Before you read on
- When you race
- 13–15 November 2026
- How many nights to book
- 3 nights
- Who this race suits
- A first Hyrox, and anyone curious about Korea
- Nearest airport to the venue
- Incheon (ICN), about 70 min by GTX-A
- Cost for the weekend
- ₩512,000 to 938,000 (USD 386 to 706) per person, excluding your flights
On this page
Should you race here?
Two things shape this race. It is not in Seoul: the venue is in Goyang, 25km northwest, so staying in the city costs you about an hour each way. And November mornings are close to freezing, with a walk from the station at either end.
Reasons to
- A young race in its second year, so the field is smaller than at an established European event and the queues are shorter.
- A fast train runs from Seoul Station to the venue in about 16 minutes for ₩6,000 (USD 4.50).
- Food is cheap and good. A proper meal runs ₩10,000 to 18,000 (USD 8 to 14).
- Korean bathhouses are open around the clock and cost about ₩12,000 (USD 9), which makes recovery the day after unusually easy.
Reasons not to
- The race is in Goyang, 25km from central Seoul, so staying in the city costs you about an hour each way on race morning.
- Mornings run close to 1°C (34°F) in November and the venue is a 5 to 14 minute walk from the station.
- Three large exhibitions share KINTEX across the race dates, so the complex will be busy and the nearby hotels full.
- Hyrox has not published which hall it is using, so you cannot plan the walk in until the organiser confirms it.
Conditions on the day
AirAsia HYROX Seoul runs November 13th, 2026 to November 15th, 2026 at KINTEX. Here is what that specific window is like on the ground.
The catch
Cold mornings, mild afternoons
12°C (54°F) by day, 1°C (34°F) at night
Goyang in mid November
- Mornings start close to freezing and the halls are heated, so you will be carrying a layer you do not want to race in.
- November is one of the drier months, with around 6 wet days across it, but it is not reliably dry.
- The sun sets at 17:23, so an afternoon wave means leaving the venue in the dark.
- Daylight
- Dark
- Bar height is temperature
What racing here is like
Your race is here
KINTEX
November 13th, 2026
AirAsia HYROX Seoul
- Everything below describes this building first, and the other for comparison
The venue at a glance
- Address
- 217-60 Kintex-ro, Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do 10390
- Nearest station
- KINTEX Station on the GTX-A line, then a 5 minute walk (₩6,000 (USD 4.50))
- From the nearest hotel
- 5 min walk from Gloucester Hotel Kintex
- Altitude
- 15m above sea level, low enough to make no difference to your race.
Seoul has moved building, moved season, and grown from a single day into the best part of a week. Where you race, and when, changes the day more than most people expect.
KINTEX, your race is in this building
A pair of exhibition buildings holding 108,000 square metres of hall space between them, in Goyang, about 25km northwest of central Seoul. Halls run roughly 171 by 63 metres with 15 metre ceilings, and partitions divide them for each show.
Known for. Korea's largest exhibition centre. Motor shows, trade fairs and conventions, rather than sport.
Race day and start times
The thing that shapes your travel is not the race date. It is when you find out what time you are racing on it.
Hyrox publishes a provisional wave schedule well ahead, and it is for planning only. Your individual start time becomes available about three days before the event. Once a start time is assigned it cannot be changed.
What to bring
Before you race you must check in at the venue in person. You cannot send someone else: the Seoul event page states that checking in on another athlete's behalf is not allowed. Bring photo identification, and have your ticket barcode ready to be scanned. The early-registration and race-day check-in times are listed as to be confirmed, so check the event page before you travel rather than assuming the day before is an option.
You do not need to bring a timing chip. You collect it at check-in along with your wristband, and hand it back after you finish.
What your wristband does not cover
Your race wristband admits you to the venue on your own race day and no other. You may want to get into the hall before your check-in window opens. For that, the Seoul page directs you to spectator check-in, showing your athlete ticket QR code. Anyone coming to watch needs a spectator ticket.
Getting there on the morning
KINTEX Station on the GTX-A is a five minute walk from the halls and the fast way in: about 16 minutes from Seoul Station, ₩6,000 (USD 4.50). Subway Line 3 to Daehwa is cheaper at ₩1,550 (USD 1.20) but leaves a 14 minute walk. Driving, parking is ₩1,240 (USD 0.95) for the first 20 minutes, then ₩620 per 10 minutes, capped at ₩19,000 (USD 14) a day.
What you need to book
Before you book
Arrive at least one full day before you race. Your start time is confirmed only about three days beforehand and could fall early on the first morning. Flying in on race day risks missing your wave.
If Hyrox cancels or postpones the event, its terms do not cover your flights or your room. Check the cancellation deadline on both before you pay for either.
Flying into the city
Incheon takes the long-haul flights and Gimpo is closer to the venue, so check both before booking the room.
Search flights to SeoulSomewhere to stay
The closest beds go first, and those are the ones that matter on race morning.
Compare hotels near the venueSomething to do with the rest of the weekend
Most people fly in for one race and see nothing. The day before is dead time if you do not plan it.
Tours and tickets in SeoulSomewhere to put your bag
Flying out the same evening? This is the difference between a good afternoon and hauling a kit bag around a city.
Left luggage in SeoulYour entry
Sold by Hyrox, one ticket per division per day. We earn nothing from this link and include it because you need it.
Official Hyrox entriesEstimate weekend cost
| Item | Local currency | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Race entry | ₩160,000 to 230,000 | $120 to 175 |
| Three nights near KINTEX | ₩270,000 to 480,000 | $204 to 360 |
| Airport transfer, both ways | ₩12,000 to 88,000 | $9 to 66 |
| Local transport for the weekend | ₩10,000 to 20,000 | $8 to 15 |
| Food and coffee, two days | ₩60,000 to 120,000 | $45 to 90 |
| One athlete, one weekend | ₩512,000 to 938,000 | $386 to 706 |
Getting to Seoul
The race is in Goyang, 25km northwest of central Seoul, and the journey is easier than that sounds.
Arriving from abroad
Incheon handles almost all long-haul flights and sits about 70 minutes from the venue on the GTX-A, or 45 minutes by taxi at around ₩44,000 (USD 33). Gimpo is closer, about 25 minutes by train, and takes most flights from Japan, China and Taiwan. If you have a choice, Gimpo is worth paying a little more for.
Arriving from elsewhere in Korea
The KTX high-speed network reaches Seoul Station from Busan in under three hours, and from most other cities in less. From Seoul Station the GTX-A takes about 16 minutes to KINTEX. That makes the whole country a day trip to this race.
Entry requirements
Korea is straightforward to enter for most visitors, but the paperwork depends on your passport and it is not always the same from year to year.
Quick tip
You do not need to buy a travel card. Touch your own bank card or phone on the reader as you enter the station and again as you leave, and it charges the same fare a local pays.
Getting to the venue
The race is in Goyang, not Seoul, and that one fact decides where you sleep. Staying beside KINTEX means a five minute walk to your wave and an evening in a quiet exhibition district. Staying in Seoul means the city, and an hour of travel on race morning.
Two rail lines reach the venue and they are not equal. The GTX-A is the fast one: it stops at KINTEX Station, five minutes from the door, and runs from Seoul Station in about 16 minutes. Subway Line 3 is cheaper but ends at Daehwa, a 14 minute walk away. On a cold November morning that walk is the difference between arriving warm and arriving stiff. Touch a T-money card or a contactless bank card on the reader as you enter and again as you leave.
Where to stay
You are choosing between the venue and the city, and they are an hour apart. Beside KINTEX there is a short cluster of hotels built for exhibition traffic: functional, quiet, and a five to fifteen minute walk from the hall. Central Seoul is a different proposition entirely, with the food, the palaces and the nightlife, at the cost of an early start and a train on race morning. If you are racing and leaving, stay in Goyang. If anyone is travelling with you who is not racing, stay in Seoul.
Open in Google Maps · Get directions
1. Gloucester Hotel Kintex
The closest bed to the halls, and the simplest answer if you want to wake up and walk to your wave. Listings put it five minutes from Exhibition Hall 1. Functional rather than charming, which is the right trade on a race weekend.
2. KIN Stay Hotel
The other hotel in the cluster at the venue's doorstep, at much the same distance. Worth checking against the Gloucester on price, since both fill when KINTEX has a large show on, and in November it has three.
3. Sono Calm Goyang
A kilometre out, which buys a larger and generally better-equipped room than the two at the gate. Fifteen minutes on foot in November is a cold start, so this suits anyone happy to take a short taxi on race morning.
KINTEX lists partner hotel rates from around ₩88,000 to ₩110,000 (USD 66 to 83) a night, though those are tied to its own accommodation service and are not public rates for this weekend. Three large exhibitions run at KINTEX across the race dates, so the hotels at the gate will be busier than the venue alone would suggest.
Neighbourhoods worth the commute
These areas are in Seoul, not Goyang. All of them need the GTX-A or Line 3 on race morning, so add an hour.
| Area | To the venue | Why | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hongdae and Mapo | about 50 min | Student district with the best cheap eating and the loudest nights in the city. | A first trip to Korea |
| Myeongdong and Jung-gu | about 60 min | Central, walkable, and close to Seoul Station for the fast train to the venue. | Sightseeing with someone not racing |
| Jongno | about 60 min | The palaces, the old city and the hanok streets, with quieter hotels. | A longer stay either side |
Eating before and after
The night before a race is not the night for the best meal of your trip, which is harder discipline than it sounds in a city this good at food.
Plain rice with grilled meat
The standard Korean set meal works well the night before a race if you order it plainly. Ask for grilled chicken or lean beef with white rice, and have the chilli paste and sauces brought on the side so you control them. Most restaurants will do this without comment.
Kalguksu, knife-cut noodles
Soft wheat noodles in a mild broth, usually with a little chicken or seafood. It is the plainest hot meal on a Korean menu and close to ideal the night before: carbohydrate, warm, low fat and not spicy unless you add to it.
Those are the safe choices for the night before. What follows is what people come to Seoul for, and it belongs at lunch or after you finish.
Korean barbecue
Pork belly or beef short rib grilled at the table, wrapped in lettuce with garlic and ssamjang. It is the meal people fly here for and it is the wrong thing the night before: fatty, long, and usually accompanied by soju. Book it for the night after you finish.
Tteokbokki
Rice cakes in a thick, sweet chilli sauce, sold from street stalls and small shops everywhere. It is cheap, filling and very spicy. A good late lunch the day you arrive and a poor decision twelve hours before racing.
Race day supplies
The practical failures that spoil a race weekend are almost never the training. They are forgetting the gels, or carrying a kit bag around a city for six hours.
Pack list
- Registration confirmation with its barcode, on your phone and printed
- Photo identification
- The gels you train with
- Shoes you have raced in
- Grip socks, if you use them
- A warm layer for before and after, and one you can leave at bag drop
- A change of clothes including dry socks
- A small towel
- Tape or plasters for hands and heels
- A refillable bottle
- Something to eat within the hour after you finish
- A T-money card or a contactless bank card
Quick tips
- Mornings in Goyang start near freezing and the halls are heated. Bring a layer you can hand in at bag drop, because standing outside in a vest waiting for a wave is how people start cold.
- Check in yourself. The Seoul event page says athletes must bring identification and that nobody can check in on your behalf.
- Your wristband admits you on your own race day only. To get into the hall before your check-in window opens, the Seoul page directs you to spectator check-in with your athlete ticket QR code.
- A T-money card or a contactless bank card covers every train and bus. Touch in and touch out.
- Three large exhibitions run at KINTEX across the race dates, so allow extra time at the station and make sure you know which hall you want.
The last race in Seoul
Seoul has raced once, in November 2025. That makes this a young race by Hyrox standards, and the second edition is at the same venue.
What happened
The last edition, in short.
- The first Hyrox held in South Korea, on 8 November 2025.
- Held at KINTEX, the same venue as the 2026 edition.
What it means for you
How your race differs from that one.
- A smaller field than a European race means shorter queues at registration and more room on the floor.
- A second edition usually grows. Treat 2025 as a guide to the venue, not to how busy 2026 will be.
What else is on that weekend
Checked against the KINTEX calendar for your race dates.
| What | When | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| MegaShow and TravelShow 2026 | 12 to 15 November | KINTEX, Halls 2 and 3 | Runs through the whole race weekend in the same complex. Expect crowds at the station and in the car parks. |
| Mega Food Show 2026 | 12 to 15 November | KINTEX | A second large show across the same dates. Halls are not published. |
| International Lift Expo Korea | 11 to 13 November | KINTEX | Ends as the race begins, so the Friday will be the busiest day at the venue. |
What to see
Written for someone racing tomorrow, not a tourist with a week. Each entry says how far it is, because some of these are worth a longer trip and some are not.
Gyeongbokgung Palace
The main palace of the Joseon dynasty, rebuilt and enormous, with the changing of the guard twice a day. The grounds are flat, so you can see the best of it without walking far. That makes it the one piece of old Seoul worth an hour even when you are saving your legs.
Bukchon Hanok Village
A hillside of traditional wooden houses between two palaces, still lived in, which is why signs ask visitors to keep quiet. The streets are steep. Worth the walk the day after racing, less so the day before.
Ilsan Lake Park
The largest artificial lake park in Asia, fifteen minutes from the venue in Goyang. A flat 4.7km loop around the water, which makes it the obvious place for a shakeout jog if you are staying near KINTEX and do not want to travel.
What to do
A jjimjilbang
A Korean bathhouse: hot pools, cold plunge, steam rooms and heated floors, open around the clock and costing less than a cinema ticket. This is what Korea does instead of a recovery session, and the day after a race is exactly what it is for. You wash thoroughly before entering the pools, and the bathing areas are single sex.
Starfield Goyang
A very large shopping centre fifteen minutes from the venue, with a food court, a supermarket and most of the things you will discover you forgot. Not a destination, but useful, warm, and the nearest place to KINTEX that sells anything other than exhibition catering.
Raced here? Tell us about it.
Anything you wish you had known. It goes into this guide for the next person, and most of them have never done a Hyrox.
Things people find useful
- How early you really needed to arrive
- What caught you out
- What the hall was like inside
- Where your supporters watched from
- Anything good you did in the city
Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Hyrox. HYROX is a trademark of its owner, used only to describe the races discussed.
This page links to booking and travel sites. Where we have an affiliate arrangement with one we may earn a commission if you book through it, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we list, or the order it appears in.
Last updated November 7th, 2026.