The awkward part of a group outing often happens before it begins: some people have reached the pier while others are still at the station, and everyone hopes to board the same boat. Hangang Bus has introduced advance booking for weekday groups of 10–30 at Magok and Jamsil. Reservations opened on 19 October, with reserved boarding from 20 October.
The weekday service supplements the existing queue. Book through Naver Map or Place by the previous day and arrive 30 minutes early. It is a group pilot, not universal individual reserved seating.
Seoul Metropolitan Government and Hangang headquarters group-booking guidance checked on 23 October 2026. The fares, previous-day 23:59 cutoff and requirement to reach the pier 30 minutes early are published pilot conditions. Check each pier’s reservation screen separately for bookable dates and departures.
What the reservation actually changes
For a school outing or a group of colleagues, the difficult part of a river trip is often getting everyone onto the same departure. The existing Hangang Bus arrangement distributes numbered tickets at the pier in arrival order. Seoul says the new pilot responds to repeated requests from organisations that want to settle that uncertainty before bringing a group to the waterfront. It adds a limited advance-booking route alongside the existing system. It does not establish reserved seating for every individual traveller, every pier or every day of the week.
From booking screen to boarding
The announced pilot covers weekday departures from Magok and Jamsil. A booking must contain 10–30 passengers, and the total reservation allocation is capped at 30 for one departure. In Naver Map or Naver Place, select the pier, travel date, route, departure time and passenger details, then pay in advance through Naver Pay. Published standard fares are ₩3,000 for adults, ₩1,800 for teenagers and ₩1,100 for children; calculate the total using the actual age mix rather than multiplying the adult fare automatically.
The group must reach its designated pier at least 30 minutes before departure for staff verification and safety instructions. Reservations and refunds close at 11:59 p.m. on the previous day. The opening date of each booking period is to be announced on the reservation page, so a missing future date should not be treated as a confirmed sold-out sailing. Seoul plans to review payment, booking and on-site procedures during the pilot before considering expansion. For visitors organising a trip, the practical next step is to check the live booking page and ferry operator, then allow enough time for the walk to the actual pier.
From reservation to boarding
📍 Choose a pier
Naver Map or Place · Magok or Jamsil · weekday departures
📅 Choose the trip
Date, departure and passenger details · 10–30 people per booking · reservation allocation capped at 30 per departure
🎫 Pay and confirm
Pay with Naver Pay. Booking and refund cutoff: 23:59 on the previous day.
⛴️ Arrive 30 minutes early
Staff check the reservation and give safety instructions before boarding.
Jamsil Pier booking (Korean) ↗
Published pilot procedure. Confirm the live departure and availability on the linked reservation page.
Hangang Bus ride and pier reviews
A seated break after a run
A passenger who boarded at Ttukseom after running in July appreciated the spacious waiting area, departure display and comfortable seats aboard. The trip felt like part of the rest after exercise. This predates the October group-booking pilot and does not establish a guarantee of particular seats.Familiar Seoul from another angle
The same passenger described watching the river through broad windows, then photographing the water, bridges and skyline from the outdoor deck. The appeal was seeing a familiar city differently. That experience suggests an outing built around river views, rather than judging the journey only by how quickly it gets you elsewhere.Somewhere to sit at Magok
A separate July visit highlighted chairs, parasols and river breezes at Magok’s waterfront rest area. A resident interviewed there appreciated being able to sit instead of waiting on tired legs. This describes the surroundings at the pier, not a report of boarding without a wait.
Plan the boat booking and the group meeting separately. For example, the basic one-way fare for 10 adults and five teenagers totals ₩39,000. Confirm numbers and ages first, then share a precise meeting point at the pier and a gathering time with room before the mandatory 30-minute check-in. Reaching the subway station is not the same as reaching the boarding desk.
A little closer to Korea.
Thank you for reading.
