First-class experience on a Korean bullet train | KTX Seoul – Daejeon

First-class experience on a Korean bullet train | KTX Seoul – Daejeon

First class experience on KTX! Enjoy it with single seats 🙂 December 23, 2023, 12:33 PM Seoul, Korea This is Seoullo 7017, a walking path connecting Seoul Station’s east and west parts. It was an overpass highway for cars, but it was transformed into a pedestrian overpass. You can take a walk along tall buildings.

There is a street piano. I like to play it when I visit here, but I will skip it today. In the middle of this road is Seoul Station. Seoul Station is one of the places where so many rallies are held. Most of them are related to politics, and so is today.

I think I gotta go to the west part. You can enjoy the urban sceneries of Seoul here. It’s more beautiful if you come at night. There is Namdaemun Gate, the south gate of Hanyang city fortress. It is also called Sungnyemun, and it is the real name of it.

Let’s go more and spot some trains. A KTX train is approaching the station. This year(2024) is the 20th anniversary of KTX. It started the service on April 1, 2004. Now an ITX-MAUM(left) and a Mugunghwa train(right) are passing.

Mugunghwa trains are Korail’s lowest tier of trains, and ITX-MAUM trains were introduced last year to replace them. Now you are watching the crossing of past and future. If you are interested in ITX-MAUM trains, please click the related video at the end of this video. OK, now let’s go to the station.

This overpass is also connected to many places other than Seoul Station. You can access the station directly by this road, but let’s take a long way today. We came to the end of the overpass. That was a good walk. Welcome to Seoul Station. This is the west side.

If you plan to take Airport Railroad (A’REX), it will be convenient to access from this side. But you can also go to the platforms for KTXs easily from here. It is Saturday afternoon, and the station looks so crowded. I think it’s more crowded today because it’s the first day of the holiday.

Today, we are going to Daejeon by KTX first class. We will take KTX #035 bound for Busan departing at 13:57. It will be a journey of 159.8km(100 mi) and 1 hour 6 minutes. We have about 40 minutes until the departure, but let’s proceed to the platform.

Today’s platform will be platform 8, right in front of the escalator. Oh, the train has already arrived. KTX 035, bound for Busan. This train has 2 locomotives and 18 passenger cars. And 3 of them are first-class cabins, which we are taking today.

By the way, this train is based on TGV, the French high-speed railway. Seoul Station is a terminus for many KTXs, so you can see a lot of them here. It’s like a dream world for Korean railfans. The trains with different paintings are KTX-Sancheon, the newer version of KTX.

Now let’s get on the train. We are taking the first class today. The doors of first-class cabins are colored red. Nerd is on board 🙂 Oh It’s empty! Welcome to the first class of KTX. Let’s look around the cabin first. It has a dark and calming interior. The seats are configured in 2-1.

They are dark blue, but they are red on some other trains. And this is my seat today, 1A. It’s been a long time since I sat in a single seat. As this train was built 20 years ago, the seat looks a little bit old-fashioned but still comfortable. Now let me introduce my seat.

What a huge legroom! It is so large that I would better use the footrest. This seat has two tables. One is in front of the seat. I think it is large enough. Compare the size with my iPhone 7! It has a cradle to place bigger phones. The other one is under the armrest.

It is compact, so it looks good for eating snacks or just putting water bottles. To recline the seat, push the button on the armrest and slide the seat toward. The reading light is on the ceiling. On the wall are hooks to hang the clothes, and power outlets(220V and USB).

They are only between the windows, so you may not be able to use them. There is free Wi-Fi, but it is very very slow. The seat was very wide. I always fit in every economy class seat, but today there was enough space left on both sides for about a fist.

The first class charges 40% more than the economy class, and the additional fee cannot be discounted. Today, I paid the full price of KRW 33,200 (USD 25.4) for my seat. There are monitors on the ceiling to show the information about the train. OK, it’s time to depart!

I could see doors closing from my seat. The train departed Seoul Station on time. (1:57 PM) We will be at Daejeon at 3:03 PM. The arrival schedule was shown on the monitor. On the left side, KTX-Sancheon was waiting. Two trains are connected to operate together, and each one has 10 cars.

They were introduced in the 2010s, so they are more popular than this earlier KTX. A cute safety video I didn’t know trains have safety videos like airplanes. Until Geumcheongucheong Station, KTXs take local tracks used by Mugunghwa trains and the metro. The high-speed railroad starts just before Gwangmyeong Station. (We skip the station today.)

After passing Yongsan Station, we will cross Hangang river. We will cross Hangang Railway Bridge. There are four bridges and they were built in different years. The bridge we are taking now was built in 1944, and the oldest one was built in 1900!

It is amazing that the bridge built over 100 years ago is still being used well. I’ve been living in Seoul for years, but I still feel excited every moment I see Hangang. If you are taking trains or subway line 1, do not miss this spectacle! I came outside of the cabin.

There is luggage storage, and there are first-class amenities. First-class passengers can get free water from this vending machine. But the vending machine was not available at the moment. Thankfully there were spares behind the machine, and I also took the snack.

The maximum amount is not limited, so you can take as many as you want. You can also borrow books and newspapers, but I have never taken it. And finally, there is a trash can. These are the amenities for first-class passengers. Mineral water and snacks. It says ‘first class’. Let’s unbox it.

It’s filled with snacks. There are cold towel, mixed nuts, and two brownie cookies. Let’s try them. Mukbang time! Why am I wiping my hands that aggressively 😂 First, I will try this brownie cookie. It looks like a basic chocolate cookie. Mmmm

The taste of chocolate is not strong, and bitterness and sweetness are well combined. It’s not sweet and delicious. (You know it’s the best compliment from Asians?) Next, let’s try mixed nuts. It is named ‘Snow Nuts’. I can see peanuts, almonds, walnuts, and dried raspberries. But it does not have many nuts inside.

It is salted and I think it can go well with beers. Please do not misunderstand. I do not drink like a fish… The train is running smoothly. This Gyeongbu high-speed railway was built away from cities, so you can see many rural areas. Many people are taking a rest with the window blinds unfolded.

Oh wait I forgot to show you the window blinds… Every window has a blind, but it does not completely block the sunlight. By the way, it snowed yesterday. I really love watching snowy scenes. We are approaching Cheonan-Asan Station, the first stop of this train.

You can access this station by Mugunghwa trains or subway line 1 as well, but it will take twice as long as KTX. It’s already halfway to Daejeon. Between Gwangmyeong to Daejeon, this train can speed up to 305km/h(217mph). However, we are going more slowly than usual, maybe due to the cold weather.

I came to the toilet. Most of the toilets are shared with economy class passengers, but this one can be only used by first class passengers. It has a toilet and toilet seat covers. You can flush it by pushing the pedal below. A hand dryer and toilet papers A sink and liquid soap.

There is a trashcan and a power outlet, too. To use the sink, push the pedal below, then the water comes out. Unordinary one The hand dryer is turned on by pushing the button. It’s somewhat loud. Maybe it is louder than your lawnmower. And it… never ends…

It feels like taking over a minute to stop. Let’s go back to the seat. We are approaching Osong Station. It is located at Cheongju, right next to Daejeon. This station is far away from the downtown, but many people use it. We arrived at Osong Station at 2:50 PM. (delayed 4 minutes)

Fun fact: Osong means ‘five pine trees’. Osong Station is the junction of Gyeongbu Highspeed Railway (bound for Busan) and Honam Highspeed Railway (bound for Gwangju). The government decided to make the junction at Osong, not Cheonan-Asan.

As a result, trains bound for Gwangju had to make a big turn to the destination, which increased the additional time and fee. That’s why Osong Station has been harshly criticized. And this is the problematic junction. Say goodbye to it. It takes just over ten minutes to move from Osong to Daejeon.

Well, it’s time to wrap up. Don’t forget to clean up the seat! We finally entered Daejeon. You can notice it by looking at that bridge. *Arrival announcement The arrival is announced in Korean, English, Chinese, and Japanese. Then it is usually followed by the cabin crew’s announcement.

Daejeon is one of the major stations in Korea, so many people get on and off here. We arrived at Daejeon Station at 3:06 PM. (delayed 1 minute) OK, let’s get off! By the way, this is my small Korean Air suitcase, and it’s my go-to when I stay somewhere for several days.

KTX 035, bound for Busan That closing was so aggressive 😂 It will continue its journey to Busan, and it will take 1 hour and 30 minutes more. Have a nice trip! Let’s go out to the lobby. Hmmm 𝓢𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓼𝓯𝔂𝓲𝓷𝓰.✨✨ Many people are waiting for their trains. Daejeon Station

The station was as crowded as Seoul Station. This year(2023), Dec 23 to 25 was a holiday season in Korea, so it’s more crowded than usual. Daejeon is famous for Seongsimdang, a local bakery in the city. People are lining up to enter the store.

It’s also famous for savory desserts, so I recommend visiting it when you go to Daejeon. And that’s it for today! How was my first class ride? If you like the video, please subscribe and watch other videos, too! Thank you for watching.

Most of the KTXs(Korean bullet trains) have first class. It has more spacious seats, arranged in 1-2, and free beverages and snacks! It costs 40% more than the standard class, so it is not that expensive. Do you think it is worth it? Explore the first class with me and rate it! Today, I tried the first class on a KTX, modeled from TGV. It was a journey of 159.8km(99 mi) and 1 hour 6 minutes. Let’s get on board!

Ticket: KRW 33,200 (USD 25.4)

#KTX #TGV #Korea #Train #Mukbang