The Incheon International Airport positively impacted me in 2012. This was the first time I travelled to Asia. I was flying to Vietnam, but we had a flight change in Incheon, South Korea. This flight ended up being delayed due to weather, so the airport compensated us with a free meal voucher and a free bus ride to Seoul, South Korea to eat our meal and shop around the town. It was stressful to have the flight delayed because this was the first international trip I went on that I was responsible for navigating. My father does not speak much English so as a fourteen year old, I was in charge of making sure we made it to Vietnam safely.

The most interesting part of the Incheon International Airport was the greenery within the airport. Compared to the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, OK, there was more biophilic design and natural elements. That alone created a different atmosphere in the airport in which you did not feel as though you were in an airport.

As an international airport, it was much larger than the Will Rogers World Airport. They had many more gift shops and duty free stores. All of the Korean people I spoke with were extremely nice! They helped me find my way when I got lost and helped me with the process of exchanging the currency so I could purchase something for my father and I.

One aspect that was unique and interesting to me was the restroom system in South Korea. The restroom stalls were floor to ceiling. The toilet paper was also outside of the stalls, so it was something you needed to grab before doing your business. There was no toilet paper in the stalls. Another interesting thing was that to check if someone was in the stall, you had to knock and if there was someone in there, they would not say anything but instead knocked back to let you know they were in there. In America, you would normally say “someone is in here” to a person knocking on your stall.

I would love to go back and study the different interior design elements of the Incheon International Airport!