Seoul: neighbourhoods, seasons and getting around Korea's capital

Overview

Seoul is huge, dense and split down the middle by the Han River, and that split is the first thing to understand before you book anything. The historic city — the royal palaces, the old hanok lanes, the street-food markets — sits on the north bank, in and around Jongno. The glass-tower business districts, the plastic-surgery clinics and the big-money nightlife sit on the south bank, in Gangnam and its neighbours. The two halves are 20–40 minutes apart on the metro, and where you sleep decides whether the old city or the new one is on your doorstep. This is not a museum town you can “do” in a weekend: it is a working megacity that happens to have five palaces in the middle, and it rewards a base you can walk out of into ordinary life. The upside for a visitor is that the metro is superb and cheap, so a slightly off-centre base costs you very little.

Where to stay

The decision is really north bank versus south bank, and then which pocket. The north bank puts you near the palaces and the walkable old core; the south bank is for business, luxury shopping and clubs, and means a river crossing to reach most sights. Everywhere below is on the subway, so “near a station” matters more than “near the centre” — there isn’t a single centre in the way a smaller city has one.

Myeongdong & City Hall

The tourist heart of the north bank: dense hotel supply, a famous cosmetics-and-street-food shopping grid, and City Hall and Deoksugung palace a short walk away. Stay here if it is your first visit and you want the palaces, Namsan and the airport train all within easy reach — Seoul Station is one stop away. The trade-off is that Myeongdong is relentlessly commercial and crowded, packed with coach groups, and the food is aimed squarely at visitors rather than locals. Good for convenience and a first trip; thin on neighbourhood character.

Jongno, Insadong & Bukchon

Just north, this is the historic core proper: Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces, the traditional craft street of Insadong, and the restored hanok (traditional house) lanes of Bukchon that climb the hill between the two palaces. Stay here if the old city is why you came and you want to step out among wooden roofs and palace walls. The trade-offs are two: Bukchon is a residential area besieged by day-trippers, so there are quiet-hours signs and real limits on where you can wander, and the hilly lanes mean hauling luggage. Insadong itself is touristy but well placed.

Hongdae & Sinchon

West of the centre, this is the student and live-music quarter around Hongik University: cheap eats, indie clubs, buskers and Seoul’s most concentrated nightlife. Stay here if you are young, on a budget, or here for the bar-and-club scene, and it has a direct airport-train link that makes late arrivals painless. The trade-off is noise and chaos after dark — the streets are loudest exactly when you want to sleep — and it is a fair ride from the palaces on the far side of town.

Itaewon & Yongsan

On the slopes below Namsan, Itaewon is the city’s long-standing international district, with the widest spread of non-Korean food and a mixed, late-night bar scene. Yongsan next door is turning into a park-and-towers zone around the relocated national museum. Stay here for variety and a less buttoned-up feel. The trade-offs: the area is hilly and its nightlife has a rowdy, uneven reputation, and you are away from both the palaces and the Gangnam shine, though the metro fixes that.

Gangnam & the south bank

Across the river: wide boulevards, corporate towers, upmarket shopping around Apgujeong and Cheongdam, and the club strip that gives Gangnam its name. Stay here if you are in town for business, want newer and larger hotel rooms, or are flying domestic from Gimpo (the fast line 9 runs along the south bank). The trade-off is plain: it is expensive, corporate and a long way from the historic sights, and outside the shopping and nightlife cores it can feel like an office district after hours.

When to go

Spring (April–May) and autumn (October–November) are the clear best windows: dry, mild, and either cherry blossom or hard-blue skies and foliage on the mountains that ring the city. These are also the busiest and priciest weeks, especially around the blossom. Summer is the season to plan around — the monsoon (jangma) drops heavy rain through late June and July, August is hot and swelteringly humid, and the tail of the season brings the occasional typhoon. Winter is cold and dry, with clear days and biting wind off the continent; it is quiet and cheap, and it is the season for the bubbling stews and grilled meat the city does best. Note that Seoul’s winter air can be poor when dust and pollution settle in — worth checking on the day if you are sensitive.

Getting there & around

Most international flights land at Incheon (ICN), roughly 50 km west and not the airport on the card above. From Incheon the AREX airport railway runs to Seoul Station, with an express that takes about three-quarters of an hour and an all-stop that is cheaper and slower; limousine buses run to the main hotel districts and are the better bet if your bag is heavy. Gimpo, the closer airport, mainly handles domestic flights and a few regional international routes, and is on the metro directly.

Once here, use the metro and forget about a car. The subway is vast, signed in English, runs frequently and is cheap; a rechargeable T-money card taps you onto trains and buses alike and is sold at any station and most convenience stores. City buses fill the gaps the metro misses, and taxis are plentiful and reasonable. One practical warning: Google Maps does not give proper walking or driving directions in Korea — download a local map app before you arrive, as everyone here navigates with those instead. Seoul Station and the separate Suseo station in the south are the high-speed rail hubs; the KTX and SRT bullet trains reach Busan in around two and a half hours and make Gyeongju and other cities easy day-or-overnight trips.

Practicalities

Seoul is exceptionally safe, including for solo travellers and late at night; ordinary big-city sense is all you need. Cards work almost everywhere and contactless is standard — you can go days without cash — and tipping is not customary, so don’t. English is common on signs and transit but thinner in ordinary restaurants and shops, though a phone translator covers most gaps.

A few things about eating that save confusion. Korean barbecue (gogi-gui) is cooked at your table and meant to be shared, so it usually needs two or more people to order; the small side dishes (banchan) that arrive unasked are free and refilled at no charge. For the food the city itself is known for, head to the covered market stalls for tteokbokki (rice cakes in chilli sauce) and grilled snacks, order bibimbap or a bubbling jjigae stew for a solo lunch, and in the summer heat look for naengmyeon, the cold buckwheat noodles that are a Seoul staple. Soju and beer are the default drinks and cheap; many places expect you to keep ordering food if you keep drinking.