Your route

AREX platform at Seoul Station

AREX arrival platform: go up and look for Line 4 transfer signs; do not mistake a street exit for the transfer.

Take Line 4 from Seoul Station (426) → Hoehyeon (425) → Myeongdong (424). Myeongdong is the second stop; AREX itself does not go there.

  • This guide starts when you get off AREX at Seoul Station. From KTX, begin by following the subway Line 4 signs instead of looking for the airport platform.
  • Save your hotel’s exact address and entrance on a map first. A hotel advertised as “Myeongdong” may be nearer Hoehyeon or Euljiro 1-ga; do not choose a station from the area name alone.
  • Two stops describes the subway ride, not the whole transfer. Add the AREX platform walk, gates, lift waits and the walk from the final exit.

Find Line 4

Follow signs carrying the number 4 and the light-blue Line 4 symbol. Stay on the station’s signed transfer route rather than heading outside for a street exit.

  • From the AREX platform, go up using the stairs, escalator or signed lift. At each junction look again for Line 4; a KTX or Line 1 sign alone is not your destination.
  • All-stop passengers should follow the internal transfer signs and keep the same fare card available at any transfer reader. Do not deliberately tap out to the street to change lines.
  • Express passengers follow the exit process for their issued AREX ticket, then prepare a separate valid subway fare medium. An AREX Express QR is not a Line 4 ticket.
  • For a step-free route, follow lift symbols at each level. If a lift or passage is closed, show staff “Line 4, Myeongdong” before committing to a long staircase. The AREX station map is linked in the sources.

Prepare the fare

Seoul subway ticket and reload machines

A Seoul subway machine example: choose your destination on the current screen, then check payment.

Already have a supported transit card? Check its balance and keep it ready. For a one-off subway ride, a single-journey ticket is another option; online booking is not required.

  • For a new adult journey starting at Seoul Station, the published base fare is ₩1,550 with a transit card or ₩1,650 with a single-journey ticket. The latter also requires a refundable ₩500 deposit: ₩2,150 paid initially.
  • Those figures are for the short city ride, not the complete airport journey. Through-travel fares from AREX All-stop depend on where you started; do not add a second base fare automatically.
  • At a machine, select a language and Myeongdong as the destination. Check the amount and accepted payment on the current screen. The machine photo is a 2024 example, not a promise of today’s buttons or card-payment options.
  • A Tmoney purchase price and its travel balance are separate. Airport-collection deals suit advance planning; if you are already at Seoul Station, buy or reload locally rather than travelling back to collect a card.

Check the direction

Before boarding Line 4, check that the next station is Hoehyeon. The route should continue to Myeongdong after that.

  • Use the platform’s next-station diagram as well as the number 4. If the next station is Sookmyung Women’s University, that is the opposite direction.
  • Take a service whose stopping pattern includes Myeongdong. Let people off first, keep bags close, and avoid blocking the doors.
  • Do not board another airport train or follow a KTX departure just because its sign says Seoul Station. The station complex contains several different rail services.

Get off at Myeongdong

Myeongdong platform with station number 424

Myeongdong station number 424 confirms where to get off. This platform photo dates from 2018.

Subway fare gates at Myeongdong station

At Myeongdong, tap out before following your chosen exit. The photo shows the 9–10 exit side, not the route to Exit 6.

Pass Hoehyeon, then get off at Myeongdong. Match the name and number 424 on the station signs before following the exit arrows.

  • Check the exit-number board while still on the platform. Choose the side leading to your hotel or to the lift route before going up; following the crowd can send you to the wrong concourse.
  • Tap the same card used for the subway journey at the exit gate and take it with you. If it is rejected, ask the gate staff to check the balance or ticket instead of tailgating.
  • For a single-journey card, leave the gate first, then use the deposit-refund machine to recover the ₩500. A reusable Tmoney card stays with you for later journeys.

Choose the exit

Myeongdong street-level lift photographed in 2018

2018 view of the street lift near the Exit 1 side; check current lift signs and operation.

Exit 6 is a useful reference for the main shopping-street side. With luggage, choose a lift route from the station map even when it means a longer surface walk.

  • For the street lift, look for the Exit 1 side and the lift symbol, then confirm current operation on site. The photograph shows the street-level structure in 2018; it does not prove today’s service status or a complete step-free route.
  • After reaching the street, compare the hotel’s exact entrance with your saved map. Exit 6 is not automatically the closest or easiest exit for every Myeongdong hotel.
  • A station-to-street lift and a platform-to-concourse lift are separate parts of the trip. If stairs are not an option, ask staff to confirm the whole route before leaving the platform.

Return to the airport

Seoul Station Line 4 platform and AREX transfer signs in 2018

For the return connection, recognise the AREX transfer symbol. This 2018 photograph is not a current destination board.

For the return, reverse the city leg: Myeongdong → Hoehyeon → Seoul Station. At Seoul Station, follow AREX signs and then choose Express or All-stop.

  • On the Myeongdong platform, Hoehyeon is again the next stop toward Seoul Station. Chungmuro is the opposite direction.
  • Express requires its own reservation or issued ticket; All-stop uses its own supported fare media. Do not follow the old destination names in a photograph instead of the current departure screen.
  • Confirm Terminal 1 or Terminal 2 from your airline booking. Check the last usable connection for your travel date, and add airline check-in and security time separately. If trains have finished, confirm an operating alternative before leaving the station.

Sources & photo credits

Photo credits

Photos are resized and converted to WebP. Archival images illustrate signs and spaces; they do not show current service conditions.