10 Hours in South Korea

To be honest, after the 12 hour flight from LAX, I was beginning to regret my choice to have a 10 hour layover in Incheon International Airport.  I decided on a flight from LAX to ICN then ICN to NRT on my way to Japan and I just wanted to be in Japan already lol.  But those 10 hours flew by (no pun intended) and by the end of my layover, I was disappointed to be leaving South Korea so soon lol.

Of all the airports I've been to (throughout the US, Thailand, Philippines, Ecuador, England, Ireland, Taiwan, Japan...) I think that ICN has to be hands-down the best one I've been to.

For one thing, they offer so many layover services such as free showers, shopping, massages, food, and even FREE tours around Incheon or into Seoul.  On top of that, the facilities are so clean, the food at restaurants are so reasonably priced and delicious, and so much shopping by the gates!  I'm talking duty-free skincare (tonsss of facemasks) and even high-end brands (which I'm not entirely interested in but might as well mention lol).  Didn't really go shopping because I didn't need anything there but I think I'll stock up on facemasks the next time I'm there? hehe.  They really know how to up their tourism industry with the tours because I definitely want to go back someday.

Here's how my layover went:

05:20ish Flight landed in ICN

6:00 Bathroom break (bathrooms are super clean and nice!)

7:00 Made our way to sign up for the free tour!  They have a range of tours offered depending on your layover.  1/2/3/4-hours into Incheon (going to temples or other monumental locations), and if I remember correctly, a 5-hour tour into Myeongdong.  So interesting!  Our flight to NRT was at 15:20 so to give us some time for eating at the airport and showering my dad and I decided on the 2-hour tour to visit Heungryunsa Temple and the Korean War Memorial in Incheon.

7:30 Breakfast at one of the noodle restaurants in the international arrivals level (first floor).  So yummy and quite affordable.  I forgot exactly but I think I ended up paying about 25,000 KRW for udon and cold noodles plus 4 rice balls (bulgogi and tuna) oooh.  My dad said that tuna was canned so he didn't like it but I liked it a lot~ (I ate very well during my 10 hours in Korea lol)

8:00 Looked around for an outlet to charge my camera battery (wasn't too difficult to find one haha) and I took a peek into the convenience store at the airport.

Sooo many yummy snacks ahhhh.  I had to resist...

Ended up buying honey butter chips for my always hungry dad to eat during the tour and cute Kakao Friends-themed blotting papers and travel toothbrush/toothpaste lol.

9:00 Time for the tour~  It was a moderately sized group of maybe 25 or so people.  The tour bus was small but comfortable.

9:20 First stop: Heungryunsa Temple!

Soooooooo beautiful ahhhhhh.  I always feel so calm and refreshed when I visit temples~

10:00 Second stop: Memorial Hall

11:00 Back at ICN!

The tour was well organized and very efficiently timed.  They make sure that no time is wasted so that the experience is well spent and people make it to their next flights on time.  The tour was completely in English and our tour guide was very friendly and charismatic haha.  Wish I took a photo with him to further commemorate my first visit experience in South Korea~~ Is that weird? lol.

12:00 Lunch at the airport.  We wanted more Korean food (of course, since we were in Korea!) and decided to eat at this restaurant called "Seoul."  My dad ordered a meal with grilled mackerel and seafood soup while I ordered a type of beef soup that my mom loves back home haha.  Was cheaper in Korea tho and just as yummy lol.

13:00 Made our way to the departures area and headed for the showers before finding our way to our gate.  The showers service provided shampoo, blow dryer, toothbrush & toothpaste, and a small towel all free of charge :o!

14:00 Finally made it to our gate feeling super clean and refreshed.  Connected to wifi which was execellent and easily found another outlet to charge my batteries.

14:40 Time to board en route to NRT (Japan!)

15:20 Until next time South Korea~ I love Japan but I'll miss youuu :'( hahaha

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my layover (omg who even says that?) and I definitely want to visit South Korea someday sooner than later lol.  If you ever see a flight with a relatively lower price but you're discouraged by a super long layover in ICN, don't think twice and just TAKE IT.  Especially if it's Asiana Air because A+ service and reasonable leg room for economy class!  You won't regret hahaha.

❤️