Fairytale escape room for two in Hongdae, Seoul: Cube Escape

I was trying to figure out what to do in Hongdae and ended up going to an escape room for the first time in a while 🗝️ This time I visited Cube Escape Hongdae Branch! They have a total of 8 different themes, so you can pick one based on how much horror or difficulty you want. Did we manage to escape...? 👀 haha

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

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is on the 4th floor of the Mugwang Building, 15 Yanghwa-ro 16-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Hours are Mon–Thu 11:00–23:45, Fri–Sat 10:00–00:05, and Sunday 10:00–23:45, and you can book through Naver Reservation or their official website.

• 📍Address: 15 Yanghwa-ro 16-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (4th floor, Mugwang Building)
• ⏰Hours: Mon–Thu 11:00–23:45 / Fri–Sat 10:00–00:05 / Sun 10:00–23:45
• ✔️Naver Reservation ✔️Website booking
• 🅿️Parking: Not available (use nearby public parking lot)

🚊It's about a 7-minute walk from Exit 9 of Hongik University Station, so it's easy to reach by public transit!

How many themes? 8 rooms by horror level and difficulty

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch has 8 total escape room themes, so it was great being able to pick one to match my taste! Since horror level and difficulty vary by theme, you can just choose based on whether you like scares or want higher difficulty, haha.

I booked through the website, and they have various discount events running along with detailed notes on what to watch out for, so I'd recommend checking that before you book!

Finding the 4th floor of the Mugwang Building in Hongdae

Cube Escape is on the 4th floor of the building! Just look for Harmony Mart on the 1st floor and the building is easy to spot, then take the elevator up to the 4th floor, haha. When you get off on the 4th floor, Cube Escape is right there on your right, so I found it without any trouble.

Waiting area and amenities: chargers, slippers, water, restroom inside

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch's waiting area has phone chargers, slippers, and a water dispenser ready, and the restroom is inside the store too. When I went in, I was surprised at how huge the waiting area was! With 8 themes total, there were quite a lot of customers when we visited, but the space was so big it didn't feel crowded at all, haha.

There are chargers in the waiting area, so you can charge your phone while you're doing the escape room‼️‼️ Slippers are also provided if you want to change, but it's not mandatory — you can go in wearing your own comfortable shoes! And there's a water dispenser on one side, plus a restroom right next to it inside the store, so it was convenient to use, haha. Since it's a place with lots of themes and lots of customers, I liked that these amenities were well set up 👍

Why we chose Hansel and Gretel, and the hint mini-game

The theme I chose was Hansel and Gretel — medium-low difficulty, and zero horror elements. Since I'm someone who hates horror, haha, I picked Hansel and Gretel‼️‼️

Once you sit down, the staff will walk you through prior consent and a mini-game (?) where you can earn an extra hint! We got one more hint too, so we started with 5, haha.

What prizes do you get for escaping?

If you escape successfully, you get various prizes!!

• No-hint escape → Polaroid + discount coupon + yakgwa (Korean honey cookie)
• 1-hint escape → discount coupon + yakgwa
• 2-hint escape → 1 yakgwa
• 3+ hints → 1 oatmeal cookie

Since we're both beginners lol, escaping was pretty much our only goal, haha.

How hard is the Hansel and Gretel theme? Our escape result

Hansel and Gretel at Cube Escape Hongdae Branch has zero horror elements, and the two of us beginners used 3 hints and escaped with about 9 minutes left. Don't overthink the difficulty either — if you keep it simple, it comes together quickly lol.

Two beginners who used 3 whole hints even though it was easy... 😅😅 haha. Still, we escaped with about 9 minutes to spare and it was fun, haha. I think this is a great low-pressure theme for people trying an escape room for the first time! I'd recommend it to anyone deciding on an escape room in Hongdae, haha. We had fun solving it together and escaped successfully 😆

Verdict: a horror-free escape room in Hongdae for beginners

💛Final thoughts💛 It had been a while since I did an escape room, and it was way more fun than I expected, haha. Hansel and Gretel especially has zero horror elements, so even people who hate scary stuff can enjoy it comfortably, which I loved! If you're looking for a horror-free escape room in Hongdae, I think it's worth giving this one a try‼️‼️‼️