Escape room in Hongdae with an oatmeal cookie prize: Cube Escape
In short
Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is an escape room café in Mapo, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Exit 9 of Hongik University Station, where the difficulty and horror level of all 8 themes are posted in detail on the wall. Wary of scares, the writer picked the Hansel and Gretel theme, escaped after using 3 hints, and received an oatmeal cookie from the prize tiers, which change with the number of hints used. With a horror level of 0 and no physical activity, Hansel and Gretel at Cube Escape is an easy pick for first-timers and families with children.
Good to know
- Hours
- Weekdays 12:00–22:40 / Saturday 10:00–24:00 / Sunday 10:00–22:40
- Parking
- No on-site parking; use nearby paid lots
- Location
- 5-minute walk from Exit 9, Hongik University Station; 4th floor, Mugwang Building
- Number of themes
- 8 (each with a description, difficulty and horror level)
- Discount
- 1,000 won off per person when paying cash
- Hints
- Enter the hint code on a tablet; up to 3 hints
- Prizes
- No hints: polaroid + discount coupon + yakgwa (honey pastry) / 1 hint: discount coupon + yakgwa / 2 hints: yakgwa / 3 or more hints: oatmeal cookie
- Facilities
- Phone charging area; indoor slippers optional
- Price reference
- ₩1,000 ≈ $0.7 (2026-09-18)
as written by the visitor on Sep 17, 2026
It's been a while since I did my favorite hobby, escape rooms 😆 This time I went to Cube Escape Hongdae Branch and tried the 'Hansel and Gretel' theme! Did I escape or not...! Drumroll please, let's get into the review 😋
Where is Cube Escape Hongdae Branch, and what are the hours?
Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is on the 4th floor of Mugwang Building on Yanghwa-ro 16-gil in Mapo-gu, a 5-minute walk from Exit 9 of Hongik University Station. Hours are weekdays 12:00–22:40, Saturday 10:00–24:00, and Sunday 10:00–22:40. There's no parking, so you'll need to use a nearby lot.
This Hongdae escape room café, Cube Escape, is a 5-minute walk from Exit 9 of Hongik University Station :)
Once you go up to the 4th floor of Mugwang Building, you'll see Cube Escape right away!
Inside Cube Escape Hongdae: an interior built for horror fans
In the lobby of Cube Escape Hongdae Branch there are celebrity autographs on the wall, and the interior and props feel more devoted to horror. Just walking around the waiting area gets your expectations up.
The celebrity autographs really stood out first! Looks like everyone had a fun time here, so my expectations went sky-high.
Cube Escape in Hongdae seems to be more serious about horror themes, honestly. The interior and props you spot along the way are just so scary hahahahaha
Difficulty and horror level of all 8 Cube Escape Hongdae themes
Theme introductions
Descriptions, difficulty, and horror level for all 8 themes are posted in detail! With such a variety of themes, it seems great for picking the one that suits you :) And Monkey House looked really, really scary just from the description hahahaha
If you're on the fence about which theme to pick, or especially if you really don't like horror, definitely check this wall first! I loved how thoroughly each theme was laid out :)
Also, the air conditioning here is blasting so hard—was that on purpose, to add to the horror theme's chill...? Power N energy for sure hahahahaha. There was a whole wall of themes, and being the scaredy-cat that I am, after much deliberation I picked Hansel and Gretel 😋
Prices and events: 1,000 won off per person for cash payment
Prices / discount events
Cube Escape has quite a lot of discount events! Also, keep in mind you get an extra ₩1,000 off per person for paying in cash :)
Once you've picked your theme, make sure to store your belongings after the staff's briefing!
There's also a separate spot for charging your phone! As someone whose battery is always dying, I love having a charging spot like this~~ And I also liked that indoor slippers are optional 🤔
Before going in, they said completing a little challenge gets you a hint, so I did it! hahahahaha It was a cute little bonus event. Apparently the escape prize also changes depending on how many hints you use, so I told myself I'd definitely come out with zero hints..!!!!
Hansel and Gretel escape result and the oatmeal cookie prize
I successfully escaped the Hansel and Gretel theme, but since I used 3 hints, the prize I got was an oatmeal cookie. It was a bit disappointing that I ended up using 2 hints I didn't even need.
Ta-da!!!! I escaped! But since I used 3 hints, I got an oatmeal cookie..😢 Ridiculously, I ended up wasting 2 hints I didn't even need, so my no-hint escape attempt failed—but I still made it out safely! Next time, I'm going hintless and getting that yakgwa and photo!!!!!😣
Is Hansel and Gretel easy? Difficulty and horror level in short
At Cube Escape Hongdae Branch, Hansel and Gretel has a 1-star difficulty and zero horror level, making it a great fit for beginners and families with kids. The lock ratio is higher than the device ratio, and there's almost no physical activity involved.
- 💦 Difficulty ★☆☆☆☆ — Genuinely easy enough to recommend to beginners! Great to do with kids too 👍
- 🔒 Device / lock ratio ★★★☆☆ — Felt like about 3:7, with more locks than devices
- 🏃♀️ Physical activity ★☆☆☆☆ — Basically none, so you can wear short skirts or whatever you like freely 👍
- 😱 Horror ☆☆☆☆☆ — No jump-scare sections at all, so anyone who scares easily has nothing to worry about!!
- 🧹 Wear and tear ★★☆☆☆ — Some props are heavily used, with faded colors or text I had to look closely at, but it didn't affect solving the puzzles!
- 🆘 Hints — Enter hint codes on a tablet, up to 3 uses allowed!
- 📷 Prizes — No-hint escape ➡ polaroid + discount coupon + yakgwa / 1 hint ➡ discount coupon + yakgwa / 2 hints ➡ yakgwa / 3+ hints ➡ oatmeal cookie
Where it is
15 Yanghwa-ro 16-gil, Mugwang Building 4F, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 마포구 양화로16길 15 무광빌딩 4층
