KTX Day Trips by Station: 12 Stops from Seoul

Most guides to KTX day trips start with the city: Busan or Gyeongju, Jeonju or Gangneung. This one starts with the station. On a day trip, the minutes between stepping off the train and reaching the old town decide how much of the day you actually get, and Korea’s KTX stations vary a lot here. Some, like Daejeon, open straight into the old centre. Others, like Gyeongju or Ulsan, were built on the edge of town for the high-speed line, and the bus or taxi that follows is part of the trip.

Below are the 12 stations in our KTX day-trip series, grouped by line, with the Seoul station each line leaves from and the first move once you arrive. Each row links to a full station guide with the bus numbers, sights and local restaurants. If you would rather compare cities by journey time and fare first, start with our KTX and SRT day trips from Seoul and come back here to plan the arrival.

Which Seoul station do you leave from for each KTX line?

It depends on the line. Of the lines in this series, Suseo serves only the Gyeongbu, Honam and Jeolla lines. Gangneung Line and Jungang Line (KTX-Eum) trains leave from Seoul Station or Cheongnyangni.

🚄 Seoul departure stations by line (from the 12 station guides, November 2026)

Iksan sits where the Honam and Jeolla lines split, which is why it appears twice. Gyeongju is reachable two ways: the Gyeongbu Line from Seoul Station or Suseo, or the slower KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni via Andong. Journey times change with every timetable, and we did not find an official current figure for most routes, so the station guides send you to KORAIL+ for times. The few official figures we found are in the station guides themselves: about 114 minutes for Seoul Station to Gangneung in the government’s 2017 opening plan, an average of 2 hours 3 minutes for Cheongnyangni to Andong at the KTX-Eum launch, and Suncheon City’s “about two and a half hours” to Suncheon.

How far is each KTX station from the town centre?

Four of the twelve are walk-in stations, two connect by subway, and the rest need a bus or a taxi. This is the table to read before you pick a destination for a short day.

🗺️ From the platform to the sights: 12 KTX stations

Two notes on names. Singyeongju Station was renamed 경주역 Gyeongju Station on 28 December 2023, so search “Gyeongju” in KORAIL+. And Ulsan’s KTX station is officially 울산(통도사)역 Ulsan (Tongdosa), a long way from downtown Ulsan and the coast; the Ulsan guide covers the connections.

Which KTX station suits which kind of day?

Pick by what you want to see, then check the station’s position in the table above. Here is how the twelve stations split by theme, using what each station guide covers.

• Kingdom capitals and UNESCO sites: Gyeongju for Silla (Daereungwon, Cheomseongdae, Bulguksa), Iksan for Baekje (Mireuksa and Wanggung-ri), Andong for Hahoe Folk Village, and Ulsan for the Bangucheon petroglyphs, inscribed in 2025.
• The sea: Yeosu EXPO for Odongdo and the maritime cable car, Mokpo for the marine cable car and Gatbawi, Gangneung for Anmok coffee beach and Gyeongpo.
• Nature with a city bus: Suncheon for the reed fields of Suncheon Bay Wetland and the National Garden.
• Food and old streets: Daejeon for Sungsimdang and kalguksu, Daegu for Seomun Market and the modern-history alleys, Jeonju for the Hanok Village and bibimbap, Gwangju for Songjeong tteokgalbi and the Asia Culture Center.