A rather uncomfortable trip across the Korean Peninsula with Korail aboard their ultra-cheap Mungunghwa-ho service. I don't like to give trains a bad review but unfortunately, Korail's Mugunghwa fell far too short of my expectations even at such a low price.
Date of Travel: 25 January 2020
Class of Travel: Economy Class (2nd Class)
Cost of Ticket: ₩28,600 ($24.23, £18.67,€22.20)
Origin: Seoul, South Korea
Destination: Busan, South Korea
Other info: Korail tickets typically go on sale 1 month before your desired date of travel with the exception of tickets for travel for the week around Lunar New Year. Be sure to check online for the specified dates that tickets for travel around Lunar New Year go on sale. The website, station and train signage and departure boards are all displayed in both Korean and English.
In addition, the on train announcements are made in both Korean and English. The train between Seoul and Busan is usually hauled by a class 8200 electric locomotive as the entire route between Seoul and Busan is electrified. Mugunghwa and ITX-Saemual trains operate on different lines than the Korea Train Express (KTX) trains do. This is to allow the KTX trains to operate at a much higher speed. When the first Mugunghwa trains first started operating in the 1980s, they were the highest class of train operating in South Korea. As the years have gone by, lower classes of trains have been retired form service and newer ones introduced,.
As such, Korail's Mugunghwa-ho is now the lowest class of train operating between Seoul and Busan.
Bookmarks