Incheon International Airport(ICN) is the largest airport in Korea, located near Seoul, the capital city, serving as a primary airport for international travelers. The airport is one of the busiest airports in the world, and only has international flights. Gimpo airport is for domestic flights, which is located at 1 hour distance towards Seoul from ICN by airport train.
ICN is well known for its great operations in many ways. It is ranked as the 5th World’s Best Airport, and 4th Cleanest Airport in 2022 by Skytrax. In 2020, ICN was rated the Best Airport Terminals and the Best Transit Airport in the world by Skytrax. As a person who experienced numerous airports in different continents, I can confidently say that ICN is the most efficient airport which made my arrival and departure very seamless each and every time I used – that means everything was on schedule with proper and frequent notifications and everywhere-located-screen-reminders, without any irrational or authoritative pressures, not to mention its smartest procedures when checking in and claiming baggage.
As such, ICN makes the start, end or transit of your travel experience very pleasant. Along with efficiency, Incheon Airport also provides various entertaining opportunities including transit hotel, lounges, K-Culture Zone, spa(Jjim-jil-bang), beds and showers(free of charge at Nap Zone), banks, post office, mobile communication company branches, hospital clinic(Inha University Medical Center airport clinic), drug stores, restaurants and more. In both separate but train-connected terminals, duty free shops are located, and it is as large as several department stores.
When you arrive at ICN, most likely you will be out with your luggage within a hour after flight landing. You can purchase Sim card at the airport lobby, and a public transportation card (T-money card) at any convenience store. Do not forget to charge the T-money card at the store, or at the subway stations. It’s better to prepare some cash beforehand.
To move to Seoul by public transportation, you can choose 3 options – subway airport line, limo bus, or taxi. Taxi will cost about $70~$120 depending on destination. http://www.intltaxi.co.kr/ is the official website for foreign-language taxi service in Seoul, if you want to book one in advance. I’ll post later in detail how to take taxi in Korea, however mostly it would not be too difficult if you can communicate in easy English and use Kakao map application.
If your destination is near the limo bus stops, taking bus can be better than transiting subways. Bus to gang-nam, for example, takes about 60-80 minutes and costs 15,000 won (a little less than $15).
Airport subway is called AREX. It runs from the airport underground(both terminal 1 and 2) to Seoul Station making a few stops including Gimpo Airport, Hongdae, and Gongdeok. At those stations you can transfer to other subway lines, but make sure at which station you need to take off. AREX stops are different by express and local. Express takes 20 minutes less than local, and costs twice – 9500 won ($9.5). Visit official website for more information and to book tickets in advance.
Hope this information helps you if you’re planning to use Incheon Airport. If you have any questions or want to share your experience, please leave comments below. Check out our Forum as well to find more interesting shares.
