Beginner escape room near Hongik University Station: Cube Escape

Why we chose Cube Escape Hongdae Branch in Mapo, Seoul

I was looking for something a bit different to do with a friend in Hongdae, and this time we went for an escape room. Hongdae has so many restaurants, cafés, and little shops to explore, but somehow whenever we make plans we end up doing the same old course?! So this time we decided to try something new together and picked an escape room!

The place I visited was Cube Escape Hongdae Branch. It's conveniently located near Hongik University Station, and there were several themes to choose from, which made picking one part of the fun.

Cube Escape Hongdae Branch is open Monday to Thursday 11:00–23:45, Friday to Saturday 10:00–00:05, and Sunday 10:00–23:45. It's close to Hongik University Station so it's easy to get to, and since it's open late, there are plenty of time slots to choose from.

How to book a theme, and why we picked Hansel and Gretel

First, you go to the Cube Escape Hongdae Branch website and book the theme you want. Each theme comes with a description and a difficulty rating, so you can choose based on that!

We figured horror themes would be too scary for us, so we went with the cuter-looking Hansel and Gretel haha. Since we hadn't done many escape rooms before, we were a little worried whether we could handle the higher difficulty level though!

Why you should arrive before your booked time

It's best to arrive with some time to spare before your reservation. You'll need to put your things away, use the restroom, and listen to the explanation on how to play — arriving right at your time slot just makes you feel rushed!

We also got there early and took our time getting ready. There's a waiting area and lockers, so you can store your bags or phones before heading into the room!

Since we arrived with time to spare, we looked around a bit. There were posters for the different themes all over the walls, and a lot of them were scary horror themes!! I could never do a horror theme, but I got curious about trying the Secret of the Pyramid theme next time!

The briefing before entering the Hansel and Gretel room

When our reserved time came, a staff member gave us an overall briefing — how to use hints, how to open the different types of locks, and so on — before we headed to the theme room.

We walked down a hallway leading to the room, and right before entering, we closed our eyes and got spun around a bit — and somehow that made me nervous. Right before the escape room starts, even something so small felt tense. Maybe because as a beginner, I genuinely wondered if we'd manage to escape at all,,

If you've done a lot of escape rooms, this probably feels familiar, but as a beginner, just the fact that you have to solve puzzles in a space you've never seen before, within a time limit, is oddly nerve-wracking haha

Level 4 Hansel and Gretel: beginners escaped in 30 minutes

The Hansel and Gretel theme is rated level 4, so I thought it would be hard, but the room had the puzzle order written out inside, so we just had to follow along step by step — it wasn't as difficult as expected! Even as escape room beginners, we managed to get out in about 30 minutes haha

Once the escape room started, we got absorbed faster than I expected. At first we each looked around separately to find clues, then shared what we found and solved the puzzles together. Rather than one person solving everything alone, talking through the clues each of us discovered made the puzzle click into place at some point. And sometimes something that seemed meaningless at first turned out to be an important clue later.

Use a hint, lose the prize? No polaroid for us

At Cube Escape Hongdae Branch, when you successfully escape, there's a prize based on how many hints you used. We got stuck once in the middle and used a hint, so we didn't get the polaroid photo ㅠㅠ We actually had plenty of time left, so I wish we'd thought a bit harder before using that hint,,

Still, it felt great to finally escape at the very end! While we were in the room, it felt like we were always running out of time and I kept feeling rushed, but once we actually escaped, I realized we'd solved it pretty quickly. Failing an escape room has its own fun too, but the satisfaction of succeeding is definitely on another level haha

Is an escape room a good date idea in Hongdae?

Hongdae really has so much to do, but on days when you want something a bit different, an escape room makes a great date course. You have to work together to solve the puzzles, so you end up teaming up, and escaping together brings a real sense of accomplishment!

I hope you'll try the Hansel and Gretel theme at Cube Escape Hongdae Branch like we did and feel that same thrill of escaping successfully〰️ Thanks to this experience, I feel like I finally get why escape rooms are so fun, and I'm already thinking about which theme to try next!