Oneworld Lounge Incheon review: It’s almost as if they *want* you to see you drunk

The best thing about the Oneworld Lounge at Incheon Airport (ICN) is the food. The second best thing is the way it looks.

My only criticism of the place is how communal the layout is. There aren’t very many private seating options.

Boy are you ever in for a treat if you’re in the mood to enjoy a hot plate of food (and an irresponsible amount of alcohol) in a good looking airport lounge while staring into the eyes of complete strangers.

Location

You’ll find the ICN Oneworld Lounge on level 4 of Terminal 1 near gate 28. Use the stairs near Starbucks on level 3 (the departures level) for easiest access. There’s also an elevator nearby.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon main entrance — Two things worth noting here: First, that’s a really nice looking main entrance. Second, I appear to be witnessing the delivery of the raw ingredients for all of the delicious food I’m about to show you. Perfect timing!

Oneworld Lounge Incheon lobby and a check in area — My Korean is a little rusty, but I’m pretty sure that she was telling him *“you ain’t gonna believe this sh*t!”* as she was checking him in. The shocked expression on his face pretty much confirms it.

How to get in

The easiest way to get into this lounge is to be holding a ticket for business or first class on any Oneworld Alliance airline. I was flying Cathy Pacific A330-300 business class down to Hong Kong the morning of my visit.

You can also access this lounge if you’re an Emerald or Sapphire OneWorld member. The only catch is that you have to be departing on a Oneworld airline.

Layout

The layout of the Incheon Oneworld Lounge is fairly simple. It’s essentially one large rectangular room with a variety of seating options scattered about. It’s clean, very modern, and quite stylish. I’m not a fan of the lack of privacy partitions however. This is a very communal space.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon bar area — You know you’re in for a good time with the very first thing you see after being checked in is a fully stocked bar. Pace yourself…

Oneworld Lounge Incheon individual seating areas — Reception desk lady was right! I ain’t never seen a Oneworld lounge this whimsical and playful.

This lounge features very large windows that let in a lot of natural light. The self serve food buffet is located on the opposite side of the windows, while the bathrooms and showers are located at the far end.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon large windows and natural light — It’s a simple lounge, but a nice lounge with big windows and lots of natural light. And stunning traffic cone decor.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon seating area — It’s not perfect though. RIP to your travel-beaten (and very introverted) soul if the only seats left when you arrive are the ones that face each other.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon private seating areas — Arrive early (or be ready to pay bribes) if you want one of the private seats!

Oneworld Lounge Incheon seats with tables

Oneworld Lounge Incheon private seating with side table

Oneworld Lounge Incheon view of the airport terminal and airplanes from the windows — Plane spotting is excellent from the large windows overlooking the airport BTW. You might even be able to watch your flight leave without you should you decide to say *“F it – I*‘*m too comfortable to move.”*

Scott enjoying a drink in the Incheon Oneworld lounge — *“Is that my plane leaving without me? Sayonara mofos! I’m comfortable enough right here.”*

Food and drinks

My visit coincided with the breakfast service, which consisted of a wide variety of hot dishes (eggs, sausage, stir fried noodles, seafood stir fry, dim sum, etc). There was also a large selection of breads, pastries, and sandwiches. Everything is served buffet style, so don’t be afraid to load up on the stuff you like.

Hot food served in the Oneworld Lounge Incheon — If it’s a buffet of hot and delicious food you seek, you’ve seeked the correct lounge. All of this stuff smelled as good as it looks.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon dim sum — Dim sum too! All I’m gonna say is there was a very good chance of me watching my flight leave without me this morning. Very happily (and very full) of course.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon bread and sandwiches

Oneworld Lounge Incheon breakfast eggs, sausage, and dim sum — My breakfast haul this morning. At least the first plate of it.

The selection of alcohol in this lounge is impressive. Alcoholic beverages outnumbered the nonalcoholic beverages by a magnitude of 4:1 if I did my math correctly. Take that for what it’s worth, as I never made it past basic algebra in high school.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon juice and beer refrigerator — Juice. And beer. An *ungodly* amount of beer.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon fresh juice and milk — Technically, that’s an ungodly amount of milk to anyone who may be lactose intolerant. And I do find it amusing that the ratio of the alcoholic to non-alcoholic beverage selection was heavily skewed in one particular direction. Welcome to Korea!

Oneworld Lounge Incheon hard liquor selection — Good luck leaving this place sober (even if you don’t drink). The fumes alone should be enough for a pretty epic contact high.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon alcohol selection

Oneworld Lounge Incheon self serve alcohol

Scott relaxing in the Incheon Oneworld Lounge — The moment you realize how much more exciting your life would probably be if you enjoyed drinking alcohol. Oh well. Orange juice life is a wild enough life for me.

Pros and cons

This is a fairly impressive lounge considering the relatively low number of Oneworld flights at ICN (at least compared to the number of SkyTeam and Star Alliance flights on any given day). It is absolutely worth the visit if you have the credentials to get in.

Oneworld Lounge Incheon couches and chairs

Pros

The selection of hot food options is impressive.
The selection of alcohol is straight up bonkers.
There is a lot of natural light in this lounge during the daytime hours thanks to the huge windows.

Cons

This might not be the lounge for you if your number one priority is a private and quiet place to sit for a few hours.
Location isn’t the best. Chances are it’ll be a good 10 to 15 minute walk to your departure gate (which could be a challenge depending on how inebriated you are).

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Oneworld Lounge Incheon review: It’s almost as if they want you to see you drunk