Best Neighbourhoods for Budget Travellers in Seoul?

A couple of suggestions (just off the top of my head) . . .

1. The neighborhoods around Insadong- Gwanghwamun, Anguk, Jongro3ga, Jonggak, etc.
2. Area around Namdaemun/City Hall
3. Area around Dongdaemun market

Have fun!

for a hostel there is this place in hongdae its in a univ area

http://www.hostelseoulkorea.com/

thing is not much is "traditional" now, koreans equate "traditonal" with poor etc and tend to tear it down

there are some wonderful hankuk(??) traditional korean housing that have been converted into hotel in areas around Anguk like #2 said, thing is they can be VERY expensive in the range of US$ 100-200 nite

#2, it's "hanok" not "hankuk"

December / January will be bitterly cold in Seoul, with possible snowfalls, so somewhere with good heating. Last January the Hanggang River froze for the first time in decades & it was -25c. Something to consider. Dress in layers. Guesthouse Korea in Jongno sam ga, was convenient to Insadong, Gyeongbukgung Palace, the subway (Jongno sam ga 1,3,,5) Anguk (line 3) & the Changdeokgung temple, which has a direct airport bus #6011.

www.guesthouseinkorea.com/

Agree with chrisj on good location of Guesthouse Korea. Although room was small and a little worn out, we stayed put because of the price (20,000W pp) and location. Jongno 3-ga is a transfer station and just a few stops away from the major shopping areas. The guesthouse is located in a quiet neighbourhood, about 15mins walk to Jongno 3-ga station. http://pejoy.blogspot.com/2010/11/seoul-cold-tired.html

I can recommend http://www.seouliguesthouse.com/. I've stayed there with my girlfriend two times now.

Its conveniently located near hongik uni. station. ( you can take the metro directly from the Incheon airport, and whats better, hongik uni. station also serves line 2, a circle line that connects the many metro line, which you will be using constantly during your stay). Whats more, Hongdae, the area in which the hostel is located, is packed with shopping, eating and clubbing opportunities - the hostel is located in a quiet part of the area though, circa 7 min walk from the hongik uni. station. Hongdae is within walking distance from eva womens uni. area and Sinchon, which are also cool areas to visit)

Its reasonably priced, per person 16.000 won mixed dorm, 40.000 won for a two person room, breakfast included (eggs, toast, jam and coffe - nothing fancy).

But the best thing abou seoul i guesthouse is the very helpfull english speaking staff. The owner dongyong-song provided us with a lot of usefull travel tips to both Seoul and korea in general. Our one month stay in Korea would not have been the same without him and the people who work at the hostel.

Enjoy your time in Korea, it is a super cool country :)

Sincerely
Nedhug

Edited by: nedhug