Exit 3, not the station: how Seoul gives directions underground

In Seoul, the station name gets you to the right neighbourhood. The exit number gets you to the right corner. Large stations such as Gangnam or Hongik University have ten or more exits, and coming up the wrong one can leave a six-lane road between you and the café you booked.

Read the map before the stairs

Every exit has a number, and yellow signs in the concourse point to each one. Near the ticket gates there is a neighbourhood map, the 주변 지역 안내도 (jubyeon jiyeok annaedo), showing which buildings, schools and bus stops are above each exit. A minute in front of it saves a long walk around the block at street level.

How plans are made

Friends rarely say ‘meet at Hongdae’. They say ‘Hongik University Station, exit 9’, then wait at the top of those stairs. Naver Map and Kakao Map list the nearest exit and the walking distance for most shops and clinics, so the number works almost like a postcode. If someone suggests a station, ask 몇 번 출구 (myeot beon chulgu), ‘which exit number’, and the plan is settled.

The door number on the platform

Platform screen doors have their own labels, such as 3-2, which means car three, door two. Kakao Metro and Naver Map show which door is closest to a transfer passage or to the escalator for your exit. This matters most with luggage, because not every exit has an elevator, and the station map marks the ones that do.

3번 출구 앞에서 만나요.

The line above, sambeon chulgu apeseo mannayo, means ‘let’s meet in front of exit 3’. It is short enough to send as a message and specific enough that nobody has to call.