Where should I stay in Seoul?

Myeongdong, specifically between exits 5 and 8 of Myeongdong Station on Line 4. You're ten minutes on foot from Namdaemun Market, fifteen from Deoksugung, and a single subway stop from Euljiro 3-ga where Lines 2, 3, and 5 cross — which means you can reach nearly any neighborhood in Seoul within thirty minutes. The streets smell like hotteok and grilled corn from about 4pm onward, the sidewalks get packed, and the skincare shop staff will try to hand you sheet masks every thirty seconds. That's the trade-off for being at the dead center of tourist Seoul. Budget ₩80,000–150,000 ($54–101) for a solid business-class hotel like the Lotte City or Nine Tree Premier Myeongdong. The Westin Josun sits at the top of the main street if you want the ₩350,000+ ($236+) tier — it tends to be quieter than the Shilla, which pulls more tour groups.

If you've visited Seoul before — or if the skincare gauntlet sounds like your personal nightmare — walk fifteen minutes northeast to Euljiro. The blocks around Euljiro 3-ga and 4-ga stations have been Seoul's quiet reinvention over the past few years: old printing shops and metalwork studios now sit next to third-wave coffee roasters and natural wine bars. The buildings still have that worn concrete look from the 1970s, and the narrow alleys between them catch the late-afternoon light in a way that Myeongdong's glass storefronts never will. Rooms here run ₩50,000–90,000 ($34–61), mostly in renovated older hotels. They won't win design awards, but they're clean, the walls tend to be thick enough for decent sleep, and you're one subway stop from Myeongdong, two from Dongdaemun. The Cheonggyecheon stream walk starts practically at your front door — worth it before breakfast when the city is still cool.

Hongdae — the streets radiating from Hongik University Station on Lines 2, 6, and the AREX airport line — is where Seoul gets loud after dark. Street performers set up outside Exit 9 most evenings, and the bar alleys behind the main drag stay rowdy past 2am on weekends. That's the honest warning: if you need sleep before midnight, don't book on the streets directly behind Hongdae Playground. A five-minute walk south toward Sangsu Station drops the noise level considerably, and you'll find guesthouses at ₩45,000–80,000 ($30–54). The AREX connection is the practical reason Hongdae works as a base — 43 minutes direct to Incheon Airport, no transfer, no dragging your suitcase through connecting corridors. Mind you, the area skews young. If you're over 35, you might feel slightly out of place at the bars, though the restaurants and cafés don't seem to care how old you are.

Skip Gangnam on a first trip. Good restaurants, sure, but nothing within walking distance that a first-timer needs to see, and you'll burn thirty minutes on Line 2 heading back to the palace district every morning. Itaewon has been in flux since the Yongsan redevelopment got underway — some of Seoul's best international restaurants are still along the back streets toward Hannam-dong, but the main strip currently has gaps where shuttered bars haven't been replaced. Fine for dinner, less convincing as a base. One practical note that catches people off guard: Seoul hotel rooms tend to be small. A 'double' at a ₩100,000 ($67) hotel might be 14 or 15 square meters. If space matters to you, budget up to the ₩180,000 ($121) tier, or look at Airbnb-style apartments in Mapo-gu where ₩90,000 ($61) gets you a full living room and kitchen.