Where to Stay in Seoul for the First Time: A Complete Guide

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Find your Perfect Hostel in Seoul

Choosing your first Seoul neighborhood feels like looking at a rainbow-colored buffet when you’re already hungry—everything looks delicious, but you only get one plate.

After five trips (and a truly embarrassing night spent on the wrong night-bus loop), I finally learned that a smart address is half the adventure.

Pick well, and you’ll roll from palace courtyards to neon karaoke without wrangling three subway transfers. Choose poorly, and you’ll become that traveler eating cold kimbap on an empty platform at 1 a.m., praying the next train appears before your soy sauce leaks.

This guide is honest, friendly advice to help you decide where to stay in Seoul for the first time. 

Ready? Let’s map out your temporary home.

Top Picks: The Best Hostels in Seoul

Best for Hostel Newbies

Original Backpackers9.8

from $14.29 | More Details

Best for Female Solo Traveler

Hostel Haru8.9

from $19.66 | More Details

Best Party Hostel

Crossroad Backpackers H...9.5

from $12.76 | More Details

This is not an ad. We help you find the perfect hostel and compare prices from Hostelworld and Booking. You can save up to 23.7%

Top Neighborhoods to Stay in Seoul

Hongdae (Mapo-gu)

Think street murals, performances, and dessert cafés that refuse to close before dawn. The air smells like sugar, spray paint, and possibility.

• I once followed drumming noises and ended up learning a TikTok dance in front of 200 strangers—voluntarily.
• Best for: Night owls, thrift-shop hunters, travelers counting coins.
• Pros: Airport train stop; hostels from €18; free shows on every corner.
• Cons: Weekend decibels could wake ancient kings; beds fill quickly.

Itaewon (Yongsan-gu)

Seoul’s global kitchen—falafel next to kimchi tacos under neon Arabic script. Hills rise like roller coasters; rooftops glow like fairy-light gardens.

• Pro tip: walk toward the mosque for cheap kebabs and million-won City views—all in the same selfie.
• Best for: Extroverts, LGBTQ+ travelers, food explorers.
• Pros: Diverse nightlife; English menus; last-call buses.
• Cons: Steep streets challenge tired legs; cocktails cost “ouch.”

Insadong & Jongno

Paper-lamp alleys, tea houses that smell like rainy wood, and four royal palaces within sandal distance. Time moves slower here, like syrup over rice cakes.

• Morning joy: sipping persimmon tea while pagoda bells echo through quiet courtyards.
• Best for: History lovers, calm souls, patient photographers.
• Pros: Culture classes; easy strolls; silence by midnight.
• Cons: Few low-cost dorms; shops drop shutters early.

Seongsu-dong

Old shoe factories reborn as Instagram cafés where latte foam wears berets. Tree-lined bike lanes kiss the Han River, and indie boutiques sell tote bags quoting philosophy.

• I drafted half this article in a sunlit warehouse café, with vinyl jazz swirling above my keyboard.
• Best for: Digital nomads, design fans, introverts needing coffee.
• Pros: Stable Wi-Fi; relaxed evenings; reasonable beds.
• Cons: Nightlife shuts early; fewer convenience-store feasts.

Gangnam (South of the river)

Skyscraper canyons and underground malls so large they need to escape maps. Billboards advertise both K-pop bands and cosmetic clinics with equal sparkle.

• Great for direct buses to the airport and window-shopping luxury without opening your wallet—if you’re strong.
• Best for: Shoppers, business backpackers, drama-location hunters.
• Pros: Safe streets; late subways; spotless everything.
• Cons: Dorms cost more; crowds thicker than bubble-tea tapioca.

Short and crisp: The Best Hostels in Seoul

1. Seoul Base Camp Hostel - best for Solo Traveller
2. Bangrang Hostel - best for Solo Traveller
3. Backpackers Inside Hostel - best for Solo Traveller
4. Grape Garden House - best for Family-Friendly Hostel, Solo Traveller
5. Hongdae Family Housetel2 - best for Quiet Rest

Seoul Base Camp Hostel

8.9

Mapo District

383-14 Hapjeong-dong... more

Bangrang Hostel

8.7

"100% - The hostel is GREAT and its main asset is its manager, Seung, who is an EXCELLENT person, more

Backpackers Inside Hostel

8.8

Jongno District

"…Common Spaces Common spaces are quite small and are only in the first level of the hostel. Here more

Grape Garden House

8.0

Mapo District

"Clean and affordable, helpful staff - Very clean, bathroom located within dorm room. Helpful staff more

Hongdae Family Housetel2

8.7

Yeonnam-dong

568-7... more

Top 10 Tips for Your First Time in Seoul

• Load a T-money card at the airport. It taps trains, buses, and some vending machines like magic.
• Sleep near Line 2 (the green circle). It loops the city, trimming transfers dramatically.
• Download KakaoMap + Papago. Google gets stage fright in Korea; these two never panic.
• Carry reusable chopsticks. Eco-friendly and a sneaky conversation starter at food stalls.
• Hydrate at public fountains. Tap water is safe, free, and colder than your ex’s DM silence.
• Try a convenience-store dinner. Microwave bulgogi burgers taste better at midnight on bridge steps.
• Label your slippers. Many hostels have shoe shelves where sneakers mingle like confused pigeons.
• Cash beats cards for street-food vendors; ATMs inside 7-Eleven charge fewer fees.
• Screenshot your hostel address in Korean; taxi drivers love clear directions.
• Earplugs + eye mask. Essential armor if Hongdae or Itaewon is your base camp.

Hostels in Seoul Are the Best Option — Here’s Why

Seoul hostels treat introverts gently (privacy-curtain pods) while spoiling extroverts with rooftop BBQs, free kimchi lessons, and movie nights under fairy lights.

For the price of two lattes you get Wi-Fi, laundry access, and a ready-made squad to join you at 4 a.m. convenience-store ice-cream runs.

Hotels give you slippers; hostels give you stories.

Final Recommendations

Your perfect first-time base boils down to rhythm. Need neon lullabies? Choose Hongdae. Prefer temple dawns? Insadong.

Want worldly cuisine and busy streets? Itaewon. Café days and quiet nights? Seongsu. Splashy shopping? Gangnam.

Once you settle on a district, the city does the rest—supplying late buses, polite strangers, and enough side dishes to fill a luggage rack.

Pack comfy shoes, light layers, and curiosity. Seoul will meet you halfway with steamed dumplings and surprise friendships.

Backpacking Seoul? Here's What You Need to Know

These are the guides I wish I had before visiting. I've been there, had fun, did some minor mistakes, and now I'm passing the best tips on to you. Safe travels!

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About the author: Nour De Wilde Salhab

A Lebanese-Congolese-French-Belgian girl as likely to be found climbing a volcano in Indonesia or reading a sci-fi book by the sea in the South of France. Always on the hunt for remarkable experiences. My two favorites so far: volunteering in emergency medical services in Lebanon and solo backpacking around the world. Life is enjoyable in all its facets, from its healthy extremes to its mundane slows.