Getting there and around
Two airports, one railway spine.
Korea is built around Seoul and a fast railway: Incheon International handles nearly every long-haul arrival, the AREX and the KTX fan out from Seoul Station, and Busan is under three hours by train. Get the gateways straight and the whole calendar opens up.
Arriving
Incheon International Airport (ICN), on Yeongjong Island west of Seoul, is the main gateway; Gimpo (GMP) handles domestic flights and short hops to Japan and China. The AREX express runs to Seoul Station in 43 minutes, airport buses cover every district more slowly, and taxis queue outside arrivals. INSPIRE Arena sits on the same island, minutes from the terminals: for its shows, the airport hotels are the event hotels. In the south, Busan's Gimhae airport puts the city under an hour away by light rail and taxi.
Getting around the city
The Seoul subway is the system everything hangs off: nine numbered lines plus the AREX, the Gyeongui Jungang line to Ilsan and the Suin Bundang line to Incheon, with stations at or near every arena on this calendar, from KSPO Dome (Olympic Park) and Gocheok Sky Dome to COEX (Bongeunsa and Samseong) and Jangchung (Dongguk University). A T-money card works at every gate, bus and taxi. Intercity, the KTX runs Seoul to Busan in about two and a half hours, and the express buses fill the gaps from the terminals in Gangnam and Dong Seoul.
Beyond Seoul
Goyang and Ilsan are a subway line 3 and Gyeongui line ride north west; Hwacheon is an ITX train to Chuncheon and a local bus into the mountains, worth planning as a full day. Gwangju is a KTX run of about two hours to Gwangju Songjeong station. Within Busan, the subway and the light rail from Gimhae airport reach Haeundae and Gwangalli without a car.
Search airport transfersvia Klook
The luggage trick
Seoul Station's city airport terminal lets AREX express passengers on some airlines check bags and clear departure formalities before the ride, and the luggage storage counters at the big stations, plus the delivery services that move bags hotel to hotel, make a concert day without the suitcase easy.