Half a day in Songdo, starting from the Gangnam Style platform

The title says Gangnam, but the "Gangnam Style" scene where PSY and HyunA dance on the platform and inside the train was filmed at International Business District Station in Songdo, Incheon. Get off one stop earlier, at Central Park Station, and you reach Songdo Central Park, which "Sold Out Today" and "The Wonderfools" used as a city backdrop. Both stations are on Incheon Line 1, so coming by rail from Incheon Airport means one transfer, at AREX Gyeyang Station.

Get off at International Business District Station first and look around the platform, then take Exit 5 and walk toward G-Tower. On weekends the observatory opens at 13:00, so you can see the park and the water taxi first and go up afterward. For the ride back, enter Central Park Station through Exit 3. Train times, fares and opening hours were checked again on October 11, 2026, on the websites of Incheon Transit Corporation, AREX, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Incheon Tour and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.

All seven photos come from Wikimedia Commons. Charlie1024 photographed the station sign on the International Business District platform on June 1, 2014. It predates Songdo Moonlight Festival Park Station, so the sign still says "Terminal Station". Exit 5 in May 2011, before the surrounding buildings went up, was captured by Seamar31 and released under CC0. Ken Eckert shot the lake with water taxis and canoes in April 2015, and José Carioca took the autumn waterway and the park sign at night one after the other on the evening of October 27, 2021. The view of the park from the 33rd floor of G-Tower is a 2018 photo by Manju. The photo with G-Tower beyond the lawn was taken by Piotrus in September 2015 and uploaded under CC BY-SA 3.0. The remaining five are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. We could not find usable openly licensed photos of Gyeongwonjae by Walkerhill or Art Center Incheon, so they are not included.

The short version

International Business District Station, where the subway scene in "Gangnam Style" was filmed, and Songdo Central Park, the backdrop for two dramas, are one stop apart on Incheon Line 1.

To get there by rail from Incheon Airport, take an AREX all-stop train and transfer to Incheon Line 1 at Gyeyang Station. The park's water taxi ticket office has no foreign-language service, so it is best to know the fares in advance. The observatory on the 33rd floor of G-Tower, at the northwest side of the park, is free, but it closes on Mondays and opens at 13:00 on weekends and public holidays.

Deadlines that matter

Entry to the G-Tower 33rd-floor observatory
By when: 20:30
If you miss it: The observatory closes at 21:00. It opens at 10:00 from Tuesday to Friday, and at 13:00 on weekends and public holidays.
End of water taxi service
By when: 18:00 in the winter season; in the summer season, 19:00 on weekdays and 21:00 on weekends
If you miss it: You cannot ride that day. Service starts again at 10:00 the next day.

Right now

1From Incheon Airport, take an AREX all-stop train. The express train runs nonstop between Seoul Station and Incheon Airport, so you cannot get off at Gyeyang Station.
2The G-Tower 33rd-floor observatory closes on Mondays and opens at 13:00 on weekends and public holidays. Last entry is 20:30, and admission is free.
3The water taxi ticket office has no foreign-language service. Fares are 4,000 won for adults (age 13 and over) and 2,000 won for children (age 1 through elementary school).

Getting there

Incheon International Airport (AREX and Incheon Line 1)
Take an AREX all-stop train, get off at Gyeyang Station and transfer to Incheon Line 1. On a train bound for Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, you reach Central Park Station first, and the next stop is International Business District Station.
How long:
According to the AREX timetable, it takes about 31 minutes from Incheon Airport Terminal 1 to Gyeyang, and about 38 minutes from Terminal 2. On Incheon Line 1, Gyeyang to Central Park takes about 52 minutes.
The express train does not stop at Gyeyang Station.
Incheon International Airport (airport bus 6777)
Take bus 6777 from stop 2 on the 1st floor of Terminal 1, or from stop 17 on basement level 1 of the Terminal 2 Transportation Center. It stops at Central Park (Songdo) (센트럴공원(송도)), Central Park Station (Overseas Koreans Agency) (센트럴파크역(재외동포청)) and International Business District Station (Songdo) (국제업무지구역(송도)).
Cost:
8,000 won
From Terminal 1, it departs 12 times a day between 07:30 and 22:00. From Terminal 2, it runs 20 minutes earlier, from 07:10 to 21:40.
Seoul Station
Take an AREX all-stop train toward Incheon Airport and transfer to Incheon Line 1 at Gyeyang Station. From there, the route is the same as from the airport.

What to have ready

A transit card: The filming spots at International Business District Station are the platform and the inside of the train. To stand in the same place, you have to pass through the ticket gates with a transit card.

Phrases you can copy and paste

Step by step

The route on a map

1
The platform at International Business District Station is the spot from the music video
Where:
International Business District Station on Incheon Line 1. It is the stop after Central Park Station, just before the terminus, Songdo Moonlight Festival Park Station
Cost:
Subway fare
International Business District Station is on the Songdo section of Incheon Line 1. The line passes Central Park Station and International Business District Station and ends at Songdo Moonlight Festival Park Station. hizine notes that the "Gangnam Style" scene where PSY and HyunA dance on the platform and inside the train was filmed at this station. The filming spot is inside the ticket gates, so to stand where the frame was, you need to tap in with a transit card. After seeing the platform, take Exit 5 toward G-Tower and Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. The station office number is 032-451-3188.
Filmed here: Gangnam Style
334 Incheontower-daero (underground), Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea
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2
See the Central Park waterway from a water taxi
Where:
Exit 3 of Central Park Station leads to the park. The West Boat House, where you board the water taxi, is in the Sunset Garden at the west end of the park, close to Exit 2 of Central Park Station
How long:
Water taxi: 10:00~18:00 in the winter season; in the summer season, 10:00~19:00 on weekdays and 10:00~21:00 on weekends. Open every day
Cost:
Park free. Water taxi 4,000 won for adults, 2,000 won for children
Songdo Central Park is a waterfront park surrounded by high-rise buildings. There is no admission fee and no closing day. hizine notes that the park appears as the backdrop to Ye-jin's city life in episode 1 of "Sold Out Today", and as Songdo's planned-city skyline in episode 2 of "The Wonderfools". Inside the park, Songdo Komarin West Boat House runs the water taxi. Incheon Tour says that from the water taxi on the park's artificial waterway you can see a Songdo skyline that includes Tri-bowl, Posco Tower-Songdo and G-Tower. Fares are 4,000 won for adults (age 13 and over) and 2,000 won for children (age 1 through elementary school). The ticket office has no foreign-language service, so call 032-834-4609 if you have questions.
Filmed here: Sold Out Today, The Wonderfools
160 Convensia-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea
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3
From the 33rd floor of G-Tower, the whole park comes into view
Where:
Toward Exit 5 of International Business District Station. You can also walk there from Exit 3 of Central Park Station
How long:
Tuesday to Friday 10:00~21:00, weekends and public holidays 13:00~21:00, last entry 20:30. Closed on Mondays
Cost:
Free
The 33rd floor of G-Tower holds the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority's promotion center and an observatory. Incheon Tour says that from this observatory you can look down on Central Park, Incheon Bridge and Songdo International City. It is not a filming location, but it is the place to take in, from above and all at once, the buildings you looked up at from the park. Admission is free. Besides Mondays, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority sets March 1 Independence Movement Day, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, January 1, and the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays as regular closing days. According to Incheon Tour, leaflets in English, Japanese and Chinese are available, and the phone number is 032-453-7882~3.
175 Art center-daero, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea
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The Korean words

환승hwanseung, transfer: Changing to another line. On this route, you change between AREX and Incheon Line 1 at Gyeyang Station.
일반열차ilban yeolcha, all-stop train: The AREX train that stops at every station. It stops at Gyeyang Station.
직통열차jiktong yeolcha, express train: The train that runs nonstop between Seoul Station and Incheon Airport. It does not stop at Gyeyang Station.
방면bangmyeon, bound for: The direction a train is heading. At Gyeyang Station, take the train bound for Songdo Moonlight Festival Park.
대인 / 소인dae-in / so-in, adult / child: The water taxi fare categories. Adults are age 13 and over, and children are age 1 through elementary school.
정기휴관일jeonggi hyugwanil, regular closing day: A day a place is regularly closed. The G-Tower observatory closes on Mondays, some national days, and the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays.

Easy to miss

The AREX express train runs nonstop between Seoul Station and Incheon Airport. If you board it at the airport, you pass Gyeyang Station and end up at Seoul Station.
The water taxi ticket office has no foreign-language service. Knowing the fares and the adult and child categories in advance makes buying tickets easier.
Incheon Tour splits the water taxi hours into a winter season and a summer season, but does not say which month the summer season starts. If you plan to ride in the evening, ask the ticket office or call 032-834-4609 that day for the closing time.
The G-Tower observatory opens at 13:00 on public holidays too, but it is closed on March 1 Independence Movement Day, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, National Foundation Day, January 1, and the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays. The Incheon Tour page lists the closing days only as "legal public holidays", which differs from the guidance of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, which runs the observatory. This guide follows the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.

You can skip this if

Gyeongwonjae by Walkerhill, the hanok hotel where the first birthday party scene in episodes 1 and 2 of "It's Not a Matter of Infidelity Right Now" was filmed, and Art Center Incheon, where the concert hall scene in "Apartment" was filmed, are also in Songdo. This guide does not cover them as spots.

Where this comes from

Rules, fees and deadlines change and depend on your exact case. Please confirm the details with the official sources before you act.