Transportation Between Seoul Hannam-dong and the Incheon and Gimpo Airport Terminals

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There are many ways to travel to and from Hannam BnB and the Seoul metro area airports including Incheon (ICN) and Gimpo (GMP). Options include taxicabs and jumbo taxi vans, limousine buses, city buses, and the AREX (Airport Express) rail line with the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.

Deciding how to travel to and from the airports may depend on how many people are in your party, how much luggage you’re carrying, your budget and how civilized you want to feel. The time spent or saved can be a toss-up. The “spoiler”: We prefer using taxicabs or jumbo taxi vans.

It is easy to queue for taxis and jumbo taxis at the airport and they all take Korean cash and domestic or foreign credit cards. A jumbo taxi van returning to the airport requires planning ahead. The good news is we “have a guy” and are happy to arrange personalized van service for you either way (subject to availability).

We’re going to focus mostly on Incheon Airport since that’s where most of our visitors are coming from. All walking times on this page consider slower movement due to luggage.

Buses

The airport limousine bus to/from ICN is a fairly pleasant ride, with lots of room to stow luggage, at ₩17,000 per person. Always consult the airport.kr website to be certain of availability, schedules and cost.

The 6030 Airport Limousine bus has returned to service as of August 2024. This is the bus we recommend. The Hangangjin / Blue Square and the Hannam-dong Airport Bus stops both leave you a 7~10 minute walk from our villa, just from different directions. From Hangangjin Station the walk is entirely downhill.

The 6010 Airport Limousine bus remains viable too but the Hannam-dong Airport Bus stops for the 6010 are a little farther from us, near UN Village on Dokseodang-ro just east of the Hannam Ogeori (five-way intersection) and leave you a 15~20 minute walk to our villa.

🛑 DO NOT TRUST Google’s recommendation of the 6702 bus!!!

Rail

There are two AREX train services between Incheon Airport and Seoul.

The AREX Express train service is 11,000 KRW and features comfortable assigned seating with non-stop service to Seoul Station. You would then have to take the Metro Line 1 or Line 4 from Seoul Station and transfer to Line 6 to reach us, or use a taxicab. Total fare may be about 12,500 KRW.

The AREX All Stops service is only 4,350~5,050 KRW and has typical subway car seating but the cars feature a luggage storage area. Adding the subway (from Seoul Station or from Gongdeok Station respectively to Hangangjin Station) to the AREX Express or AREX All-Stops brings the total fare to 4,450~5,050 KRW. The All Stops train allows an easy transfer to Line 6 at Gongdeok Station.

The walk from Hangangjin Station (Line 6) to our villa should be under 10 minutes.

In terms of convenience, Seoul Station is in our opinion unpleasant. It is a large and busy station and requires a long walk between the AREX tracks and the Line 1 or Line 4 Metro subway lines (needed to connect to the Line 6 to reach us). The signs at Seoul Station are not great (and very confusing specifically when going from AREX to the subway). The Express train is nice but we feel that much of the time you would save by not using the All Stops train via Gongdeok Station will inevitably be spent wandering Seoul Station.

When deciding between the Airport Limousine bus and the AREX, note that there are no racks for large luggage on the 1, 4 or 6 metro train lines.

Notes

Buses and taxis are of course completely subject to traffic – there are no HOV or bus-only lanes on the 88 or 70 highways across Seoul. But at worst that’s only going to add about half an hour to your travel time, which probably puts you in the same range as the Metro + AREX times.

The Airport Limousine bus and the AREX Express train have the benefit of feeling more civilized because of forward-facing assigned seating.

The Seoul Metro subway and the All Stops AREX train is remarkably inexpensive at 5,050 KRW total between Hangangjin Station and ICN T2.

At 80-100,000 KRW for a taxi or jumbo taxi, that is our personal preference. The very last thing we would wish to do is drag 100kg of luggage around subway stations and up and down Hannam-dong’s hills after sitting in an arid, cramped metal tube for fifteen hours. The good news is that all the Metro stations have elevators. But some are tucked into odd corners and may require extra attention to locate.

If you like watching the scenery, the buses and taxis don’t spend much time in tunnels.

The relative economy of taxis obviously improves with party size.

And, a word about what constitutes the “front” of Seoul Station. Exit 15 is a main gate on the west side of Seoul Station where the AREX and KTX trains are, along with taxi stands. Exit 1 is a main gate at the east side of Seoul Station where you may find city buses and the Metro subway lines, the old Seoul Station (now a historical site) and Lotte stores. The “front” side of the station seems to depend mostly on who you ask so if you’re meeting someone, be more specific.

Another interesting option at Seoul Station instead of transferring to the Metro is to transfer to a city bus from Seoul Station to Hannam-dong. But city buses have no place to stow luggage so this is only for very light travelers. And with three or four bus stop lanes, finding the correct bus outside Seoul Station can be confusing. The 402 bus (to the bus stop called “Soon Chun Hyang”, actually in front of Gourmet 494 on Hannam-daero) and the 405 bus (bus stop called “Hangangjin Station Blue Square” on Itaewon-ro) both offer nice views of Seoul as they follow the twisty road along the southwest edge of Namsan.

Gimpo Airport

Taxi fare to/from GMP should be about 2/3rds the usual fares to/from ICN.

The AREX All-Stops train or the Metro Line 5 (transfer at Gongdeok Station to the Metro Line 6 to Hangangjin Station) will cost only 1,700 KRW per passenger. T-Money card required.

City buses may be used for Gimpo (for example the 601 and transfer to 472) but the usual warnings about the lack of luggage storage and the cramped seating and aisles. There is no Limousine Airport Bus service at Gimpo.

If you’re traveling to or from Gimpo Airport via the Metro, and have time to spare, Lotte Mall offers lots of opportunities to eat and shop, and has a huge variety of regional foods and well-known international brands. The entrance to the shopping mall is conveniently located between Gimpo’s Metro station and the airport terminal.

Payment

Visitors to Korea should immediately buy and fill a T-money card. These cards may be purchased at convenience stores and at airport kiosks for about 4,000 KRW and up. They must then be filled with cash using Korean currency only. When you’re ready to leave the country you may have up to 20,000 KRW cash refunded from the card at any convenience store.

Taxicabs in Korea take cash, credit cards (foreign and domestic) and T-money.

To use the Metro subway and city buses you will need a T-money card. The AREX All Stops train also requires T-money.

You may purchase tickets for the AREX Express Train using Korean cash or foreign or domestic credit cards but not T-money.

To purchase tickets for the Airport Limousine Bus you may use credit cards.

This information was mostly current as of September 2024. Please call or check the web sites and Naver pages/maps to confirm information.

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