South Korea is small, and its high-speed trains are fast, clean and on time. The KTX runs from Seoul Station and Yongsan; the separate SRT runs from Suseo in southern Seoul. Between them they reach Busan in about two and a half hours and Gyeongju in about two.
Tickets and passes
Seats can be booked online in English. Popular trains sell out at weekends and holidays, especially around Chuseok and Lunar New Year, so we book ahead. Foreign visitors can buy a Korail Pass for a set number of days. Whether it saves money depends on the route; often it does not, and we book point to point.
Luggage
There is space at the ends of carriages, but not much. We send larger bags ahead by courier between hotels where we can, so you board with a day bag.
Jeju is the exception: you fly, about an hour from Seoul Gimpo.