berk10

I have an upcoming itinerary (in 2 weeks) which has me laid over in Seoul for 10 hours. I have never been there before, so I thought it would potentially be enough time to hit some sites. I arrive at 6:30 AM. Any recommendations for places to see/do/don't do? It sounds like getting back into the airport (ICH) can be a nightmare - is this still the case?

inngookcho

ICN is pretty far from downtown Seoul it takes hour or two. It will take about an 1+hour for immigration, so I think it's better to enjoy airport.
ICN has free shower booth, sleeping couch, and all the lounges.

mikesaidyes

If you arrive at 6:30, the earliest you can collect any bags and get into Seoul will be around 8:00-8:30. If immigration is busy with large crowds on red eyes from SE Asia, it may be closer to 9.

To avoid rush hour traffic going into Seoul, take the train. From ICN to Seoul Station is around an hour.

If your flight leaves at 4:30 (10 hrs from landing), you'd need to be back at ICN by 2:30-3:30, which means you'd need to finish your day by 1-1:30. Another hour by train back to ICN.

The only area you could do, which there is enough time for is Gyeongbokgung Palace/Jongno/Insadong/Gwangjang Market. These are all extremely close to each other. Jongno is one of the busier areas of Seoul, so you'll get a good city feel as well as the major touristy sites. Myeongdong is also about a 15-20 minute walk.

In short, you'd get a quick 4-5 hour survey of Seoul, but it'd be a good one that most tourists do.

berk10

Awesome - I appreciate the input!