Take Me To… is an ongoing series of travel recommendations provided by the experts – Peace Corps Thailand volunteers who have been there! If you’ve traveled to or live somewhere interesting in Thailand, submit your recommendations to us at pctm.stickyrice@gmail.com.
Teresa Derr, 134 YinD
Take Me To is a fun series, where people share fun places to go, things to do, food to eat, scenes to see, and all good stuff like that. It is mostly locations in Thailand, but recently I had a truly amazing experience at a unique place that I wanted to share with others: Incheon-Seoul Airport in South Korea.
You read that right! An airport. Not your usual tourist destination, but for anyone traveling internationally, either to visit home or en route to other places in Asia, this airport is worth planning a layover at (very specifically, not more than 24 hours in Korea). Not just because it is clean, with wonderful bathrooms, and plenty of seating (though these are all true!) but because they also offer so many free amenities to travelers just passing through.
In a world of growing fees, hidden fees, surcharges, and associated costs, especially when flying, I was amazed and somewhat skeptical when I was researching things to do during my 12-hour layover in Incheon and a free tour came up. The Free Transit Tour Korea is run by the airport and designed to give travelers who are in Korea for fewer than 24 hours a taste of what Korea is like. Sort of like the free samples at Costco, to entice people into staying longer, but so much bigger. And much cooler!
Since I had 12 hours, I chose to do a five-hour tour. This free tour included transportation into the city (an hour and twenty minute long bus ride in both directions), an English-speaking guide, an hour-ish at Gyeonbokgung Palace, and an hour-ish at Insadong Culture Street for souvenirs and lunch (purchased at my discretion). When we got back to the airport, if we followed them on Instagram, we got a free umbrella and toothbrushing kit. Random and useful souvenirs, but not anything I’d complain about!
Gyeonbokgung Palace usually has an entrance fee of a couple of dollars, but the last Wednesday of every month is a culture awareness day, and so many culturally significant places have free entry. I didn’t know this, but I happened to be there on the last Wednesday of September, so I got very lucky! On non-culture days, regular tourists who aren’t on a strict timeline like we were can rent traditional Korean clothes for free entry to the palace. We saw lots of people in fun costumes!
I will mention, though, the tour bus is VERY punctual, which is a relief if you are worried about possibly missing a flight! But if you are late to the meeting point, even if only by a few minutes, they WILL leave you behind. And then you’ll have to get yourself back to the airport. We did lose a person at the palace, but they managed to find their way to us at the Insadong Culture Street again, so they didn’t have to pay for the ride back to the airport.
If that weren’t incredible enough on its own, the airport also offers K-Culture Joints, small little areas in each terminal that allow people to try on traditional Korean dress (as seen in Korean dramas, which I have never watched before and so was completely clueless about), learn to write your name in Korean, and do some crafts! The colors the crafts use are traditionally important/representative of the 5 traditional Korean elements, but I honestly just had fun coloring a mirror and making a keychain. And then I got to keep them. Also for free!! It was a wonderful, relaxing way to spend another few hours before my flight.
In Terminal 2, the K-Culture Joint is near gate 268, upstairs. Also upstairs is a stretching room (like, for yoga, with poses to guide you on the walls and mirrors. A napping room (with benches to stretch out on and dim lights), and a (the only thing that wasn’t free) paid shower, just in case you’ve fully embraced the Thai way and cannot stand to go longer than 12 hours without a shower!
All this to say, if you’re traveling internationally and have to do a layover somewhere, I would 100% recommend trying to manage your itinerary to stay at Incheon (for less than 24 hours).
Sticky Rice 