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Practical · A roof
Where to stay
The choice is wide, clean and well kept at every price. The real question is not the category but the location: within five minutes of a subway station, everything becomes simple.
Updated 7 October 2026
Types of accommodation
| Type | Price per night | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel dorm | ₩20,000–40,000 per bed | Solo travellers, tight budgets |
| Guesthouse, private room | ₩50,000–90,000 | A good compromise, friendly atmosphere |
| Motel | ₩50,000–90,000 | Last-minute stays, small towns, drivers |
| Business hotel | ₩80,000–150,000 | The reliable standard, everywhere |
| Hanok | ₩100,000–250,000 | A night or two for the experience |
| 4- or 5-star hotel | ₩200,000–500,000 | International comfort |
| Temple stay | ₩50,000–100,000 per person | A night apart, meals included |
| Pension | ₩80,000–200,000 | Countryside, seaside, Jeju |
What to expect
Compact but spotless rooms, full bathroom, self-service laundry, often next to a station. Korean and Japanese chains cover every big city.
Small family-run places, with a shared kitchen and hosts happy to give advice. Plentiful in Hongdae, Myeongdong and every tourist district.
Sleeping in a traditional house: inner courtyard, paper doors, heated floor. You sleep on a mattress on the floor, the walls are thin, the bathroom is sometimes shared or tiny. Wonderful for a night or two in Bukchon, Jeonju or Gyeongju.
Originally designed for couples, they have become perfectly respectable cheap hotels: big room, big screen, bathtub. The décor can surprise. Handy at the last minute.
Houses or studios to rent in the countryside and by the sea, often with a barbecue. The usual formula on Jeju and the east coast.
A night in a Buddhist monastery, with ceremonies and vegetarian meals.
You can spend the night in the big public bathhouses, on a mat in a common room. A stopgap more than real rest.
Widespread, but the rules have tightened: platforms now require properties to be registered. Favour listings that show their registration.
Booking
The big international sites cover the country well; Asian platforms often have more choice and better prices outside the big cities. Korean apps have the most listings, but often require a local payment method.
Two to three months for April, May, October and the summer holidays; a few days is enough the rest of the year, except weekends in tourist towns.
Few rooms: book as soon as your dates are fixed.
Fridays, Saturdays, the eve of public holidays. Shifting a stop by one day can halve the bill.
Where to stay, city by city
Myeongdong for simplicity, Hongdae for atmosphere and airport access, Insadong for the palaces, Gangnam for the modern side.
Seomyeon for getting around, Haeundae or Gwangalli for the sea, Nampo for the markets.
Around the royal tombs and Hwangnidan-gil to do everything on foot; Bomun Lake for the big hotels.
Jeju City for a late arrival, Seogwipo for the south, the east for Seongsan and Hallasan.
Good to know
Times
Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by 11 am. Almost every place keeps luggage free of charge before and after.
Ondol rooms
Some rooms have no bed but mattresses to roll out on the heated floor. It is stated when you book; it is comfortable, and ideal for families.
Shoes
You take them off at the door of the room in hanok, guesthouses and many Korean hotels. Slippers are provided.
The bathroom
Often a single wet room: the shower soaks the whole space. Heated bidet toilets are the norm.
What is provided
Hairdryer, kettle and bottled water almost everywhere. Disposable toothbrushes and razors are no longer handed out free in large hotels: bring your own.
Sorting waste
In rentals it is strict: food, recyclables and general waste go in different bags. Ask your host how.