verifying your phone
Kakao T's own help pages state you sign up with a Kakao Account: "카카오 T 앱은 카카오 계정으로 간편하게 가입할 수 있어요" (you can easily sign up for the Kakao T app with a Kakao Account). After you create the account, the app requires phone-based identity verification. Kakao frames this step as fraud prevention: "부정 이용 시도를 예방하고 안전한 거래 환경을 위해 본인인증 절차를 진행하고 있어요" (identity verification runs to prevent fraudulent use attempts and keep the transaction environment safe).
Kakao does not publish, in those exact words, a rule that the verified number must be a Korea-issued number. Many foreign residents report the verification step failing on a non-Korean number. If your foreign number will not pass Kakao T's verification, the fallbacks later in this guide, street hailing and the International Taxi program, work without a Kakao T account.
Switching the app to English
Open Settings inside the app and look for a Language option; menu layouts change between app versions, so hunt around Settings if it moves.
Do not expect every label inside the app to switch to English. Exit numbers, fare figures, and time displays are numerals, readable regardless of language.
The vehicle tiers, and what actually differs
Kakao T's own service pages describe the tiers by car and driver: a regular taxi (중형택시) is sedan-size, a large taxi (대형택시) is van-size and priced a little higher than regular, and a premium taxi (모범택시) runs on a fare schedule different from a regular taxi's.
Seoul's own regulated fare table sorts the tiers differently for pricing purposes. Regular, large, and premium taxis are ordinary metered taxis under a government-set fare. Kakao Venti is filed as a large-van taxi with its own metered base fare plus a surge multiplier. Kakao Black is filed as a premium taxi, a different licensing category using combined time-and-distance metering with a surge multiplier. These are officially filed rates, all quoted directly from Seoul's table.
| Tier | Daytime base fare | Per-distance / per-time increment | Surge multiplier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular (중형택시) | ₩4,800 for first 1.6 km | ₩100 per 131 m or 30 sec | None |
| Premium & large (모범택시 / 대형택시) | ₩7,000 for first 3 km | ₩200 per 151 m or 36 sec | None |
| Kakao Blue (카카오 T 블루) | Same as regular, plus a variable platform fee | Same as regular | None |
| Kakao T Venti (카카오 T 벤티) | ₩4,000 for first 0.8 km | ₩100 per 123 m or 40 sec | 0.8x to 4.0x |
| Kakao T Black (카카오 T 블랙) | ₩6,000, no free distance | ₩100 per 71.4 m or 15 sec | 0.7x to 4.0x |
For most foreign residents, a regular call is the practical starting point: no platform fee, no surge multiplier, and the widest driver pool. Reach for Venti when your group and luggage need a van. Reach for Black when you want a chauffeured ride and are comfortable with a fare that can multiply during high demand.
Late-night and out-of-zone surcharges
A regular taxi's late-night surcharge (심야할증) has two steps: 20% between 22:00-23:00 and 02:00-04:00 (base rises to ₩5,800), and 40% between 23:00 and 02:00 (base rises to ₩6,700). Premium and large taxis add a flat 20% across the whole 22:00-04:00 window (base rises to ₩8,400).
A trip that leaves Seoul city limits adds a separate out-of-zone surcharge (시계외 할증) of 20%. For a regular taxi, this can stack with the late-night surcharge up to a combined 60%. For premium and large taxis, the late-night surcharge stays flat at 20%, so the same stacking caps out at a combined 40%.
Platform and cancellation fees
These fees are Kakao's own, set by the platform rather than by Seoul's fare table, and published in Kakao's fee schedule. The pattern is consistent across tiers: a regular call carries no platform fee and no cancellation fee. Blue and Premium calls can add a demand-based platform fee, and canceling one more than a short grace period after a driver is assigned costs a cancellation fee. Venti and Black skip the platform fee and set their own cancellation terms. For a reserved Venti or Black call, treat the booking as a commitment: check the cancellation terms the app shows before confirming, and cancel promptly if plans change. The current fee amounts per tier and region are in Kakao's fee schedule, linked in the sources, so check there before you rely on a number.
Tolls are on top of the meter
Kakao's help pages confirm tolls are the rider's cost: "네, 목적지 이동 중 톨게이트를 지났다면 지불해야 해요" (yes, if you pass through a tollgate on the way to your destination, you need to pay it). The toll is added to the metered fare: "이 경우 보통 택시 미터기 요금과 통행료를 합산하여 결제해요" (in this case, the taxi meter fare and the toll are usually combined and charged together).
Paying with a foreign card
Kakao's payment FAQ lists which cards work, in a specific order: "해외발급카드 - 등록: 국외에서 발행된 신용/체크카드 (VISA, MASTER, JCB, AMEX 총 4개사) - 사용 가능 서비스: 택시, 바이크, 펫" (foreign-issued card, registration: credit/check cards issued outside Korea, four companies: VISA, MASTER, JCB, AMEX, available services: taxi, Bike, Pet).
That scope matters. Foreign-issued cards are confirmed for a regular taxi call, Bike, and Pet. The same FAQ does not list Venti, Black, or parking auto-pay as accepting a foreign-issued card. Do not assume a foreign card will register for those services; check inside the app before you rely on it.
Card registration also requires a name match: "카카오 T 앱에 가입한 계정 명의와 동일 명의의 카드인 경우 등록이 가능해요. 단, 카드사의 정책에 따라 일부 카드는 결제수단으로 등록이 어려울 수 있어요." (a card can be registered if the name on it matches the name on your Kakao T account. Some cards may still be difficult to register, depending on the card company's own policy.) Register a card from the app: My Info, then Payment Methods.
Paying without a registered card
For a regular call only, you can select direct payment (직접결제) and pay the driver in cash or by card, with no card registered in the app at all: "현금으로 결제를 원하신다면 택시 호출 시, 결제수단을 [직접결제]로 선택하면 돼요. 직접결제로 호출할 때는 카드 정보를 등록하지 않아도 이용할 수 있어요." (if you want to pay in cash, select [direct payment] as your payment method when you call a taxi. When you call with direct payment, you can use the service without registering card information.) Kakao's own note limits this option: "직접결제 호출은 일반 호출에서만 이용이 가능합니다." (a direct-payment call is available for a regular call only.)
When no driver accepts your call
Kakao T's built-in fix for a slow late-night pickup is the booster call (부스터호출): "부스터 호출은 심야 승차난의 대책으로 '일반 호출'에 이용료를 추가하여 호출할 수 있는 선택옵션이에요. 부스터 호출을 이용하면 기사님에게 목적지를 표기하지 않아요." (booster call is an optional add-on to a regular call, as a measure against the late-night ride shortage. If you use a booster call, your destination is not shown to the driver.)
It only runs in specific places and hours: "서비스 지역: 서울, 경기, 인천 - 서비스 시간: 22시 ~ 03시" (service area: Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon; service hours: 22:00 to 03:00). The optional fee is capped in the app, and canceling more than a short grace period after a driver is assigned triggers its own cancellation fee per Kakao's fee schedule, so treat a booster call as a commitment rather than a probe.
If a booster call is not available where you are, or it still does not find a driver, three fallbacks work outside the app:
- Switch to a higher tier. Blue, Venti, or Black draw from a different, often smaller, pool of drivers, and can pick up when a regular call keeps failing.
- Call 1333. A long-standing nationwide call-taxi number, run under Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport policy, lets you dial 1333 with no area code and describe your location to a dispatcher. This service has been running since at least 2014; check locally that it is still active in your area before relying on it.
- Street-hail a taxi. Hailing a taxi directly from the street remains available across most of Korea, independent of any app.
Airport runs
A regular Kakao T call to or from the airport runs on the ordinary meter, plus tolls. There is no special Kakao T flat fare for a standard call.
Kakao Black runs its own separate airport zone-fare plan, distinct from its metered rate, according to Seoul's fare table. The table confirms the plan exists but does not publish the won amount, so this guide cannot state a figure for it. Ask the fare inside the app before you rely on Black for an airport transfer.
Separately, the government-linked International Taxi (외국인관광택시) program offers foreign visitors a flat zone fare between Incheon International Airport and Seoul, tolls included, priced by destination district and vehicle size.
| Zone | Destination districts | Mid-size fare | Large / premium fare |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Gangseo | ₩70,000 | ₩100,000 |
| B | Yangcheon, Guro, Yeongdeungpo, Mapo, Eunpyeong, Seodaemun | ₩75,000 | ₩110,000 |
| C | Geumcheon, Gwanak, Dongjak, Yongsan, Jung, Jongno | ₩85,000 | ₩120,000 |
| D | Seocho, Gangnam, Seongdong, Dongdaemun, Seongbuk, Gangbuk | ₩90,000 | ₩130,000 |
| E | Songpa, Gangdong, Gwangjin, Jungnang, Nowon, Dobong | ₩95,000 | ₩140,000 |
This program is separate from Kakao T. A charter rate by the hour also exists. No fixed-fare figures for a Gimpo Airport transfer were found in an official source, so this guide does not quote one.
Tipping
Kakao's own help pages describe an optional thank-you tip (감사팁): "감사팁은 카카오 T의 블루파트너스, 모범, 벤티, 블랙, 펫 서비스를 이용 후 만족도가 높은 경우 기사님에게 감사를 표시할 수 있는 자율적인 기능이에요" (thank-you tip is a voluntary feature that lets you show appreciation to your driver after a satisfying ride on Kakao T's Blue Partners, Premium, Venti, Black, or Pet service). The amounts are small fixed presets chosen in the app, and the full tip, minus card fees, goes to the driver immediately per the same help page.
The feature does not exist after a regular call. Tipping is not a general expectation in Korean taxis. This in-app tip is Kakao T's own optional, capped feature, not a cash norm to carry into other rides.
Kakao T Bike
Kakao's own description covers what Bike does: "카카오 T 바이크는 카카오 T 앱을 이용해 주변에 있는 전기자전거, 일반자전거, 전동킥보드를 이용하는 서비스예요. 카카오 T 앱에서 주변에 있는 자전거나 킥보드를 찾아 이용한 후, 서비스 지역 내 원하는 곳에 반납할 수 있어요." (Kakao T Bike is a service that lets you use nearby e-bikes, regular bikes, and e-scooters through the Kakao T app. Find a nearby bike or scooter in the app, use it, then return it anywhere you like within the service zone.)
Bike accepts a wider set of payment methods than a taxi call: "① 신용/체크카드 ② 카카오페이, 페이머니 ③ 해외발급카드 (VISA, MASTER, JCB, AMEX) ④ 휴대폰 소액결제 ⑤ T포인트 ⑥ 가족계정" (credit/check card, KakaoPay/PayMoney, foreign-issued card [VISA, MASTER, JCB, AMEX], phone micro-payment, T-point, family account). No official price per minute or per unlock is published for Kakao T Bike. Check the price shown in the app before you confirm a rental.
Parking
Kakao T's parking feature centers on a prepaid parking ticket (주차권): reserve a spot and pay ahead for a single visit, or use a monthly pass. If you are charged again at the gate despite a prepaid reservation, Kakao directs you to its own in-app support rather than an automatic refund: "현장결제가 발생한 경우 해당화면 가장아래 '카카오 T 고객센터'로 문의해 주시면 신속한 처리를 도와드릴게요!" (if an on-site payment was charged, contact "Kakao T Customer Center" at the bottom of that screen, and it will help resolve it quickly.)
Parking prices are set by each individual lot operator, not by city ordinance the way taxi fares are, so no fixed pricing table applies across the board.
Quick setup summary
- Install Kakao T and sign up with a Kakao Account plus phone verification.
- Open Settings and set Language to English.
- Call a regular taxi first. Switch to Blue, Venti, or Black if you need more capacity or a different ride.
- Register a foreign-issued Visa, Mastercard, JCB, or AMEX card for taxi, Bike, or Pet, or select direct payment for a regular call.
- If nobody accepts your call late at night, try a booster call, then 1333, then street-hailing.
For the wider context on how Naver and Kakao's apps fit into daily digital life in Korea, see the Naver vs. Kakao guide. For walking and transit directions, see the Naver Map guide.