Hina lands at Gimpo Airport’s international terminal on a Friday night with four boxes in her notepad, and picks the train into Seoul

On the evening of Friday 27 November, Hina sits in a chair in front of a departure gate at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport with her notepad on her knees. She is twenty-one and promotes shows for a marketing company in Tokyo, and she comes to Seoul about twice a month for shows and merchandise. This time the show is tomorrow, Saturday evening, and today she has come to the airport straight from work. Her flight is due to land at night at Gimpo Airport’s international terminal. Hina takes out a ballpoint pen and, on a fresh page, rules her boxes first.

There are four boxes. Across the top she writes “Seoul Station”, “Hongik Univ.”, “Myeongdong”, “Gangnam”, side by side. Where Hina stays in Seoul is never the same twice. A new venue means a new place to stay, and a new place to stay means a different train from the airport. So this time, instead of writing down only the route she needs tonight, she decides to gather every way from Gimpo Airport into town on one page, by destination.

Tonight Hina is staying near Myeongdong Station. This piece follows her as she leaves the international terminal, crosses to the subway station, finds the right floor at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station and travels via Seoul Station to Myeongdong. Along the way it fills in the other boxes in her notepad, Hongik Univ. and Gangnam, and Gwanghwamun as well, with the train that goes to each. The last trains, which matter most to anyone landing at night, are written out by day too. When Hina draws up a table, she always looks at the finishing times first.

The Cue — At a glance

From Gimpo Int’l Airport Station, the AREX all-stop train goes straight to Seoul Station and Hongik Univ. (Hongdae). For Myeongdong, change to Line 4 at Seoul Station. For Gangnam, take the Line 9 express and change to the Sinbundang Line at Sinnonhyeon. Gwanghwamun is on Line 5, with no change. All three lines leave from B3 at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station, and from the international terminal you reach the station by the free shuttle bus from Stop 5 on the 1st floor, which crosses to the domestic terminal.

Gimpo Airport to Seoul Station, Hongik Univ., Myeongdong or Gangnam: the train for each destination

Pick your destination first and the train picks itself. Seoul Station, Gongdeok and Hongik Univ. are all on the same AREX line. For Myeongdong, take AREX to Seoul Station and change to Line 4. The Gangnam side is Line 9, and the Gwanghwamun and Jongno side is Line 5. The four boxes Hina filled in at the gate looked just like the table below.

With the table filled in, Hina adds a line in small letters under the boxes: “All aboard at B3.” It means all three lines depart from a single floor, B3. AREX towards Seoul Station, Line 9 towards VHS Medical Center and Line 5 towards Sangil-dong are all on this level. So at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station there is no floor to agonise over — you only need to find the direction for your destination. Hina likes this line so much that she underlines it twice.

In Hina’s table the venue’s name comes first, but a traveller can put the hotel’s name first instead. The steps are the same if you are staying near City Hall or Euljiro. Find your nearest subway line, then see where it meets the stations in the table above. On its way to Seoul Station, AREX stops at Magongnaru, Digital Media City, Hongik Univ. and Gongdeok. Start by checking whether your hotel’s line meets one of these stations.

From Gimpo Airport’s international terminal to the subway station: the free shuttle bus from Stop 5 on the 1st floor

To get from the international terminal to the subway station, leave by Gate 1 on the 1st floor and look for Stop 5 on the right. From this stop you can take the free airport shuttle bus to the domestic terminal, where the escalator down to the subway is on the west side of the 1st floor. This piece follows the shuttle bus route. Coming out of arrivals, Hina reads “Domestic, 1F, west side” in her notepad again, reminds herself that she has landed at the international terminal, and looks up.

The shuttle bus is free, and the route covering only the passenger terminals runs from 08:00 to 23:00, every 12–15 minutes. The route covering both the passenger and cargo terminals runs from 06:00 to 23:00. On a night arrival, that 23:00 is the number that matters. Hina reaches the stop a little after 10 p.m. and circles “Shuttle 23:00” in her notepad. It is the habit of looking first at when a show finishes, carried over to the airport.

For the airport’s mobility assistance service, check who it is for and then apply. The service area includes the stretch between the airport subway station and the entrance to the international terminal. You can ask for it without booking, at the subway connecting passage or at the information counter on the domestic terminal’s 1st floor. The direct line is 02-2660-2478. Hina doesn’t need it tonight, but she often meets audience members whose first question is how to reach the entrance, so she doesn’t skip past this notice.

On the night shuttle bus there are a few carry-ons about the size of Hina’s. She pulls hers in beside her leg, stands it upright and takes hold of her bag strap. As the terminal lights slide slowly backwards past the window, it finally sinks in that she is in Seoul. Until this afternoon she was passing show poster drafts around an office in Tokyo, and now she is on a night bus in Seoul, and the thought makes her laugh to herself. Like the moment before the doors of a venue open, the way from the airport into town always feels like a quiet interval.

When the bus reaches the domestic terminal, go to the west side of the 1st floor and look for the subway escalator. Ride it down to Gimpo Int’l Airport Station, where Lines 5 and 9 and AREX meet. It is one station name, but with the Gimpo Goldline and the Seohae Line there are five lines here. Hina pulls her carry-on in front of her and steps onto the escalator. The further down she goes, the more arrows appear on the signs hanging from the ceiling.

Which floor at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station: every train into central Seoul leaves from B3

Every train into central Seoul leaves from B3. On B2 and B4 there are trains going the other way. So the important thing at this station is not to stop at the first platform you see on the way down. Here is what is on each floor.

B2 is where Hina falters once. Stepping off the escalator she sees the Line 5 platform, and with “Line 5” in her notepad jumping out at her, she takes a few steps towards it. But the direction on the sign says Banghwa. Line 5 on B2 is the train going away from the city. “So this floor isn’t the opening act,” Hina says to herself, turns her carry-on around and goes down one more level.

B1 has the ticket gates, ticket sales and toilets, so it is the easiest place to finish anything you need to do before boarding. Every floor can be reached by escalator and lift. The baby care room is inside the customer safety office on B2.

If you need to leave the station, Exits 1, 2, 3 and 4 lead off B1, and Exit 4 is on the ground level as well. Around the station are Lotte Mall, Sky City and the National Aviation Museum. Thinking of a spare hour on the day she flies home, Hina writes “Lotte Mall — right by the airport station” at the end of her notepad. There may come a day when she needs one more bag for show merchandise, after all. Tonight, tomorrow evening’s show comes first, so she leaves that line blank and moves on.

If your suitcase is big, find the lift position before you head down to the platform. At Gimpo Int’l Airport Station, the lift on the platform for Seoul Station is at 5-4. Hina’s carry-on is small enough for the escalator, but when a traveller ahead of her stops at the foot of it with two big bags, she steps to one side. Only when that traveller turns towards the lift does Hina walk on. Someone who draws up timetables doesn’t leave even tonight’s unused boxes blank, so one more line stays on the page: “Lift 5-4.”

Where to buy a transit card: single-journey tickets at the machine, stored-value cards at convenience stores

The quickest way is the ticket machine in the station. AREX’s side of Gimpo Int’l Airport Station has four machines, and a single-journey ticket adds 100 won to the fare, with the 500 won deposit returned at your destination station. Stored-value cards such as T-money are sold at convenience stores and transit card vending machines, and you load them at the ticket machines. Hina comes to Seoul often, so her purse still holds the card from last time. Before heading for the gates she checks the balance at a machine on B1 and loads enough for Friday night and all of Saturday.

To Seoul Station, Gongdeok and Hongik Univ.: the AREX all-stop train, because the Express doesn’t stop here

For Seoul Station or Hongik Univ., the AREX all-stop train is all you need. The AREX Express runs non-stop between Seoul Station and Incheon Airport, so it doesn’t call at Gimpo Airport. That means there is no need to hunt for the word “Express” at this station. Tap your card at the ticket gate and board an all-stop train for Seoul Station on B3. The fares and transfer lines for the three stations on the way into Seoul are below.

Seoul Station is 20.4 km away, the fifth station counting from Magongnaru. The fare to Seoul Station is 1,060 won for teenagers and 650 won for children. The first train for Seoul Station at 05:42 and the last at 00:16 are the same on weekdays and holidays, so in Hina’s day-by-day notepad this one box gets a single line. She writes “Seoul-bound first and last trains: same on weekdays and holidays” and joins the queue on the platform looking a little relieved.

Anyone heading for Hongik Univ. gets off the same train before Seoul Station. If your venue or hotel is around Hongdae, this one train is all it takes, with no change. Thinking of the days when a venue is nearby, Hina has written this box’s name the largest of all. Here you can change to Line 2 and the Gyeongui–Jungang Line. Gongdeok is the station just before Seoul Station, and it meets Lines 5 and 6 and the Gyeongui–Jungang Line.

To Myeongdong: AREX to Seoul Station, then two stops on Line 4

For Myeongdong, take AREX to Seoul Station and change to Line 4. On Line 4, the next station after Seoul Station is Hoehyeon, and the one after that is Myeongdong. After you change at Seoul Station, it is just two more stops. This is Hina’s box for tonight. Getting off at Seoul Station, she reads “Line 4 → Hoehyeon → Myeongdong” in her notepad under her breath and follows the signs for Line 4.

Seoul Station is where KTX, Lines 1 and 4 and the Gyeongui Line meet, so the signs are crowded with names. On this Friday night too, people pulling suitcases flow in the same direction. In a station like this it is less confusing to walk with just “Line 4” in your head. Hina doesn’t follow the person in front as she would in a queue for a venue, but walks looking up at the line markings on the ceiling. Moving from the AREX box to the Line 4 box is the last change on tonight’s timetable.

If you land late, look at your transfer time at Seoul Station before your departure time from Gimpo Int’l Airport Station. The last AREX to Seoul Station leaves Gimpo at 00:16, but that number only gets you as far as Seoul Station. To reach Myeongdong, a Line 4 train has to connect after you get off. Enter a departure time in a map app and pick the train that connects to Line 4 first, and you won’t have to run at Seoul Station. That is why Hina writes “Don’t trust 00:16” in her Myeongdong box.

If you are unpacking in Myeongdong, there is another reason the subway suits you better than the city bus. Myeongdong isn’t named on the list of airport limousine buses, and even bus 605 leaves you to change again at Seoul Station. AREX and a single change to Line 4 carry you all the way to Myeongdong Station. That is why Hina picked this route too. She calls the option with fewer changes “one scene change”.

As Hina reaches the Line 4 platform, a train happens to be pulling in. She wheels her carry-on through the doors ahead of her and stands by the pole next to them. Only when she hears the doors close does she take out her phone and open the map app. When she sees she has boarded the train she picked, she bursts out laughing, the laugh she has been holding in. It is exactly the feeling of dropping into her seat just before the curtain goes up.

To Gangnam: the Line 9 express, then the Sinbundang Line at Sinnonhyeon

For the Gangnam side, take the Line 9 express towards VHS Medical Center on B3. For Gangnam Station, change to the Sinbundang Line at Sinnonhyeon and go one more stop. Late at night, check the Sinbundang Line connection too. You can change to Lines 3 and 7 at Express Bus Terminal, to the Bundang Line at Seonjeongneung and to Line 2 at Sports Complex. In the Gangnam box in Hina’s notepad, just a few words remain: “Express → Sinnonhyeon.”

Line 9 runs local and express trains mixed one to one. Both local and express trains come in at the same platform, so check that yours is an express before you board. After Gimpo Airport the express stops at Magongnaru, Gayang, Yeomchang, Dangsan, Yeouido, Noryangjin, Dongjak, Express Bus Terminal, Sinnonhyeon and Seonjeongneung, in that order, and continues beyond. It is the train for Yeouido too. The transit card fare starts at a base of 1,550 won (up to 10 km), with 100 won added for every 5 km between 10 and 50 km.

If you are taking Line 9, there is one date to keep in mind. The weekday timetable changes from Monday 16 November. In the 12 o’clock hour on weekdays, express trains have been leaving at 01, 12, 23, 34, 45 and 56 minutes past, and from 16 November they leave at 04, 15, 26, 37, 48 and 59 minutes past. On Saturdays and public holidays, express trains in the 12 o’clock hour leave at 10, 21, 32, 43 and 54 minutes past. So if you saved an old timetable, get a fresh one after 16 November.

Today is Friday 27 November, so Hina has to copy the new timetable into the Line 9 weekday row of her notepad. She has seen a few times at work how things go wrong when someone sets out with last month’s show schedule. She strikes through the old times and marks “11/16~” beside them. Luckily the last-train box can stay as it is. The weekday last train is still 23:45 after 16 November, and the last express is still 23:28.

To Gwanghwamun and Jongno: Line 5 towards Sangil-dong, no change

If your hotel is around Gwanghwamun or Jongno, take Line 5 towards Sangil-dong on B3. It goes to Gwanghwamun with no change. It is the same line as the Line 5 on B2 where Hina took her wrong turn, but a different direction means a different floor. B2 is towards Banghwa, and B3 is towards Sangil-dong. The first train from Gimpo Int’l Airport Station leaves at 05:34.

The thing to watch on Line 5 is the destination. Even in the same direction, trains end at different stations. On weekday nights, after the 23:59 for Gunja there are still the 24:19 for Aeogae and the 24:41 for Hwagok, but those two don’t go as far as Gwanghwamun. On Saturdays and public holidays, the 23:12 for Wangsimni is the last train that reaches Gwanghwamun. Hina writes “Always read the destination” in this box, and wrinkles her nose at the memory of misreading the destination of a shuttle bus after a show.

Last trains at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station: Friday and Saturday are different

Last trains split sharply by day. The first and last AREX trains for Seoul Station are the same on weekdays and holidays, but Lines 9 and 5 stop much earlier on Saturdays and public holidays. Hina has time to spare on her Friday night, but if the same flight landed on a Saturday night, the Line 9 box would be far tighter. At the very bottom of her notepad she rules two rows, “Fri” and “Sat”, and splits the numbers between them. The table below is those two rows.

The trap on AREX is the 00:34 train. The timetable shows one more train at 00:34 after the 00:16, but it only goes as far as Digital Media City. So for anyone going to Seoul Station, the last train is 00:16, not 00:34. If you are going further than Hongik Univ., don’t mix up these two numbers. Hina draws a small cross beside 00:34 and writes “Not an encore.”

The Line 9 weekday table has two numbers as well. The weekday last train is 23:45, but that is a local train, and the last express is 23:28. On Saturdays and public holidays the last train is 22:51 and the last express 22:27. So on a Saturday night towards Gangnam, the express finishes before 10:30 p.m. If you are landing on a late Saturday flight, it helps to write a second option in the Gangnam box as well.

On a night arrival, writing things down in the order they finish makes decisions quicker.

The shuttle bus finishes at 23:00, and on Saturdays Line 9 ends even earlier.

If you have a question about train times or need help at the station, you can phone. The AREX customer centre is 1599-7788, and the emergency line for the station office at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station is 032-745-7440. For Line 5 at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station, call 1577-1234. Hina writes these three numbers in the “Emergency” box at the very back of her notepad. It is the box of someone who saves the staff numbers first at any venue.

By bus, limousine or taxi: Platforms 4 and 6 on the international terminal’s 1st floor

If you have a lot of luggage and would rather not change, look at the buses in front of the international terminal’s 1st floor. City buses leave from Platform 4 on the 1st floor of the international terminal, and the fare is 1,500 won. Bus 605 runs via Daebang and Noryangjin to Seoul Station. Its first bus at 05:15 and last at 22:50 are departure times from the domestic terminal. It passes the international terminal five minutes earlier and runs every 8–15 minutes.

Bus 601 is the city bus for the Gwanghwamun and Jongno side. It passes Mapo-gu Office Station, Gyeongbokgung Station, Anguk Station, Jongno 3-ga and Gwanghwamun. From Gimpo Airport towards Gwanghwamun (Jongno), the first bus is at 04:00, the last is at 22:50, and buses run every 6–10 minutes. The early first bus is useful if you are on the move before dawn. But bus 605 stops at 22:50 from the domestic terminal and five minutes sooner from the international terminal, and the last 601 is also 22:50, so after a night flight it is easier to settle on the subway.

Airport limousine buses leave from Platform 6 on the international terminal’s 1st floor. The airport’s list of limousine buses into town has three numbers. Seoul Station, Myeongdong and Gangnam aren’t on this list.

Taxis leave from in front of the terminal. The airport’s taxi table gives these figures.

Taxis are still there after the subway has stopped, so Hina copies these four figures onto the back of the page. If a Saturday night to Gangnam ever comes along, this is the box she will need. On Hina’s timetables, the back of the page is always the emergency exit.

After Myeongdong Station: the four-box timetable sent to Noah

Coming out of Myeongdong Station, Hina walks towards where she is staying and marks off tonight’s lines in her notepad one by one. Shuttle bus, B3, AREX, Seoul Station, Line 4: all five lines now have a circle. Of the four boxes she drew at the start, the only one she actually used is Myeongdong. Even so, the other three are not going to waste. Wherever the venue moves to, next time she can simply open that box.

Myeongdong at night has a different face from the one she knows by day. Only the street lamps stretch across the glass of the closed shops, and the sound of her carry-on’s wheels seems unusually loud on the wide pavement. Hina lowers her grip on the handle a little and walks so that the wheels won’t catch on a kerb. Only now does tomorrow’s show start to come into her head. As she pictures sitting in her seat while the lights go down, the tension slowly leaves her shoulders.

Sitting at the desk in her room, Hina photographs that page of her notepad and sends it to Noah. It is a table with the four destination boxes at the top and the two rows of last trains, Friday and Saturday, at the bottom. The message with it is a single line: “At Gimpo Airport, B3 is the main stage. B2 was the rehearsal.” For two people who have been swapping maps with times written on them, that one page is enough. Hina puts down her phone and moves on to tomorrow’s table.

Common Mistakes

• 01

  Taking Line 5 on B2

  B2 is towards Banghwa. Line 5 towards Sangil-dong, the one into the city, is on B3.

• 02

  Looking for the AREX Express at Gimpo Int’l Airport Station

  the Express doesn’t stop at Gimpo Airport. For Seoul Station, take the all-stop train.

• 03

  Taking the 00:34 for the last train to Seoul Station

  the 00:34 only goes as far as Digital Media City. The last train to Seoul Station is 00:16.

• 04

  Trusting weekday last trains on a Saturday night

  the Saturday and holiday last train on Line 9 is 22:51, and the last Line 5 train that reaches Gwanghwamun is 23:12.

• 05

  Using a Line 9 weekday timetable saved before 16 November

  the Line 9 weekday timetable changes from 16 November.

FAQ

Recap — 30 seconds before you go