Xeno

I am attending an international conference at Yoido Full Gospel Church.
My hotel reservation is at the Courtyard Seoul Times Square where I stayed some years ago.
The conference starts early in morning and goes until late in the evening. The walking distance is too much for me.
What are the options for public transportation from this Courtyard to that church? When I try this on Google Maps it says it cannot calibrate such things.

OccasionallyFlying

Google Maps is known to be unreliable in terms of accuracy and navigation in South Korea. I would suggest that you download Naver Maps or Kakao Maps. The English translation isn't perfect but you can get by with the help of Google Translate. Also, you won't be able to find "Yoido Full Gospel Church" by typing it in. You need to type in the Korean name which is "여의도순복음교회" directly into the destination point.

To answer your question directly, there is a bus that runs every 6-10 minutes from 5:10AM to 11:55PM. Walk to Yeongdeungpo Station and catch the #10 bus. Get off in 5 stops at the "Yoido Full Gospel Church" bus stop. The bus stop at Yeongdeungpo Station might be hard to find since it's in the middle of the median of a busy road but you could always ask the front desk staff/concierge if you're having trouble.

Furthermore, taxis are extremely cheap in Seoul. It costs approximately 5100 KRW or $3.58 USD to take a taxi from the Courtyard to the conference venue. A taxi is probably your best bet for convenience sake if it's your first time in Seoul with little understanding of Korean. You could get a taxi by asking the front desk/bellhop or via the Uber app(which gets converted to the "UT Taxi" app automatically when you're in South Korea).

Good luck and enjoy Seoul!

Xeno

This is extremely helpful. Thank you.
I like Uber because it solves payment issue and sharpens focus on start and stop points.

Xeno

So I did a test of the Uber app. I am not sure it has the correct address for the Courtyard.
When I look at the Marriott app it looks like two addresses to me. The taxi drive that brought me here first tried to leave me in front of the shopping center, but there were barriers so he eventually found the hotel.
I do not know if it could find the Conrad hotel where I go later today because my Uber test said no cars were available.
I know the hotel can help me leaving here, but I do not know what happens when I leave from the Yoido Full Gospel Church. Is there a nearby taxi stand? Do all taxis take credit cards for payment?
Google Maps is of no help so I need to see if I can find the maps you mentioned.

Xeno

A concierge at the Courtyard spent almost 45 minutes with me trying to install an Uber like app from Korea that I could use with taxis in Seoul. In my attempts to use the USA Uber app, it never ‘converted’ to a “UT Taxi” app, but simply failed to function period.
She could not find the Korean version of the Uber app in the App Store. She recommended Kakao T, but to set up an account I would have to use data roaming to receive an SMS message confirming my phone number using the KakaoTalk app.
It is no problem getting a taxi from the Courtyard but she could not find a taxi stand near the Yoido Full Gospel Church. In the meantime, I went to the Conrad Hotel today and it was a madhouse trying to get a taxi from there back to the Courtyard due to the various conferences here this week.

mikesaidyes

For future travelers - There is nothing to download "Korean Uber." It absolutely should update automatically. The logo will actually change to UT. So it's something with your phone. Nothing to download "Korean."

Xeno

I am pleased that you are confident in your explanation. I was quoting the Courtyard concierge and reflecting all the time she spent trying to find an Uber app on my iPhone that looked like hers. If there is anything “wrong” with my iPhone 14 Pro, it might be that it is USA based.
I tried to use Kakao T app this morning close to 8 am, but never could locate a taxi so the hotel had to call for me. Moments ago coming back to the Courtyard, someone from the church used that Kakao T app on their phone to order a taxi for me.

mikesaidyes

There is nothing to find. It automatically changes to UT if you have Uber - for me, for the countless visitors I've met that have used it here. There is nothing to download. That's why she couldn't find anything.

OccasionallyFlying

Like @mikesaidyes said, the Uber app should've converted to the "UT Taxi" app automatically. My Canadian iPhone 13 Pro + Canadian-based Uber Account has always been able to switch to the UT Taxi app upon first opening the Uber app in Korea.

FYI, on the UT Taxi app, you need to type in your destination in Korean since English destinations are not supported at all. If you're still in Seoul, try re-downloading the app and making sure that your location services are set to "Always On" and acquiring the Korean name of your destinations and saving them.

Xeno

I am still in Seoul and have been trying to use the Kakao T app.
I do not know if it would work for me in other parts of the day - with the Courtyard staff entering the data for me in Korea - but that app could never secure a taxi between say 7:30 to 8:30 am. The Courtyard says because of the morning traffic.issue at 8 am and the fact that the fare is low for such a short drive that taxi drivers refuse to respond to he app’s call. Today I went to the Conrad Hotel at 6:30 am when I needed to return like two other episodes Conrad got a taxi in a flash.
When it comes to leaving the church, one of their staff spent 30 minutes yesterday walking around trying to stop a taxi that would take me back to the Courtyard.
My Uber setting is “while using” not “always on” which has worked fine in a variety of countries this year.