Speaking of Sinchon, there’s actually two of them.
One is Sinchon (pronounce it ‘Sin-CHOWN’) and is in northwest Seoul near Hongdae. The other is Sincheon (pronounce it ‘Sin-CHAWN’) and is in southeast Seoul near Jamsil. More than a few locals have to pronounce it carefully to make sure they meet their friends at the same one!
9. When you’re ready for a day trip out of Seoul, the country is your oyster.
Virtually all of mainland Korea is roundtrippable in one day, thanks to an excellent train and express bus system. While the locals often reserve their tickets ahead of time, the process is bit harder for foreigners to do. Your best bet is to head to a train station, where you can reserve tickets well ahead of time – in ENGLISH! – through an automated ticketing machine.
10. Speaking of trains, sometimes the train has sold out of seats and you’ll have to take a standing room ticket.
This does not mean you’ll be standing the whole time. It just means there’s no seat available for your entire trip. When you first get on, take a look around to see if there are any empty seats. Be prepared to give up your seats to the legitimate ticket holder as you approach a station, of course. On most Sunday night trains coming back to Seoul, it’ll be PACKED – something to experience once, but otherwise it’s worth avoiding.