Escape room for three in Hongdae: all 4 hints used at Cube Escape

On hot days like these, I naturally start looking for indoor things to do. If you want a different kind of hangout with friends, a Hongdae escape room is a great pick. I love mystery entertainment shows like Great Escape, Girls' Detective Squad, and Crime Scene, so I end up doing escape rooms pretty often too.

This time I went to Cube Escape Hongdae Branch and had a cool, comfortable escape room session with friends. I went with a friend who's tried escape rooms a few times but never actually escaped, plus a total first-timer — and this time, thankfully, we all escaped together!

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

Cube Escape Hongdae-Hapjeong Branch sits between Hongik University Station and Hapjeong Station, so it's very accessible. It's also close to Sangsu Station.

I walked over slowly from Hongik University Station, and it's a nice distance for taking in the Hongdae streets along the way.

It's located on the 4th floor of the building, so you take the elevator up.

Once you arrive, you can store your belongings — including your phone — in a locker before entering, and if you're wearing uncomfortable shoes, you can switch into the indoor slippers provided.

Booking a Hongdae escape room: why the official website is easiest

I'd recommend booking Cube Escape Hongdae Branch in advance. Same-day walk-ins are possible, but your choice of theme and available times may be limited.

For reference, Naver reservations only showed a limited selection of time slots. If you want to book a specific time, use the official website instead — it shows every available slot, so booking ahead there is much more convenient. You don't even need to sign up.

Why we chose the Hansel and Gretel theme at Cube Escape

Honestly, I love mysteries, but I absolutely cannot handle anything gory or horror-related. Even a hint of scariness in an escape room makes it hard for me to commit. So many escape rooms lean into horror concepts, which really limits which themes I can actually enjoy.

For our Hongdae escape room session with friends, we went with Hansel and Gretel, which has a horror rating of 0. My friends aren't into horror either, so it was an easy pick. It barely has any scary elements, and thankfully the difficulty wasn't too high either, which made it perfect for the friend who was doing an escape room for the first time.

Before entering, a staff member gives a brief explanation along with an intro video.

Playing Hansel and Gretel: 4 hints and an escape with 15 minutes to spare

The escape room started right after we entered blindfolded, and there was almost nothing that required a lot of physical movement or activity. I wore a skirt and had no real issues.

Overall the difficulty wasn't hard and there was barely anything startling, but since I'm such a scaredy-cat, I stayed on edge the whole time just in case.

We used all 4 of the available hints and escaped comfortably with about 15 minutes left. It was fun constantly bouncing ideas off each other while we played. Some parts were easy to figure out, but there were also bits we never would have caught without the hints — overall, though, I wouldn't call this theme a difficult one.

Still, it was fun getting to taste that escape feeling and to give my friend, who was trying an escape room for the very first time, a real sense of the fun of it!

Hansel and Gretel at Cube Escape: the verdict in one line

• Horror level: ★☆☆☆☆ (barely any)
• Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
• Physical activity: ★☆☆☆☆
• Beginner recommendation: ★★★★★
• Recommended for friends/couples: ★★★★★

On hot days like these, you start craving something you can enjoy indoors and cool instead of an outdoor date. If you're in Hongdae or Hapjeong trying to think of a different hangout or date idea with friends, Cube Escape's Hongdae escape room could be a great choice! Especially if you can't handle horror or you're brand new to escape rooms, I'd recommend starting with the Hansel and Gretel theme at Cube Escape Hongdae Branch — it's completely stress-free.