Review: KAL Lounge at Jeju Airport

On my January 2024 trip to South Korea, I visited both the Asiana and Korean Air lounges at Jeju Airport. While neither was anything to write home about, the latter offered a more modern and spacious environment with better airport views.

Continue reading this review to see what the KAL Lounge was like in detail.

Location & Opening Hours

Jeju’s KAL Lounge is located landside – i.e. before security check – in the airport’s domestic terminal. It is behind a hard to miss door near Korean Air’s check-in counters.

The lounge is open from 6AM until 9PM every day which essentially covers all domestic Korean Air departures from the airport.

Entry Requirements

The KAL Lounge at Jeju Airport can be accessed by business class passengers traveling on Korean Air, as well as by the airline’s select frequent flyer status holders traveling in economy class.

It can also be used by SkyTeam Elite Plus status holders traveling on a Korean Air domestic flight (regardless of class) and connecting to or from an international Korean Air or other SkyTeam flight on the same day.

Lastly, the KAL Lounge at Jeju Airport – like the Asiana Lounge – is a part of the Priority Pass network. Unlike the Asiana Lounge which restricts Priority Pass access to those departing on Asiana Airlines flights, the KAL Lounge has no such restrictions.

As such, you can enter the lounge using Priority Pass regardless of whether you are flying on Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, or one of the many other airlines serving Jeju Airport.

Lounge Tour

Entering the lounge, there was the reception desk, as well as a fairly large baggage storage area.

The friendly staff at the desk processed my Priority Pass card and boarding pass within seconds and I was good to enter the lounge.

Leading from the reception desk to the KAL Lounge’s main (and only) seating area was a hallway with a buffet counter on its left side. Being L-shaped, it extended into one of the main seating area’s walls.

I will talk more about the modest contents of the buffet in the next section.

In the middle of the seating area were rows of sofa chairs. About half of the rows faced one way and the other half the other way. Both of the walls the chairs faced were sporting a TV showing Korean programs. There was also a counter along the lounge’s inner wall on one side.

While there were side tables between the individual chairs, there appeared to be a lack of power outlets or USB charging ports. The seats at the counter had access to power.

Next to the counter with seats was a counter with Korean Air’s duty free shopping catalogs and in-flight magazines.

Along the windows was more seating in the form of tables for two and four, as well as some sofas. This area appeared to lack access to power outlets as well – a major downside of the lounge.

What the lounge did not lack, though, were great views of the airport’s apron and one of its two runways.

Food and Drinks

With the KAL Lounge in Jeju generally serving passengers flying on short domestic flights, it should come as no surprise that the selection of drinks and food was minimal.

Starting with cold soft drinks, there were canned Coke (no other soda was available) and cupped water. There were also dispensers with tomato and mandarin orange juices and green tea.

Hot drinks included a selection of espresso-based drinks and three different types of teas (green, black, and ginseng).

Lastly, the only things to eat were packaged snacks, which included muffins and candies among other things.

KAL Lounge Jeju Summary

Like the KAL Lounge at Seoul Gimpo Airport, its Jeju Airport equivalent is very simple. While it offered plenty of seating when I visited (it might be more crowded depending on the time of the day) and is accessible with Priority Pass, there is not much else that makes visiting the lounge worthwhile.

The selection of drinks and snacks is limited and there were not many power outlets in the lounge either.

With that said, if you happen to arrive at the airport early and just want a place to pass some time then it’s an OK place to stop by. If nothing else, it is definitely better than the smaller Asiana Lounge.