Hongdae escape room with a 9:1 lock ratio: Towering at Cube Escape

Quick summary

• A Hongdae escape room café located between Hongik University Station and Hapjeong Station
• A proper puzzle room that made me actually use my brain for once
• Prices drop sharply from 3 people, so it's great for doing with friends

Met up with a friend in Hongdae one day! Grabbing a meal and then a café felt a little lacking, so while looking for something light to do, I found this escape room café with same-day booking available. Booked it right away lol. There were quite a few themes, so after deliberating I went with 'Towering' since the description pulled me in the most. Apparently their main theme is actually Pyramid, but it was already booked out so I couldn't play it :( Guess I'll try Pyramid next time!

• Price: ₩22,500 per person
• Play time: 60 minutes
• Genre: Escape room / puzzle room
• Difficulty: Medium (★★★/5)
• Horror level: None

Where Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is and when it opens

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is at 15 Yanghwa-ro 16-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, Mumgwang Building 4F, open 12:00–22:40 (Saturdays until 24:00). It's located in the heart of Mapo's main commercial area between Hongik University Station and Hapjeong Station, so it's easy to grab a meal or coffee before or after.

🎮 Booking tips from a 60-room escape player

You can book through Naver too, but personally I'd recommend booking through their website!

On the website you can browse by time slot and by theme, which made it easy to find the theme I wanted.

Also, this place has tons of discounts. Student discount, Naver review discount, group discount, time-slot discount — you name it. Better to check for discounts than just book off the list price.

Especially once the headcount goes up, the price drops a lot — from 3 people it comes down to around ₩20,000 per person. So if you just want to do something light with friends, it's not a huge cost burden!

Finding the entrance and what the lobby feels like

The building is the one with Harmony Mart, and the entrance is on the right. Take the elevator up to the 4th floor and that's it!

It's on the 4th floor of the Harmony Mart building, and it already looked sizable from outside, but once I actually went in it was even bigger than I expected.

Past a slightly antique-looking door, there are indoor slippers on the right, but you don't have to switch shoes here — only if your shoes are uncomfortable. Kind of a nice touch, honestly, good good.

At the counter there were autographs from various celebrities — I guess being in Hongdae means a lot of celebrities visit. Saw some K-pop related signatures, including idols like Momoland!

One corner of the store has various props and tables set up, good for if you arrive a bit early or want to rest after the escape room. Nice spot to sit for a bit after and go 'okay, what should we eat now?' lol.

🎮 The mini game that starts before you go in

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch runs the pre-entry briefing as a QR mini game. This was the part I personally found interesting! Usually before an escape room, a staff member gives you the rules and basic instructions verbally, but Cube Escape Hongdae Branch uses a QR code to do the pre-briefing in mini game form instead.

It ranges from basic escape room puzzles to something like a mini escape room, so it was more fun than just listening to an explanation lol. Since you're there for an escape room anyway, might as well enjoy this part too. I'd recommend arriving a bit early so you can take your time with the mini game — it was surprisingly fun.

Use no hints and win a polaroid, a discount coupon and yakgwa (honey cookies)

There are 4 base hints. We used one, and if you don't use any hints you get a polaroid + discount coupon + yakgwa (Korean honey cookie). Since we used one, we got the discount coupon and yakgwa lol. Still, when you hand over your phone the staff takes a photo for you, so I didn't feel too bad about missing the polaroid. If anything, I was glad we used the hint on that particular puzzle...

🎬 The Towering theme, explained

The theme we played was Towering!!

You were about to attend a party on the 100th-floor sky lounge. But a fire breaks out on the 100th floor. The elevator that was your only way out has stopped working due to the fire, and you try to escape via the freight elevator. After much trouble, you board an old elevator, and the doors close the moment you get in. You have 60 minutes! Inside the eerie elevator, crack the operating code to escape!

🧩 Difficulty ★★★☆☆: one hint used

Towering's official difficulty is medium. Playing it, it really did feel exactly medium. Rather than the puzzle styles common these days, there were a few more old-school style puzzles, which made it feel like a proper puzzle room for the first time in a while. Some puzzles needed you to think twice rather than just observe and solve instantly, so it required some real brainpower.

I've done around 60 escape rooms so I didn't find it hard, but friends with less experience had moments of 'wait, what are we supposed to do here?' lol. We ended up using a hint on one puzzle, and personally I think that was the right call. Rather than stubbornly holding on till the end, using hints appropriately when needed is a good idea too!

😱 Horror level ★☆☆☆☆: no scares at all

Towering essentially has no horror elements. Even I, who's extremely easily scared, could play comfortably lol. No jump scares, no dark scary sections either, so even people who can't handle horror themes should be able to do this without worry. Personally I'd recommend it for anyone who wants to enjoy puzzle-solving fun without any scares.

🔐 Locks to gadgets = 9 : 1

Towering has a lock-to-gadget ratio of about 9:1 — an almost entirely lock-focused, classic puzzle room feel. It's a bit different from the latest immersive themes packed with impressive gadgets one after another, and there's a fun in solving things one by one using your head. It'll suit people who go 'I like escaping by solving puzzles!' more.

🏠 Interior ★★★☆☆

Overall the space is built out to fit the theme, but since it's an older theme, there are some slightly worn-out parts. Still, it didn't really affect the puzzle-solving. If anything, the process of solving puzzles using the space was fun, and the Towering setting and room atmosphere weren't bad either.

🏃 How much you move around ★★☆☆☆

This isn't a theme with a lot of physical activity. It's a style where you focus and solve puzzles one at a time, so you can move around comfortably. That makes it fine for casually enjoying with friends who are new to escape rooms too.

💰 What a Hongdae escape room costs

Towering's list price is ₩22,500 per person. Not a huge price for an escape room, but since this place runs so many discount events, the price drops a lot once discounts are applied. Especially from 3 people, dropping to around ₩20,000 per person makes a real difference. Good pick for killing time with friends before or after a meal in Hongdae.

⭐ Where Towering ranks among Hongdae escape rooms

Honestly, escape room taste varies so much from person to person that it's hard to pin down a definitive 'best Hongdae escape room' ranking. The advantage here is that if you like puzzle rooms and want a light way to kill time, you can pick whichever theme suits your taste. This time I did Towering, but next time I want to try Pyramid, their main theme. A bit disappointing I couldn't do it this time since it was already booked out :(

👀 Who should book this room?

• Anyone looking for something light to do in Hongdae
• Anyone searching for a Hongdae escape room recommendation
• Anyone who finds horror themes too much
• Anyone who loves a puzzle room that makes you think
• Anyone looking for an escape room to kill time with friends
• Anyone looking for a good-value escape room with discounts

Especially for people who go 'I want to do an escape room but I hate horror!' or 'I prefer solving puzzles over gadgets!', Towering could be a solid choice. And since Cube Escape itself has quite a variety of themes, I'd recommend checking the theme descriptions before your visit and picking the one that fits your taste.