My travel to Sejong commenced at the Seoul Station, where I was to have the unprecedented experience of riding one of the fastest bullet trains in Korea. Although I had less than 20 minutes before departure, the vast station was difficult to manage at first. However, it was much easier than I thought it would be.
Seoul Station resembles an airport rather than a typical station. It has lots of platforms, ticket offices, subway connections, and trains departing for different regions of the country. I had already bought the ticket online, so I only had to find the right platform and the car.
An Enjoyable First-class Bullet Train Ride
The train departed almost exactly on time. The first-class ticket I purchased cost approximately $22, while a second-class ticket was about half the amount of the one I bought. There was plenty of legroom available – even a tall passenger like me was able to find a comfortable position, and there was also enough space for the laptop and a power outlet.
The ride was pleasant and quiet. It is said that the train travels at a speed close to 300 kilometers, but this information was not displayed in the car. The
In just 48 minutes, the train got to the station that was closest to destination. Though the train was convenient, this was not the end of my journey.
Finding a Bus to Sejong
Since my destination did not have direct train access, I had to travel by bus. At first, I found out that the bus cannot take cash. The locals were helpful enough to show me where to buy a bus card and charge it.
The bus was a double-decker with lots of room. The journey was comfortable. In around 30 minutes, I also had time to look for a hotel as well because I had not booked accommodation before the trip.
Interestingly, there were only two or three hotels on the booking website in this city. This fact suggests how different Sejong is from other tourist-oriented places in Korea.
Reaching Korea’s Future Capital
When I reached my destination, Sejong was modern and spacious, surprisingly quiet too. It featured tall residential buildings, broad roads and modern infrastructure.
My hotel charged me around $100 for one night. It had a very modern room with a comfortable bed, heated toilet, shower, fridge, bottled drinking water for free and a mini-work desk. However, finding the entrance to my hotel was not an easy task at all. Due to bad signs I spent almost ten minutes walking around the building trying to find the entrance.
After entering the hotel, I completed the check-in process in no time and the room turned out to be much nicer than the process of my arrival.
Sejong, which was built in 2012, was intended to serve as South Korea’s administrative capital. The government planned it for one million people but so far, only about 350,000 individuals live there.
The city was built from the ground up to encompass modern infrastructure, government buildings, and residential areas. Even its size plays a role in why some parts of Sejong are so quiet.
Although the city has somewhat low population numbers, there is still great potential here since it features modern architecture and planned urbanism.
Visiting Sejong after spending time in Seoul, it was clear to me that this is a city that has not yet found its path.
