Incheon International Airport to USA

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Our flight from Denpasar, Bali landed in Seoul, South Korea (Incheon International Airport) at 8:00am this morning. The past 12 hours were a whirlwind for all of us as we decided yesterday afternoon to take an earlier flight home to Wisconsin, USA. Our flight left Bali at 2:00am this morning, and fortunately the four of us were able to sleep for several hours on the plane. Andi and I splurged on first-class seats for the four of us which were a treat because the seats laid completely flat.

We landed in Seoul feeling pretty groggy after the 7-hour flight. We did sleep some on the flight, but it’s still an airplane. Now, we had to wait 10 hours until our next flight from Seoul to Minneapolis, MN. One of the reason Andi and I decided to book first-class airline tickets was because we’d have access to the first-class lounge. We considered leaving the airport during our long layover to spend the day in Seoul, but after Andi talked to a few local drivers, we realized we wouldn’t have enough time. So, since we had to spend the day in the airport, we figured it’d be nice to have access to the lounge.

We had a heck of a time finding Korean Air’s first-class lounge inside Terminal 2. It wasn’t labeled on the directional signage. Or if it was, we were too sleep-deprived to find it. Finally, Andi asked Chat GPT & the app told us to go to the 4th floor near Gate 248.

Korean Air’s first-class lounge was spacious with comfortable chairs, a free food buffet with drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), and bathrooms including showers. The four of us settled into four chairs, making ourselves comfortable for the day.

Right away, we felt a burst of excitement as we took in the experiences of new food and culture. The food buffet was plentiful with a big salad bar, a Korean foods section with several noodle dishes, shrimp, tofu, a selection of muffins, toast, pastries, and fresh fruit. There was also an entire wall of instant ramen cups.

The buffet area looked pretty clean, but we were hesitant to eat adventurously. This was not the day to have a stomach ache. Tory and I had each had a piece of toast and a banana. (The bananas were individually wrapped in plastic bags which was interesting!) Andi and Aden tried some of the “safer looking” noodle dishes.

Andi spent most of his the morning working and returning emails at a desk in the lounge. I blogged and texted back and forth with my mom which helped the time pass by quickly. Aden watched countless hours of dog shows on YouTube, and Tory watched Netflix and did her make-up.

Early afternoon, Andi and the kids decided to walk around the airport halls. I was content to sit in my chair and continue blogging. They found all kinds of interesting things inside the airport — unique foods, robots, and a traditional Korean processional taking place.

“I wonder how it’d be to travel here,” Andi said when they returned to the lounge. “The food is really different here.”

The Korean Air First-Class Lounge had several bathrooms and showers for guests to use. The idea of showering here really grossed me out, but Andi decided to go for it and said it was actually a pleasant experience.

The private shower areas were cleaned between each person, and included a towel, soap, and shaving cream. “It really wasn’t bad,” Andi reported. “You should take one.”

Surprisingly, Tory said she was interested so Andi took her back to the shower area to show her how the process worked. Tory also said the showers in the first-class lounge were clean and refreshing.

Aden wasn’t as excited about showering, but Andi made him. They still couldn’t convince me though; I decided to wait until we got home.

Finally around 5:15pm, our flight to Minneapolis was called to board. The four of us gathered our things and walked across the hallway to our gate. Having access to the first-class lounge made our day at Incheon International Airport much more enjoyable. It was a long day of waiting, but not unbearable.

Not only were we excited to be going home, but Andi booked us Delta One seats for the flight. “This is better than going to Disneyland!” Tory exclaimed when she saw how spacious our seats were. Wow! “Don’t get used to it,” Andi responded with a smirk.

The new Delta One suites are like mini-cubicles in an airplane. Each cube had a lay-flat seat with plush bedding (mattress pad, warm blanket, and standard pillow), a side table, noise-cancelling headphones, slippers, and an amenities kit which included an eye mask, ear plugs, skin care products, toothbrush, and lip balm.

Aden, Tory, and I spent the next 20 minutes getting situated while poor Andi was subjected to a random bag screening. Gate security took everything out of his backpack for inspection. All of our travel backpacks were packed tightly, especially Andi’s because he carried all the camera equipment and Starlink satellite dish. He eventually joined in his own seat next to ours when hey finished.

The Delta One suites were so spacious! There was plenty of room to put soft-sided carry-on luggage at the foot of each seat. The flight attendants brought around drinks and warm nuts to start our meal service shortly after the plane took flight.

Dinner service began with soup, salad, and bread. We’d pre-selected our entrees before the flight boarded — Andi, Tory, and I each chose the roasted chicken meal and Aden picked the Korean beef meal. Maybe it was because we hadn’t eaten much today, but the food tasted fantastic! Dinner service concluded with a dessert cart selection of ice cream sundaes, cake, or fresh fruit.

What a treat to be able to recline or lay flat in our seats! There was plenty of room to stretch our legs or move into different seating positions. I’m usually so cold on flights, but this time I was plenty comfortable with a thick blanket, pillow, and mattress pad fitted on top of my seat.

Our flight from Seoul to Minneapolis was 12 hours long. After the dinner service concluded, the overhead lights dimmed and we readied ourselves for sleep. Our internal clocks felt like it was 9:00pm Bali time, but it was currently 8:00am in Wisconsin. All four of us were dreading our impending readjustment to time zones.

We landed in Minneapolis at 4:30pm on Tuesday, April 1. It was almost as if the past 12 hours never happened! We left Seoul, South Korea at 6:30pm on April 1st and arrived in Minneapolis at 4:30pm on April 1st. Talk about a mind-melt.

Customs was a breeze at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. About an hour before our flight landed, Andi completed the mobile passport check-in. The regular line for Customs & Immigration was long, but there wasn’t anyone waiting in the mobile passport line. We walked right to the front and were on our way in no time since we didn’t check any bags.

Andi’s dad, Jim, kindly picked us up from the airport. We were all so glad to see his familiar face. Our 90-minute drive from Minneapolis to our home in Wisconsin went smoothly. Once we crossed the border into our state, we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a grocery order and to Kwik Trip for fuel & a snack. “Can we get Fresh Blends?!” the kids asked excitedly. Oh, Kwik Trip; how we missed you!

After 11 weeks of travel through Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia (and a brief stop in South Korea), we were HOME! We are so grateful for the experiences, memories, and family time, but we’re glad to be back.

Andi’s mom filled our refrigerator with meal-prepped foods which was such a treat. She made taco meat, roasted sweet potatoes, plain noodles, sliced veggies, washed fruit, and salad greens. We bought groceries, too, but the fact that I didn’t have to prepare food for everyone right away was so helpful.

I spent the rest of the evening unloading groceries and unpacking our backpacks. One major perk of not traveling with much is that it doesn’t take too long to unpack at the end. Hopefully jet lag isn’t too terrible this week, and the four of us adjust easily to being home again.

What a winter adventure it was. Welcome home to Wisconsin!