Last summer I took my parents on the Hangang Bus, Seoul’s public river ferry, from Mangwon Pier to Yeouido. Twenty minutes on the water for 3,000 won. When we got off and walked into Yeouido Park, I noticed the cruise terminal right next door.

My reaction at the time was blunt. Why would anyone pay ten times as much for that? You can step out onto the deck of the Hangang Bus too. You get the same river, the same skyline, the same wind in your face.

So that is what I wrote back then: skip the cruise, take the ferry.

A few months later I took the cruise. I changed my mind, and this guide explains why.

The short answer

These two are not competitors. They are different categories of thing, and I had been weighing them on the wrong scale.

• Treat the Hangang Bus as transport and it is excellent. Cheap, quick, scenic, no booking.
• Treat the Hangang Bus as a cruise and it is a taster. Twenty minutes, no fountain, no programme.
• If you have the time and the budget, take the cruise.

The mistake I made was comparing them on price alone. But the ferry has a destination and the cruise does not. One moves you, the other holds you. That is the whole difference.

First, the names

English search results for this are a mess, so here is the short version.

• Hangang Bus is the public river ferry, run by the Seoul city government.
• Eland Cruise (also E-Cruise) is a private cruise operator, sailing from Yeouido and Jamsil.
• Seoul Cruise is a different private company, not a generic term. Yeouido only.
• Han River cruise and Hangang cruise are category words, not brands. Han River and Hangang are the same river.

So: one public ferry, two private cruise companies, one river.

What the Hangang Bus is actually like

You tap a transit card at the gate, exactly like the subway. T-money, Cashbee or the Climate Card all work, and the transfer discount applies. Adult 3,000 won, youth 1,800, child 1,100.

At Mangwon the pier hands out numbered tickets from an hour before departure. On a quiet day you can just sit and wait. When it gets busy the numbers control how many people board.

The cabin is clean and the air conditioning is strong, which in a Korean summer is not a small thing. One step people miss: scan the QR code at your seat to check in. You need it when you get off, so do it as soon as you sit down.

And here is the part that fooled me. Once you have checked in, you can go out on deck. Wind, open river, photographs. Standing out there, it honestly felt like a cruise. That is exactly why I assumed the paid version was a rip-off.

The ride is stable, no seasickness, and Mangwon to Yeouido took twenty minutes. We got off, walked through Yeouido Park and the riverside park, and ended up at The Hyundai Seoul. A good half-day loop.

What the cruise is actually like

Months later I took the Moonlight Music Cruise from Jamsil with another family, four children between us.

Same river, completely different shape of time. It runs 100 minutes, five times the ferry, and those 100 minutes are not spent travelling somewhere. They are programmed.

You leave Jamsil, pass under a run of lit bridges, and reach Banpo Bridge, where the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain shoots water sideways off both edges of the deck. It is recognised as the longest bridge fountain in the world, and from the boat you see it head-on from the middle of the river.

On the way back a live set starts on board. The night I went there was also a drone light show over the river, which is a separate city event rather than part of the cruise, but we watched it from the deck with Lotte World Tower in the same frame.

There is indoor table seating by the windows, which mattered more than I expected. On a 20-minute ferry nobody needs a seat. On a 100-minute sailing with children, you do.

So what was actually different?

The deck is the same. The skyline is the same. Three things are not.

1. What the time is for

Twenty minutes on the ferry is twenty minutes of travelling. The view is a bonus. A hundred minutes on the cruise is time you are spending, and the view is the point. Twenty minutes is over by the time you have taken a few photos.

2. The fountain

The Banpo fountain is only on the evening cruise routes. Hangang Bus lines are not built around it, and no ferry timetable is going to put you in front of it.

3. The programme

Live music sounds like a gimmick until you hear it with city lights sliding past the window. On its own the set would be ordinary. In that setting it is not. The ferry has nothing like this, and no reason to.

Side by side

If you pick the cruise: which company?

Two operators run almost the same routes, so choose on price and departure pier.

Basic route, Yeouido to Seogang Bridge and back, 40 to 50 minutes

• Seoul Cruise, Hi Seoul Cruise: daily 14:00 / 16:00 / 17:30 · 50 min · 23,700 adult / 16,200 child
• Eland, Hangang Tour Cruise: daily daytime · 40 min · 19,900 / 13,900
• Eland, Sunset Cruise: daily 17:00 or 18:00 by season · 40 min · 23,900 / 16,900
• Eland, Starlight Cruise: daily 22:00 · 50 min · 23,900 / 16,900

Night route, Yeouido to Banpo Bridge and back, 70 minutes

• Seoul Cruise, Starlight Aurora Cruise: daily 19:30 · 70 min · 37,000 / 27,500
• Eland, Moonlight Music Cruise: daily 19:00 / 20:30 · 70 min · 32,900 / 22,900

Same route, same 70 minutes, 4,100 won apart per adult. For a family of four that is close to 20,000 won. Seoul Cruise runs bigger vessels and a newer terminal, but you cannot choose which boat you get with either company.

Boarding at Jamsil? You have one option

This is not well documented in English. Seoul Cruise does not operate from Jamsil. It is Yeouido only.

So if your plans centre on Lotte World Tower, Lotte World or Seokchon Lake, the Eland sailing from Jamsil is effectively your only choice. The upside is that the Jamsil Moonlight Music Cruise runs 100 minutes rather than 70, because Jamsil is further from Banpo Bridge. Same fare, thirty extra minutes on the water.

The cost, plainly

Two adults and two children:

• Hangang Bus, one way: 8,200 won
• Hangang Tour Cruise, 40 min: 67,600 won
• Moonlight Music Cruise, 100 min: 111,600 won

Thirteen times the price. But 8,200 won does not include a fountain, a performance or 100 minutes, and 111,600 won does not take you anywhere. That is why the comparison breaks down.

Take the ferry if

• You actually need to get between Yeouido, Mangwon, Seoul Forest or Ttukseom
• You want to be on the Han River once, cheaply
• You are moving on impulse and do not want to book
• You left your passport at the hotel
• You have a small child and twenty minutes is plenty

Take the cruise if

• This is the main event of the evening
• You want to see the Banpo fountain properly
• It is an anniversary, or you are hosting parents or visitors
• You need somewhere to sit for a while
• You have the time and the budget

Or do both in one day

If you are in Seoul for a few days there is no reason to choose. Ride the Hangang Bus from Mangwon to Yeouido in the afternoon, walk through Yeouido Park, then take a cruise in the evening. You pay 8,200 won for the transport and see the river two completely different ways, in daylight and after dark.

The Yeouido ferry pier and the cruise terminal are a short walk apart, which is how this whole comparison started.

Frequently asked questions

Can the Hangang Bus replace a cruise?
If you just want to be on the river, yes. If you are expecting a cruise experience, it is a taster. You can go out on deck and the atmosphere is similar, but it is twenty minutes with no fountain and no performance.

Is Seoul Cruise the same as a Han River cruise?
No. Seoul Cruise is a company name. Han River cruise is the category. There are two companies on the river, Seoul Cruise and Eland Cruise.

Can I take Seoul Cruise from Jamsil?
No. Seoul Cruise sails from Yeouido only. Departures from Jamsil are Eland Cruise.

Can you go outside on the Hangang Bus?
Yes. Once you have scanned the QR code at your seat to check in, you can go out on the open deck while the ferry is moving. A lot of people never realise this and stay inside the whole way.

Can I choose my seat on a cruise?
No. Neither operator assigns seats. Queue early, that is the only method.

What about rain?
Skip the cruise. Even if it sails, the fountain may not run, and an umbrella is useless once the boat picks up speed. The ferry is transport, so weather matters much less.

Do I need ID for both?
Only the cruise. Bring your passport or ARC, a phone photo is accepted. The ferry needs nothing but a transit card.

Where I landed

Before I took the cruise I was firmly on the ferry’s side. You can stand on deck, you get the night view, and it costs a tenth as much.

Here is how I put it now. As transport, the Hangang Bus is excellent. As a cruise, it is a taster.

And if I have the time and the budget, I take the cruise.

Full guides to both: Hangang Bus Guide and Han River Cruise from Jamsil.

Written by WY, a Seoul-based local sharing honest, first-hand guides to Korea. Every guide here is a place I’ve actually been to, written from my own visit, my own photos. More about me →