Traveling to Seoul, Korea: Finding Accommodation

Finding accommodation when going on a holiday is always amongst the Top 3 things to consider. So I decided to write this little piece on some of the practical things to think about when you are choosing your accommodation when planning your trip to Korea.

Many people have asked why choose a hostel over a hotel when considering accommodation. Here are some reasons:

1. FREE WiFi and/or Internet access

With all the new gadgets available in the market and network advances, we have become reliant on staying connected and rely heavily on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with what is happening and also to update friends and family.

Compared to hotels, it is more common to find hostels providing FREE WiFi and Internet access. We understand the need  to provides free WiFi on top of a few computers for people to check their mails/make contact on Facebook (That’s like the FIRST site everyone goes to the moment they sit down). So you don’t have to pay extra for accessing the Internet. And for people with smart phones, it’s an added bonus since they can log onto the WiFi network and use their phones to communicate via the various applications available (whatsapp, Kakao, Skype, etc)

2. Laundry Service

This might not be free or provided everywhere but if you intend to be in Korea for more than a week, try to look out for a hostel that provides laundry service. If you can do laundry every few days, this means that you don’t have to bring as much clothes in your luggage (which translates to “more space for shopping”, at least for the girls).

3. Location

Now, when you go about choosing accommodation, LOCATION is VERY IMPORTANT especially if you are traveling on your own and not with a tour group. While Seoul is not too far away from Incheon, it is still a 45-minute ride which can cost you up to 70,000KRW (from Incheon Airport to Hongdae by taxi). Other than taking a taxi, you have the options of taking the AREX or the limousine buses. What this means is you should choose places where the locations are either accessible by AREX or the limousine buses.

Below is the AREX line that goes from Incheon International Airport to Seoul Station

As you can see, the train will pass by a few stations. The notables ones would be:

1. Gimpo Airport station (so if you are flying in from Gimpo Airport, you will get on at that station)

You can choose to get onto Line 5 or Line 9 at Gimpo Airport station or take the AREX line to the other stations.

The advantages of taking the AREX (3,600KRW) would be that it’s cheaper than the limousine buses (10,000won). However, as you can see, it travels to fewer destinations. The buses have a wider choices of locations. The other not-so-good thing about the Korea subway system in general is there are a lot of staircases. So that should be factored in when you are choosing the mode of transport from airport to accommodation (i.e. weight/mobility of your luggage).

The other thing to look out for is whether the accommodation you choose can be accessed by both the subway and the limousine buses. You really want to have that choice to be honest. While the AREX seems more convenient but the limousine bus is the better choice if you have multiple and heavy luggages. Always make sure that the accommodation provide CLEAR instructions on how to get to the place.

In all honesty, our location in Hongdae is very convenient. As Line 2 of the Seoul Subway is a loop/ circle line, this means that it actually goes to most places in Seoul or will pass by stations that you can do a transfer to other lines. And since the limousine bus  (Bus no. 6002) stops at HongIk University Station, both the AREX and the limousine bus option is available to you and you do not have to remember different sets of instructions for both.

For a full list of the facilities at Kimchi Hongdae Hostel, please visit our website (facilities)!