Korean Air Lounge Review: Incheon Airport Terminal 2 East Prestige Lounge with Ramen Library

Korean Air Lounge Review: Incheon Airport Terminal 2 East Prestige Lounge Left Side Ramen Library

On our recent trip out to Okinawa, this was the lounge we used before departure:

the Korean Air Lounge at Incheon Airport Terminal 2​

There are five Korean Air lounges in total at Incheon Airport,

and the newest one is the East Prestige Lounge on the left side.

You can check the real-time crowd level at the link below.

Korean Air Lounge Incheon Airport Terminal 2 Location

The East Prestige Lounge on the left side

is on the 4th floor near Gate 253.

Hours are 6:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

It faces the East right-side lounge,

so staff were standing in the middle directing people

to whichever side was less crowded.

I also put together a quick comparison table below

showing the difference between the East left and East right Korean Air lounges.

So basically, it comes down to whether you want ramen or tteokguk.

I also wrote about the East right lounge separately.

We were originally told to use the East right lounge,

but I really wanted to check out the newly opened Ramen Library,

so I said we’d rather wait for the left-side lounge.

A staff member went inside to take a look,

and it turned out there were more open seats than expected, so we got in right away.

You do have to scan your boarding pass both when entering and leaving.

The Korean Air sign behind reception looked pretty sleek.

Inside the Korean Air Lounge Incheon Airport Terminal 2

There are lockers near the entrance where you can store your bags,

and once you head farther in, the lounge opens up into a big, airy space.

There’s a good variety of seating, too.

Most seats have access to power outlets,

including standard plugs and USB ports.

There’s also a large bar area in the middle.

They even have private phone booths.

And judging by the sign I saw,

it looks like pets may be allowed too…?

There are shower rooms as well, but you need to reserve one

through the staff member stationed out front.

There are three shower rooms, so availability seemed pretty decent.

I didn’t actually go inside the showers in the East left lounge,

but I’d guess they’re similar to the other Korean Air lounges.

If you want a closer look at the shower rooms in the West Garden Lounge,

you can check the post below.

The restrooms were also spacious and clean.

Using the Korean Air Lounge Incheon Airport Terminal 2 with a Baby

We were traveling with our 9-month-old, who still wasn’t walking yet,

so we really needed a wide sofa-style seat instead of regular chairs.

Luckily, one great spot over here was open,

so we were able to spend our time comfortably with the baby.

I didn’t see any high chairs at first, so I asked a staff member,

and they brought out a Tripp Trapp chair.

It even had the baby set attached, which made things super easy.

Meanwhile, the baby was very upset that mom and dad were eating good food

without sharing.

Crisis resolved once the baby got fed too.

Instantly in a better mood.

The ladies clearing the tables kept stopping by to fuss over our baby,

which was honestly so sweet.

I handed the baby a tangerine to play with,

which kept them entertained for a while.

Once I peeled it, the baby ate it really well.

There were bananas too, so I liked that there were at least a few things

that worked as baby-friendly snacks.

There’s also a nursing room inside the lounge,

and it has a diaper changing table inside.

My one issue was this: there’s a spotlight directly above the changing table,

so when you lay your baby down, the light hits them right in the eyes.

I really wish they’d soften or cover that light a bit.

Ramen Library at the Korean Air Lounge Incheon Airport Terminal 2

The lounge was close to our gate, which helped,

but the real reason I picked the East left Prestige Lounge

was because I wanted to try the Ramen Library.

I don’t even eat instant ramen that often,

but somehow when they create a whole concept around it like this,

you suddenly want a bowl.

Honestly, Korean Air was smart here—

this probably gets people filling up on ramen instead of the pricier food.

That wall display up top is just decorative,

and the actual ramen comes out of the vending machine behind it.

The available brands were just Ottogi and Nongshim.

You press the number for the ramen you want, and it drops down below.

There are six Han River-style ramen machines in total,

and even during a busy time,

the wait never felt especially long.

Even if you’ve never used one of these ramen machines before,

the instructions are clearly posted above, so it’s easy to follow.

I almost picked one of the more unusual ramen options I’d never tried before,

but ended up going with the safe choice: Neoguri.

You can add toppings too.

While it cooks, you’re supposed to stir it a little with chopsticks.

But I’m not sure if this is just how Han River ramen machines work in general,

or if it was specifically the machine in this lounge,

because the broth came out way too watery, the noodles were undercooked, and overall it just wasn’t very good.

It wasn’t just mine either—my husband made Mupama,

and his turned out pretty much the same, so I’m guessing all the machines here are like that.

We left a lot of it unfinished.

Next time I might try a jjajang-style instant noodle instead.

That said, if I use the lounge again,

I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to choose the East left side just for the Ramen Library, unless it happened to be closer.

Food Selection

My favorite: kimbap. There were two kinds—

imitation crab kimbap and vegetable kimbap.

Next to that, there was fish cake soup and tteokbokki, spicy Korean rice cakes.

Salad options.

The hot food section.

There was grilled chicken, roasted cauliflower, seafood stew, and more.

Ignore my camera focus here… there was also dakgangjeong, Korean sweet crispy chicken.

Two kinds of mini pizza.

Cheese that would pair nicely with wine.

Desserts and bread.

There were cookies, muffins, cake, and spreads.

For fruit, there were tangerines and bananas.

The milk selection was surprisingly varied too: regular milk, low-fat milk, chocolate milk, Almond Breeze, Amazing Oat, and more.

There was also a bibimbap station, with tuna as the protein option.

There were coffee machines in several spots,

and I liked that some of them had decaf beans too.

My favorite section, though, was the ice cream station.

It was yogurt soft serve!

The flavors were yogurt, strawberry, and a yogurt-strawberry swirl.

I liked the toppings too—chocolate balls,

sprinkles, mango syrup, and passion fruit syrup.

The chocolate balls were especially good.

The strawberry tasted more like a sorbet-style soft serve,

so it paired really well with the yogurt half-and-half.

The fish cakes in the soup had gotten too soft and bloated, so the texture wasn’t great,

but the tteokbokki was surprisingly decent.

The pizza was better than expected too.

Overall, most of the food was perfectly fine,

though there were a few items that were genuinely bad.

This isn’t really a lounge you visit for the food alone.

I didn’t use the bar this time,

but I did at least snap a photo.

Here’s the alcohol menu too.

Arcade

There was also something fun near the bar.

They have an arcade area,

and the staff at the entrance give each person two coins.

You can use those to play the games.

The machines were all new and clean.

There’s a claw machine too, and of course it was ridiculously hard to win anything.

Our baby was completely mesmerized by all the flashy lights.

There are also two photo booths,

and those are free to use as well.

They hand you a numbered ticket like this at the front,

and once you have it, you can take your photos.

We’ve actually never gone out and paid for one of those four-cut photo booth sessions, but sometimes we get the chance at pop-up events, so that’s usually when we do it.

You can’t print the photos,

but you can download them straight to your phone, which was good enough for me.

I liked that the lounge had little extras like this

to make the wait more fun.

Right next to the arcade, there’s also a space called Atelier

where you can join a cooking class.

You can’t reserve it in advance, though—

you have to sign up after entering the lounge if the timing works out.

I think kids would especially enjoy it.

It was definitely busy,

but the lounge is spacious, and unlike the East right lounge next door,

this one has ramen and an arcade,

so overall I was pretty happy with the experience.

After the Korean Air lounge renovation,

all of the lounges seem generally solid,

so honestly, I think it’s fine to just use whichever one is closest.