Where to stay in Seoul, by what you want your evenings to be

Seoul is large but the subway is fast, so the question is not which district is central — several are — but which evening you want to walk out into. Pick by that and the transport will handle the rest.

Jongno and Insadong are the default for a first visit. You are within walking distance of Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Bukchon and Gwangjang market, the streets are older and lower, and the evening is quiet rather than dead. A clean double runs about ₩70,000 to ₩130,000, and guesthouse dorms sit near ₩25,000. The trade-off is that the area empties earlier than the rest of the city.

Hongdae is the opposite trade. It is a university district with the densest concentration of cheap food, live music and late bars in the city, and it has the best airport connection of any base — the express line runs there directly. Rooms are similar money to Jongno and noisier for it. Choose it if you intend to be out past midnight, and choose a room a couple of streets off the main strip if you also intend to sleep.

Euljiro and Myeongdong are the compromise, and the one most people underrate. Euljiro is a printing and hardware district that turns into a bar quarter after dark, wedged between the historic core and the shopping of Myeongdong, with several subway lines crossing underneath. It is the shortest average journey to everything else in the city.

Itaewon is the international quarter — the broadest non-Korean food, the most English spoken, and a reasonable choice if you want a base that feels less foreign to navigate. Gangnam, south of the river, is business hotels, department stores and wide roads. It is comfortable and generally more expensive for the same standard, and on a first visit it puts a river crossing between you and most of what you came to see. Stay south only if your reason for the trip is already south.

Whatever you pick, check the walk from the nearest subway exit before booking. Seoul is hillier than the map suggests, and a listing that says five minutes from the station can mean five minutes uphill with luggage.