We caught the KTX train out of Seoul Station bound for Busan. We didn't know the schedule ahead of time, but knew frequent trains were available throughout the day going to Busan. Luck was on our side and there was a train leaving for Busan within the hour of our arrival!!! Seoul Station is the main hub of travel in Seoul, with many of the subway lines runnng through it. There is also access to bus, taxi, and of course, airport and train services. Picture New York's Grand Central Station. We had come through Seoul Station 5 days earlier on our way back from our Namsan Tower dinner, and had a horrible experience. That evening, we had just wanted to get home and hadn't anticipated the vastness of the place, nor the crowds (Our subway app had us making a transfer to line 2 at Seoul Station). It didn't help either that our feet were blistered from climbing Mt. Namsan in heels earlier that night or that we were still jet-lagged from our 14 hour trip across the pond on June 2nd. It all added up to a very bad equation which significantly contributed to our negative 1st impression of the place......which is why, WE WERE UTTERLY SHOCKED to have a completely different impression of the place during the day when we arrived that morning and were rested!
Because we had already been there and knew where we were going, we hopped off our subway and headed straight to the ticket counters. We had seen Seoul Station before, but it was as if we were seeing it for the first time all over again. It was crowded again, but this time the crowds didn't seem to bother us. Last time it was dark outside, but now it was sunny outside and light was coming through all of the windows on the ceiling, throwing colorful shafts of light in all directions like a disco ball. We loved it. We were hypnotized by the sights and sounds around us and felt like we were spectators inside the head of a gigantic crystallized grandfather clock with all the ticking and buzzing and motion! It was beautiful and we fell in love. That morning, the call of adventure to a new, faraway place beckoned us with sparkly open arms from Seoul Station, and we sprinted to that embrace with flat shoes and endless ambition!
The flower boy at the ticket counter spoke English! Yay us! No problems getting our tickets. Tickets were $51 USD a piece ($51,000 KRW). With tickets in hand, it was easy to find our platform and locate our train. The train cars were numbered, so we found the car number on our ticket and jumped onto our train car and then into our assigned seats. Interestingly enough, no conductor ever came by to check our tickets. I found that VERY odd. I bet we could have stowed away on there and not been caught. Not that I would have ever done that, but because they truly never checked our tickets, I bet it could happen for someone.
It was about a 3 hour ride to Busan. During the ride down there, rail attendants (similar to flight attendants, but on a train) walked up and down the aisles selling beverages and snacks. They were neatly dressed in uniforms and were very professional. The train was clean, air conditioned, and extremely quiet. We realized during that trip that we really liked riding a train. It was such a pleasurable experience, that we were actually sad that we weren't going to be riding any more trains while in Korea:( It didn't take us long to move past our brief moment of sadness though. Upon arriving at Busan Station, a whole new set of first experiences was waiting for us! We had our tmoney cards from Seoul and knew they could be used for the subway in Busan. With luggage and tmoney cards in hand, we headed for the subway on to Haeundae Beach where we were staying. We will post about that in another posting.
Our advice to anyone else who reads this blog and plans to visit Korea: take the KTX train and get out of Seoul! The Korean country side is really beautiful and the train ride itself is so fun and relaxing. The entire experience of buying tickets, finding the train, boarding the train, and riding the train requires no knowledge of the Korean language. Don't let language or fear of the unknown stop you from enjoying this truly awesome experience in Korea!