Bucket List: Train Journey from Seoul to Busan

Korea, Busan, Train Journey from Seoul

Inspired by the first full-length Korean movie I ever watched; Train to Busan, I was excited to take the real train journey from the South Korean capital city of Seoul to Busan. While my short train ride of just under 3 hours was rather mundane compared to the adventures of the characters in the title movie, this was nevertheless still an exciting experience for me because that was the first time I ever took a train in South Korea. The trip was in November 2019.

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The Korean movie, Train to Busan, largely served as the inspiration for my decision to fly to Seoul instead of Busan even though the main destination of my vacation trip was Busan. I chose to experience a train journey from Seoul to Busan and to enjoy the scenery of South Korea as part of my rail trip because the rail line passes through other major South Korean cities such as Suwon, Daejon, Daegu and Ulsan.

High Speed Train at the Station, Busan Station (KTX), Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea (2019)

My trip was on the KTX Gyeongbu Line and it commenced from Seoul and terminated at Busan. Being a rather popular and busy service, I chose not to chance it and booked my tickets on my first day in Seoul upon arrival in South Korea. My travel to Busan was 3 days later but I decided to buy my tickets early because I wanted to enjoy my trip the slow and easy way. Additionally, I had previously planned to spend 2 full days of my vacation itinerary in Seoul to enjoy the shopping as well as sights and sounds of the capital city.

The relatively short train ride from Seoul to Busan took just under 3 hours. Along the way, I got to enjoy the sights of the length of South Korea from its capital to its southern port city of Busan. Much of the ride was comfortable and enjoyable. Along the way, I thought I recognised some stations that might had been featured in the movie but I could be wrong though because most train stations look just like what they are supposed to look like; a train station.

Wrapping up the ride when the train reached its terminal station at Busan, I could then claimed to have truly taken the Train to Busan! Nothing really adventurous or scary, but another tick had been added to my personal Travel Bucket List.

What to Expect

Expect a comfortable ride that will take you through almost the entirety of the length of South Korea from Seoul in the north to Busan in the south.

Take this as a sightseeing trip of the country and return home with the bragging rights that you have travelled and seen much of South Korea in just under 3 hours!

Station Signage, Busan Station (KTX), Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea (2019)

Train Schedule Information Board, Busan Station (KTX), Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea (2019)

View of the Station, Busan Station (KTX), Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea (2019)

Signages at the Train Platforms, Busan Station (KTX), Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea (2019)

Tips and Advices

The train ride from Seoul to Busan and back is a popular service and can be a very busy one too. If your travel itinerary is tight, then I strongly advice you to book your tickets in advance. For my trip, I bought my return train tickets at the Seoul Main Station 3 days before my actual train ride.

Do take note that the KTX service stops at Busan Station (KTX) and NOT Busan Station (Subway). These 2 stations are not the same and they are not exactly next to each other. They are quite a distance apart, especially if you are lugging large and heavy travel luggages or backpacks and trying to reach one from the other. 

The full address for Busan Station (KTX) is Jungang-daero, Choryang 3(sam)-dong, Dong-gu, Busan, South Korea.