How to survive a standing ticket on your KTX Train to Busan

During our trip from Seoul to Busan & back, we were not able to get a ticket with a seat, and can only make do with a standing ticket. If you are like us, here are some tips on how to survive a standing ticket.

1. Why a standing ticket?

Instead of buying the standard KTX tickets, we bought the Korail Pass (KR Pass), which is a cheaper option to travel to Busan or other cities if you are a foreigner in South Korea. Such KR Pass allows you to ride on certain KTX trains for an unlimited number of times for the pre-defined time frame. However, with the KR Pass, you can only redeem the ticket at the KTX stations instead of pre-booking the ticket, hence, your seat online. Sometimes, especially during the holiday season, no more seats are available during ticket redemption. As such, you might be issues a standing ticket where you could board the train but no seats will be allocated to you.

Similarly, even if you are not purchasing a KR Pass, if you purchase your KTX ticket at the last minute, you might be issued a standing ticket if the seats on the train are fully booked.

If you get a standing ticket, you'll literally have to stand all the way in the KTX train to your destination. 

2. Be early to book the golden location - Recommended suggestion 

In between the carriages where the doors are, there are 4 foldable seats, probably meant for passengers with standing tickets. Early bird catches the best worms, so board the train early, and grab 1 of these foldable seats before another passenger beats you to it.

Tip: Go towards the 2 ends of the train as the probability of finding an empty folder seat is higher

3. Grab the empty seat
Some seats are vacant for a period of time as the passengers may only board the train at other stops. Once the train starts moving, find 1 of such seats and settle down until you are "chased" away by the rightful owner of the seat. Even though you'll eventually "lose" your rights to the seat, you've already rested for quite while as the stations are usually far away from each other.

According to many websites, many local Koreans also practice this, so do not be shy to sit on an empty seat or feel ashamed about it.

4. Visit the spacious First Class 

Note: This option is only for those who do not mind sitting on the floor. 

The KTX usually have First Class carriages, and some of these First Class carriages have empty space near the back of the carriage meant for wheelchair bound passengers. In the event there aren't any wheelchair bound passengers, you can sit on the floor at these empty spaces. However, do note that the train conductors have the rights to chase you out of the space, so do get out of sight if they are making their rounds.

5. Be gracious

If you manage to get a seat with above tips, do remember - a good deed is its own reward. In the event another passenger with standing ticket requires the seat more than you, such as an elderly or pregnant passenger, be gracious and give up your seat.

Hope you'll be able to survive the train to Busan with a standing ticket with the above tips.

For suggestions on how to plan your Seoul/Busan trips, browse through my blog to find out more.

To purchase a KR Pass, go to Trazy.com or Korail website to find out more

South Korea Trip Day 3 - Busan

A good day starts with a good breakfast, and we started our good day with toasts from Issac Toast. A long queue has already form, so to utilize the time, while the husband queued for the toast, I spent my time shopping for cute, good quality and cheap socks in Myeongdong underground shopping area. After 30mins of queuing, we got our toast, and headed back to the warmth of our hotel (which is just across the street) to enjoy the toast. The generous servings of lettuce and meat patty coupled with some special sauce made us vow to come back for more toasts while we pack our bags for our trip to Busan.

Issac Toast & Coffee

Address: 105 Toegye-ro, Chungmuro 1(il)-ga, Jung-gu South Korea

Exit 5 of Myeongdong station

(There are also many outlets in South Korea)

Tips: A long queue will form after 9.30am daily, so do be there earlier than 9.30am if you want to enjoy the toast without queuing up for too long. 

We left our big luggage at the care of the hotel staffs, and headed towards Seoul Station by metro with our backpack to catch our KTX train to Busan. The KTX station is situated on top of Seoul Metro Station, and we found our way by following the English signs as we walked out of the metro station. We bought a 3 days Korail Pass (KR Pass - which is only available for foreigners) from Trazy.com, which allows us to ride on certain KTX trains for a unlimited number of times. There are also 1-7 days packages available. Economically, it works out to be cheaper than buying a 2 way KTX tickets to and fro Busan. 

Unfortunately, I under-estimated the number of people who will be travelling to Busan from Seoul, and did not make any prior seat bookings. Even though there are trains between the 2 cities every 30mins, as it was the New Year Period, there were just too many travelers, and we are unable to get any seats and can only make do with "standing tickets".

Lesson Learnt - Buy your KTX tickets as early as possible, especially if your travel period falls within the holiday season and remember to reserve your seats. If you are buy a KR Pass (like us), redeem the ticket and make a seat booking at the KTX station on the day you reach Seoul. 

The thoughts of standing for 2.5 hours made us a little hesitant about making the trip to Busan, but we decided to make do with it and "enjoy" the experience. In no time, we found ourselves in Busan, the 2nd most populous city after Seoul in South Korea.

See Also - How to survive a standing ticket on your KTX Train to Busan 

The welcoming sight of Busan as we step out of the KTX station

We took Bus 41 from the bus stop outside the KTX station, and after 15 stops (~40mins), we alighted at Gwangil Mansion, and found the hotel we will be staying at - Dawn Beach Hotel Busan in a couple of minutes. 

Dawn Beach Hotel Busan is located at Gwangalli Beach; while most people stays near Seomyeon, Busan station or Haeundae while in Busan, we made an untypical choice and choose to stay in Gwangalli Beach in order to watch the first sunrise of the year with the iconic Busan Gwangandaegyo Bridge (better known as Diamond Bridge) as the backdrop (see my later post - coming soon). To further enhance the experience, we reserved a sea facing room that we could watch the sunrise at the comfort of our room.

View of the Diamond Bridge from our room

It was already quite late in the afternoon, and we decide to cure our stomach before we formally start our Busan adventure. We had some Korean instant noodle at the 7-11 convenience stall across the street from our hotel.

Some cute Snoopy inspired milk packaging found at 7-11

Ice-cream always taste better in winter (try it if you do not believe so), so we bought some ice cream after our noodle, and stroll towards the Gwangalli Beach to enjoy the cool sea breeze.

From Gwangalli Beach, we made our way to Seomyeon shopping district by metro. The closest metro station from Gwangalli Beach is Geumnyeonsan Station is about a 15mins walk away, and it takes around 30mins to reach Seomyeon station. As we walk out of the metro station, the Seomyeon Underground Shopping Center ignited my shopping spirit and we spent some time browsing at clothes, shoes and accessories before we finally made it to the Seomyeon shopping and food street, where we spent the evening walking, eating and shopping randomly.

Delicious tteokbokki from the street vendor

Coffee Break at Hollys Coffee

We chance upon Kyochon Chicken, and decided that we need to satisfy our Korean fried chicken craving. If you only have chance for 1 Korean fried chicken meal, just go to Kyochon Chicken and forget about the rest; the juicy and tender chicken will definitely make a lasting impression in your mind. 

Kyochon Chicken

Address: 261-10-dong, Bujeon 1(il)-dong, Busan

Near Seomyeon station Exit 15

After a pleasant evening at Seomyeon, we headed back to our hotel, and before we end our day, we had another stroll at Gwangalli Beach for the night view of the beach, and of course, to see the Diamond Bridge shining in the night.

Up Next: South Korea Trip Day 4 Part 1 - Busan
Previously: South Korea Trip Day 2 - Seoul

South Korea Trip Day 2 - Seoul

Summary of places we visited on Day 2: Namdaemun Market, Samcheong-dong, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Village, Gwangjang Market, Cheonggyecheon Stream, Dongdaemun

Day 2 of our trip started with a visit to Namdaemun Market for a glimpse of how a tradition Korean  market looks like. We stopped at a roadside stall where locals are crowding to buy a fish cake stick, before heading to the bus stop near Namdaemun Gate to catch a bus to Samcheong-dong.

Direction on how to navigate around Namdaemun Market

Shops along Namdaemun Market

Fish Cake from a road store - yumzzz

Namdaemun Gate

Bus stop near Namdaemun Gate

We boarded Bus 11 and alighted 5 stops later near Samcheong Police Substation. From there, we walked to Café Breezin, the beautiful café where you could enjoy nice coffee and waffle at its  rooftop while enjoying the view of Samcheong-dong. At it was still early and the Café is still not open for business, we took a walk along the quiet streets of Samcheong-dong, where pretty shops and houses line along the streets.

For Innisfree fans, there is an Innisfree café at Samcheong-dong. The typical store where you can buy the facial products is on the first floor, and the 2nd and 3rd floor is the café. There are some VR headsets in the café, and you could try wearing one. In the video, the ambassador of Innisfree (Lee Minho!!) will take your hand (gasp!) and bring you to Jeju Island, introducing you to the origin of Innisfree products.

Innisfree café 

Innisfree café

After exploring Samcheong-dong for a while, we headed back to Café Breezin for our breakfast. As it was freaking cold, we stayed indoor, but choose a window seat to enjoy our waffle and coffee.

We then made our way to One Day Hanbok to dress ourselves up in Hanbok (traditional Korean dress). One Day Hanbok is situated in between Gyeongbokgung Palace and Bukchon Hanok Village, making it an excellent choice if you want to visit both places while dressing up in Hanbok. It also has a wide selection of Hanbok and accessories, and the staffs are well verse in English and Chinese.

One Day Hanbok

2nd Floor, 4 Bukchonro5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Website: http://www.onedayhanbok.com/ 

Alternatively, you can also enjoy the experience of wearing Hanbok and taking pictures for free at Seoul Global Cultural Center in Myeongdong. 

Seoul Global Cultural Center

M Plaza 5th Floor Myeongdong

Website: http://sgcc.wpengine.com/cultural-experiences/#!/hanbok

Don't be too worried of being very "outstanding" by roaming the streets wearing a Hanbok; many people are also doing the same thing! In fact, you get to enter Gyeongbokgung Palace for free if you are wearing a Hanbok. Gyeongbokgung Palace is the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, where kings stayed and government were being held. Gyeongbokgung Palace is also featured in famous Korean dramas such as Goblin, Moon Embracing the Sun etc.

Me as the imaginary princess of the Joseon dynasty pondering about life

We also paid a visit to The National Museum of Korea which is near the east gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace, before going back to One Day Hanbok to return our Hanbok as we needed the warmth of our winter clothing.

We had our late lunch at Mukshidonna, and the piping hot tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) stew warmed our bodies with its tasty and rich soup base and delicious tteokbokki.

Mukshidonna

Samcheongdong Seoul Jungo-gu, Anguk-dong 17-18

Bukchon Hanok Village is our next stop, and we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring this traditional village which was the residential area of high ranking government officials and nobility of the Joseon dynasty and now converted into a traditional cultural center with shops, restaurants and art galleries.

As the dusk sets in, we headed to Gwangjang Market for dinner. From Bukchon Hanok Village, it is a short walk to Anguk Station (Line 3), where we took the subway to Jongno 5(o)-ga Station (Line 1), and exited from Exit 11, where you can then see the entrance to Gwangjang Market.

Gwangjang Market

88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno 1 (il).2(i).3(sam).4(sa), Jongno-gu

It's not an understatement that Gwangjang Market is a bustling market; on top of being a perfect dinner place where you could eat and mingle with the locals, a vast variety of stuffs were sold in Gwangjang Market which ranges from fabrics for making clothes to live sea food for cooking.

We sat down at 1 of the stores to enjoy kimbap (Korean sushi roll) and tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) before heading to another store for the famous bindaetteok (mung bean pancake). An expatriate who has stayed in Korean for more than 10 years chatted with us while we were enjoying the bindaetteok, and shared with us his thoughts about staying in Korea, and some must-go attractions in Seoul.

Ahjumma (aunty) chopping a live octopus into pieces

After dinner, we followed the signs in the market and headed to Cheonggyecheon Stream for a stroll to digest our dinner. We managed to walk to Dongdaemun, and spend sometime exploring the Doota Mall and hello apM before heading back to Myeongdong.

Dongdaemun Gate

Before we head to bed, we had our supper calling satisfied at RuChDa, the fried chicken shop next to our hotel. 

Previously: South Korea Trip Day 1 - Seoul

Up Next: South Korea Trip Day 3 - Busan 

Related posts (travelling in Seoul)

South Korea Trip Day 6 - Siloam Spa, Nanta Show, N Seoul Tower

South Korea Trip Day 7 - Nami Island & Elysian Gangchon Ski Resort

South Korea Trip Day 8 & 9 - Haircut, Shopping and Everland

South Korea Trip Day 10 & 11 - Hwacheon Ice Festival & Bye Bye South Korea