Our first fast luxury train was Spain’s Talgo, back in the day. It was fast for its time, but it didn’t go 300 kmh, like Korea’s KTX (Korea Train eXpress) does. We took the KTX from Seoul to Gyeongju today, and loved every minute (we even put up a YouTube video showing how fast it is). Our fare was $45 USD and the trip took just less than two hours. We got to the historical city of Gyeongju in time to get a hotel and see a couple of important ancient sites before 5pm. 

Here at WoWasis, we’re always playing with transportation variables. Is an airplane more cost-effective, if it saves us time (yes, considering Jeju island). Should we rent a car? (not if it’s Gyeongju, where the rental company can’t get us an English-language GPS… might as well take the bus). Should we fly to Gyeongju? (not when there’s a $45 two hour train… and we don’t think there’s an airport in Gyeongju anyway). 

We like the KTX. It’s fast, reliable, and avoiding security checks and waiting times at Korea’s domestic Gimpo airport makes the train a real alternative. This morning, we left our Seoul hotel room at 8:15. Got a taxi to take us to Seoul Station by 8:30. Stood in the ticket line for 3 minutes, booked the 9 am train for Gyeongju, and arrived there at 10:57 am, right on the dot. That’s 2:45, door to door. And that’s why KTX will be our first choice for inter-Korea travel. You can book tickets and view train routes at Korail’s KTX English-language webpages.