Seoul
Myeongdong or Hongdae: where to stay in Seoul
Myeongdong and Hongdae are the two names most visitors weigh first, and they could hardly be more different. The short answer: choose Myeongdong to sleep in the middle of the city, on the slope of Namsan with the palace district next door; choose Hongdae, and its quieter neighbor Yeonnam-dong, for live music, street performers, food alleys and nights that run long. If this is your first time in Seoul, Myeongdong is the easier base, because it puts the palaces, Namsan and Itaewon all within easy reach. Hongdae stands apart in the west, which is its charm and its cost.
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The choice, row by row
| If you want | Choose | Because |
|---|---|---|
| The palaces within easy reach | Myeongdong | it borders Jongno, the palace district |
| A view over the whole city | Myeongdong | Namsan and its tower rise directly above it |
| Design exhibitions and fashion week | Myeongdong | Dongdaemun Design Plaza is part of its patch |
| Live music, busking and late nights | Hongdae | the streets around Hongik University |
| Cafés and small kitchens beside a park | Hongdae | Yeonnam-dong, along a park laid over an old railway |
| Korean barbecue and street tents after dark | Hongdae | one of the densest night-food districts in the city |
| A first trip, undecided | Myeongdong | central, with the palaces next door |
Myeongdong: the center, under Namsan
Myeongdong is Seoul's central shopping spine, climbing the lower slope of Namsan, the mountain in the middle of the city. Its red-brick cathedral, completed in 1898, sheltered dissidents through the dictatorship years and became a landmark of the democratic movement. Dongdaemun Design Plaza, a curving aluminum-clad complex opened in 2014, hosts design exhibitions and, twice a year, Seoul Fashion Week. Itaewon, its other neighbor, adds international kitchens and the design streets of Hannam-dong. The trade-off: Myeongdong is a shopping street before anything else, so in the evening the spine belongs to shoppers, and the city's late nights happen elsewhere.
Hongdae: music, busking and Yeonnam-dong
Hongdae takes its name from Hongik University, the art and design school whose students made the neighborhood's indie music and busking culture. The pedestrian streets around the campus keep open-air performers, small venues for live music and cafés open well into the night. As rents rose, the original art-school scene spread out across Yeonnam-dong, Yeonhui and Mapo, and Yeonnam's food alleys now line a six-kilometer park laid over a buried railway and opened in stages since 2016, which locals call Yeontral Park. The trade-off is position: none of Seoul's other visitor districts is next door, so every palace morning starts with a ride across the city.
What they share
Both are food neighborhoods, and both sit on the busy side of Seoul rather than in the quiet hanok lanes. They also keep opposite hours: Myeongdong is busiest by day, while the shops are open, and Hongdae comes into its own after dark. Neither is where the palaces are: Jongno holds those, next door to Myeongdong and a ride from Hongdae. And neither is the design-and-river Seoul of Seongsu or Gangnam, which is the choice for a third kind of trip.
If neither fits
Choose Jongno for the palaces at the door, or Bukchon and Samcheong-dong for a night in a hanok house between them; Seongsu for converted warehouses and the river; Itaewon for international kitchens and the Hannam-dong design streets. Our Seoul where-to-stay article weighs the bases on both banks.
Three things to know before you go
Seoul dresses up: smart casual is the middle of the range here, not the top. Most kitchens serve dinner from 6 to 9, barbecue houses run to 11 or later, and in Hongdae the street tents keep going past midnight. And never write anyone's name in red ink, a color associated with death.
When to go
Autumn is the clearest season, and spring brings the cherry blossom from late March to mid April, with Namsan Park among the main viewing spots. Plan around the two great family holidays, Seollal (the lunar new year, late January or February) and Chuseok (the harvest festival, September or early October), when shops and restaurants in residential streets often close for three days.
Questions people ask
Is it better to stay in Myeongdong or Hongdae?
On a first trip, Myeongdong: the palace district is next door, Namsan rises above it and Itaewon is its other neighbor. Hongdae is the better base once you know you want music and late nights more than early palace mornings.
Which is better, Hongdae or Myeongdong?
For your days, Myeongdong; for your nights, Hongdae. Many visitors sleep in one and spend an evening or two in the other.
Is it a good idea to stay in Hongdae?
Yes, if your nights matter more than your mornings: live music, street performers, barbecue and street tents until late, and the cafés of Yeonnam-dong by day. The cost is distance from the palaces.
Which part of Seoul is the best to stay in?
For a first visit, the palace side north of the river: Jongno, Bukchon and Samcheong-dong, or Myeongdong next door. Our Seoul where-to-stay article compares them with Seongsu and Hongdae.
Written by citysense editorial. Facts from the citysense Seoul catalog, researched and fact-checked. Updated October 2026.