Hongdae escape room café: all 5 hints on Towering at Cube Escape

With all the heavy rain hitting the Gyeongnam region lately, it seems like there's a lot of damage ㅜ Please be careful out there, and with the big temperature swings between morning and night these days, watch out for colds too!

I've been a well-known escape room lover since I was young — I can safely say I've been to basically all the big, famous places in Busan haha. My close friend lives in Seoul, so whenever I come up to visit, we try an escape room together. This time a fun-looking Hongdae escape room theme caught my eye, so I gave it a shot!

Where is Cube Escape Hongdae Branch and how do you get there?

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is an escape room café on the 4th floor of the Mugwang Building, just a short walk from Hongdae Station. No parking lot, so keep that in mind.

I've been up to Seoul a few times before, but this was my first time actually visiting Hongdae. You can really feel the youthful energy, and there were SO many foreigners — I felt like I was traveling abroad lol.

This Hongdae escape room was a short walk from Hongdae Station after getting off. It wasn't hard to find, so even a country girl from Busan like me got there with no trouble lol. No parking, just a heads up!

Before we got to the elevator, there were no signs at all on the stairs, so I kept wondering, 'is this really the right place?' It felt like the escape room had already started, honestly.

It had been a while since I visited an escape room café lol. I don't really have a friend in Busan anymore who'd go with me for this kind of thing, so I decided to make the most of my Seoul trip and hit two escape rooms two days in a row. This trip was pure dopamine lol.

Is there a theme at Cube Escape for people who hate horror?

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch has all kinds of themes besides horror, so even I — someone who can't handle scary stuff — was able to fully rule out horror and still have plenty of options. It's set up so that even beginners can enjoy it.

This Hongdae escape room café has SO many celebrity signatures on the wall?! I looked up reviews beforehand and they were great, so I was excited even before going in. I absolutely cannot do scary themes, so once again I ruled out horror completely haha.

I loved that there were so many props to take photos with once you finish. Gotta get that victory photo after escaping, right?! I was already thinking about which prop to pose with before we even started — that's how confident I was that we'd escape lol.

This Hongdae escape room has all kinds of themes besides horror, so I think anyone who can't handle scary things, like me, can still find something to try. Beginners can definitely handle it!

The bonus-hint minigame, lockers and slippers at Cube Escape

At Cube Escape Hongdae Branch, you sign a consent form, and beyond the standard 4 hints, there's a minigame you can play to earn one more. If you rush through the minigame without thinking, you'll fail even the easy parts, so take your time and actually solve it lol.

There was no way to go back, so we just gave up and said we couldn't do it — I guess we looked pitiful, because they gave us an extra hint anyway ㅠ This Hongdae escape room staff were incredibly kind.

There were plenty of lockers for storing belongings, and slippers in every size, which made things a lot more comfortable. That said, comfortable clothes and shoes are still a must for escape rooms in general haha.

How hard is the Towering theme? All 5 hints used

The Towering theme we tried this time is disaster-related, and up to 5 hints are allowed — we used exactly all five. The puzzles felt tangled together in a way that made it hard to get a read on things early on!!

Just scanning the theme, you could immediately tell some parts were going to feel scary. Eerie music was even playing inside the escape room, so as a scaredy-cat, I got swept up in the fear lol. The Towering theme we tackled this time was disaster-related, and even entering with the lights off at the start already had me spooked lol.

Reading the synopsis carefully before going in really helps with immersion, so I made sure to read it thoroughly.

The Towering theme we tried this time felt like the puzzles were tangled together in multiple layers, making it hard to get a read early on!! It had been a while since I'd played, and running into non-simple puzzles made me keep slipping up lol. Up to 5 hints are allowed, and we used exactly all five. The number of puzzles felt a bit low, which was a small downside!! But since there are fewer puzzles and only a few rooms, I think it's a great theme for total beginners to start with.

Yakgwa after the escape, and a harder theme next time

At Cube Escape Hongdae Branch, once you escape successfully, they give you yakgwa (traditional Korean honey cookie) lol. It's a cute little snack, perfect for eating right after a refreshing escape.

Next time, I think I could handle a Hongdae escape room theme with a bit more difficulty and maybe even a little bit of scare(?). If you're looking for a unique Hongdae date idea, I'd recommend Cube Escape Hongdae Branch.