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). These 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 recommend using a taxicab or jumbo taxi van.

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. It can be more complicated to get a jumbo taxi van going back. The good news is we “have a guy” and are happy to arrange personalized van service for you either way (subject to availability).

Some quick notes about economy and practicality. We’re going to focus mostly on Incheon Airport since that’s where most of our visitors are coming from.

The airport limousine bus (use the 6010 to Hannam-dong) to/from ICN is a fairly pleasant ride, with lots of room to stow luggage, at ₩17,000 per person. The Hannam-dong Airport Bus stops are near UN Village on Dokseodang-ro just east of the Hannam Ogeori and leave you a 20-minute walk to our villa.

Experienced travelers familiar with the more-convenient 6030 bus please note that this bus is currently not in service. It never returned after COVID. Some web sites still mention it. Some bus stops marked 6030 still exist. Always consult the airport.kr website to be certain.

The AREX Express train service is 9,500 KRW and features comfortable assigned seating with non-stop service to Seoul Station. The AREX All Stops Service is only 3,500. Adding the subway (from Seoul Station or from Geongdok Station respectively to Hangangjin Station) to either one is another 1,200 or so KRW. The walk from Hangangjin to our villa should be under 10 minutes.

All walking times here assume a slower than normal pace due to luggage.

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 1 or 4 metro subway lines (needed to connect to the 6 line to reach us). The signs at Seoul Station are not great (and very confusing specifically when going from AREX to the subway), and much of the time you would save by not using the All Stops train from Geongdok Station will inevitably be spent wandering Seoul Station.
There are no racks for large luggage on the 1, 4 or 6 metro train lines.

Buses and taxis are of course completely subject to traffic – there are no HOV 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 and AREX.

The 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 4,750 KRW total between Hangangjin Station and ICN.

At 80-100,000 KRW for a taxi or jumbo taxi, that is our preference. The very last thing we wish to do is drag 100kg+ of luggage around metro 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 economics of taxis obviously improve with party size.

And, a parting 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 subway lines.

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 and with three or four bus stop lanes, finding the correct bus outside Seoul Station can be confusing. The 402 (bus stop called “Soon Chun Hyang”, actually in front of Gourmet 494 on Hannam-daero) and 405 (bus stop called “Hangangjin Station Blue Square” on Itaewon-ro) buses offer a nice view of Seoul as they wind along the southwest edge of Namsan.

GIMPO

If you’re traveling to or from Gimpo 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 mall is between the metro station and the airport terminal.

ADD INFO ABOUT PAYMENT, TMONEY, CREDIT CARDS, AREX/BUS KIOSKS

CAR RENTAL

This information was current as of July 2023. Please call or check the web sites and Naver pages/maps to confirm information.