top of page

SOUTH KOREA

Seoul Incheon – Nov 2016

 

LANDSIDE
There is a viewing area located upstairs in the centre of the terminal which provides good views of some stands and one side of the midfield terminal. You can see a small portion of either runway and taxiways out to the side but nothing can be read off given the poor quality of the glass and haze. If using SBS then you could see all movements from here. If not then a lot of stuff will be missed as they use both runways for arrivals and departures and a lot of stuff will stay on the side it lands, most notably cargo.

 

I found the best spot to be the multi storey car park. There are 2 located just after the train station. The one on the left as you are walking towards them has views of some cargo stands from the far bottom corner. From here I was able to log all arrivals or departures from both runways depending on direction. If arriving in this direction you could also just see departures on this side as they turned onto the runway. All cargo traffic lands on this runway and it’s a good spot for photos.

 

 

AIRSIDE
Airside – Plently of windows but expect to do a lot of walking if you want to get everything on stand. You can get good views of cargo from here although it is at a distance.

HOTELS
Hotels – Several hotels exist in the area. The Hyatt Regency and the best western are closest and about a 10-15 minute walk away with a few more hotels behind them. There is also a supermarket here. Views can be had of 1 runway if they are landing in that direction but you will miss some stuff and with the view from the terminal its probably not worth staying in your room.

 

The Hyatt has the better views and reportedly has a bar at the top providing good views but is expensive. Both hotels have a shuttle bus.

 

I stayed at the best residence hotel. Its not really a hotel. More someone subletting rooms in a residential block. However its pretty cheap and the rooms are really nice. Some rooms looked away from the airport and if landing in this direction would have views of the approach. SBS would be needed. Wifi worked well. You just phone the hotel from the airport information desk and they will pick you up. Its then a very easy 15-20 minute walk back to the terminal.

 

 

WHAT TO EXPECT
Seouls International airport and by far the busiest. Is very large but you can get most stuff and most importantly the Korean stuff. Expect to see a large proportion of the fleets with most of the remainder being at the domestic airport.
 

 

 

Tip – INHA university which is located in Incheon about 20 minutes from the airport has a B727 preserved for training in full Korean Airlines cls. HL7350.

 

 

 

Taean Hanseo University – Nov 2016

 

About 2 and a half hours drive from Incheon. A small Airfield used for training by Hanseo University. There is a large collection of old military aircraft which you can walk around. 

The university uses B737 N733TW for training and has a Beech 1900 which I was just able to get views of through one of the hanger windows. Several light aircraft and a couple of small Biz where also parked up.

Seoul Gimpo – Nov 2016

 

LANDSIDE
Neither Domestic or International has any views

 

Observation Area – Located in the Korean Airports Authority building. From the domestic terminal turn left and keep walking. You will find a building and car park to your left. Find the lift and go to the top floor. You won’t miss anything from here and there are inside and outside areas. Its only open from 10am till 5pm however you should still be able to stand next to the lifts and watch out of the windows outside of these times.

 

 

AIRSIDE
Domestic terminal has window views allowing all movements to be seen

 

 

HOTELS
None seen

 

 

WHAT TO EXPECT
Mostly Domestic traffic with some international flights to regional destinations ( similar to Tokyo Haneda ). Not greatly busy but its mostly stuff you won’t get at Incheon. Worth 4 hours before everything starts repeating.

 

Some of the Korean Biz are based and the military / coast guard may have some smaller aircraft present on the other side.

There is a B737 painted in South Korean Government cls parked on the other side. Its identity is unknown and may be a mock up?

Jeju – Nov 2016

 

LANDSIDE
No views from the terminal area

 

 

AIRSIDE
Domestic has good views of the runway and most stands

 

 

HOTELS
None seen

 

 

WHAT TO EXPECT
Fairly busy with a steady stream of domestic traffic and some international flights. Nothing that can’t be seen in Seoul though. The local carriers do operate some international flights from here but it seems aircraft do rotate around and may be back on domestic routes to Seoul.

 

 

Jeongseok Airfield

 

Located on Jeju Island and about a 45 minute taxi ride from Jeju Airport. Korean Airlines have training facilities there and have a B747, HL7463 and A300, HL7219 parked along with a Lockheed Electra. Views can be had from the perimeter road which also leads to the Jeongseok Aviation Pavillion, which is a small museum type place. It was closed for renovation when I was there. Inside, assuming its still there, is the cockpit section of A300, HL7218 and outside the landing gear is preserved.
 

Pusan / Busan – Mar 2008

 

LANDSIDE

Some views exist from landside but you will miss stuff.

 

AIRSIDE

Domestic has window views of these gates only and difficult to see the runway

 

HOTELS

None at the airport

 

WHAT TO EXPECT

A visit to Seoul should get you nearly everything on the Korean register but the few gaps that remain may be here, as Korean and Asiana operate several international flights with smaller aircraft. Probably not worth the cost unless you can get a transit through.

bottom of page