If you come to Korea, most people will arrive at Incheon International Airport (ICN) with pleasant expectation.
There are many other ways, but this time I will show you how to get to the center (downtown) of Seoul by subway. (If you use the subway (about 5 USD), it is much cheaper than using a taxi (about 30 ~ 50 USD))
If you have been in Korea for the first time, it may not be so easy to move to any part of Seoul by subway although the cost of using subway is much cheaper.
At the airport, you can easily find the AREX (subway) as shown in the following figure. (Or you can ask it to Information desk at the airport)
FYI, the route from the airport to the city is called AREX, and in other cases (mostly) it is called 'Subway'.
So you should call it as 'SUBWAY' in Korea, if you ask Koreans where to get an 'MRT' or 'MTR' (like in other countries of South East Asia, like Hong Kong or Taiwan), you hardly get it.
After all, if you find AREX station at the airport, it's a good idea to think in advance which station you want to go as destination in downtown, depending on where you go.
First, let's check the route maps.
The following figure is AREX route map.
And the next figure is Seoul subway route map.
(When you look at Seoul subway route map, each station has its own number. If you can't pronounce a station name, you can use this number as well. Ask the station staff for directions to the station number ...)
Second, just please check the line COLOR and NUMBER of the subway station where you want to arrive finally, and transfer from AREX.
Anyway, example is the fastest way to understand,
Case1. if you want to go to Gangnam, if you still love Psy ..
- Get on AREX and go to Hongik Univ station (239)
- Transfer to Line 2 (Green Line) at Hongik Univ station (Because Gangnam station is on Green Line)
- Go to Gangnam station (Green Line, Line 2) (222)
(It may take about 1 hour and 40 min to get to Gangnam station)
That's all, Easy. :)
Case2. if you want to to go to City hall (Jongno area, the core part of Seoul, it is very close to Insa-dong, Gyeongbok-gung palace, Seoul tower, Myung-dong, Samchung-dong, etc.) ..
- Get on AREX and go to Seoul station (426)
- Transfer to line 1 (Blue line) at Seoul station (Because City Hall station is on Blue Line)
- Go to City Hall station (Blue Line, Line 1) (101)
(It may take about 1 hour and 10 min to get to City hall station)
Case3. if you want to go to Itaewon where is an area of Seoul but a place of very exotic atmosphere ..
- Get on AREX and go to Gongdeok station (529)
- Transfer to line 6 (Brown line) at Gongdeok station (Because Itaewon station is on Brown Line)
- Go to Itaewon station (Brown Line, Line 6) (630)
(It may take about 1 hour and 15 min to get to Itaewon station)
For other cases, like the way used in the above cases of checking the color and line number of the subway station where you want to arrive and transferring from AREX, you will be able to go to your destination without difficulty.
Enjoy your trip to Seoul!
(If you LIKE my post, I will upload more...!)