Five Days in Seoul for Under $400 – Where to Stay, Eat, and Explore
Seoul has a reputation for being expensive, but that reputation mostly comes from people who stay in Gangnam hotels and eat at tourist restaurants in Myeongdong. The Seoul that locals live in is dramatically more affordable. I spent five full days in the city and my total expenditure, excluding the flight, was just under $400. Here is exactly how the numbers worked out and how you can replicate the trip.
Accommodation: Hongdae Guesthouses
I stayed in Hongdae, the university district surrounding Hongik University. The area is young, loud, and full of cheap everything. My guesthouse — a five-story walk-up on a side street five minutes from Hongik University Station — cost 28,000 won ($21) per night for a private room with a shared bathroom. The room was small but clean, with a comfortable bed, air conditioning, and fast WiFi. Breakfast was included: toast, eggs, instant coffee, and bananas. Nothing fancy, but it saved me $5-7 every morning.
There are cheaper options. Dorm beds in Hongdae hostels run 12,000-18,000 won ($9-14). Goshiwon — tiny private rooms popular with students studying for exams — can cost as little as 10,000 won ($7.50) per night, though they are closet-sized and share a kitchen and bathroom with an entire floor. For a short stay, a guesthouse private room in Hongdae is the sweet spot.
Hongdae itself is a reason to stay there. The streets fill with busking musicians in the evening. University students pack the barbecue restaurants and bars. The shopping is cheap and youth-oriented. At midnight on a Friday, the neighborhood has more energy than most cities do at noon.
Food: Street Stalls, Convenience Stores, and Local Lunch Sets
Korean street food is plentiful, delicious, and costs pocket change. Tteokbokki — chewy rice cakes simmered in spicy gochujang sauce — costs 3,000 won ($2.25) from a street cart. A fish cake skewer in warm broth alongside it is 1,000 won ($0.75). Two skewers of grilled chicken from a different cart: 4,000 won ($3.00).
Convenience stores in Korea are not the sad, fluorescent-lit affairs of the West. GS25, CU, and 7-Eleven sell surprisingly good kimbap — rice and fillings rolled in seaweed — for 2,500-3,500 won ($1.90-2.60). Triangle kimbap, the triangular onigiri-style version, costs half that. Combine two of them with a banana milk (1,500 won, $1.10) and you have a perfectly adequate lunch for under $5.
For a proper sit-down meal, look for lunch specials at local restaurants. A bowl of sundubu jjigae — soft tofu stew bubbling in a stone pot, served with rice and banchan side dishes — costs 7,000-9,000 won ($5.25-6.75) at lunch. A sizzling stone pot of bibimbap: similar price. Korean fried chicken chains like BBQ Chicken and Kyochon have lunch sets for 9,900 won ($7.50) that include chicken, rice, and a drink.
Avoid Myeongdong for food. The street food stalls there charge tourist prices — 5,000-10,000 won for items that cost 2,000-3,000 won in any other neighborhood. The restaurants are similarly inflated. Myeongdong is worth walking through once for the spectacle, but eat elsewhere.
Activities: Most of the Best Things Are Free or Cheap
Gyeongbokgung Palace is the main royal palace of the Joseon dynasty. Entry is 3,000 won ($2.25). If you rent a hanbok — traditional Korean clothing — from one of the dozens of rental shops surrounding the palace, entry is free. Hanbok rental costs 10,000-15,000 won ($7.50-11.25) for two to four hours, and the experience of walking through a 600-year-old palace wearing traditional clothing adds something photographs cannot convey. The rental shops provide everything: the dress, the hair accessory, the storage locker for your regular clothes.
Bukchon Hanok Village is a preserved neighborhood of traditional Korean houses wedged between Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung palaces. People still live here. The narrow streets climb a hillside, and the traditional tiled roofs create one of Seoul’s most photographed scenes. Entry is free. Go early in the morning to avoid the selfie stick crowds and to be respectful of the residents, who have signs in multiple languages asking visitors to keep their voices down.
Namsan Tower is the communication tower visible from almost anywhere in central Seoul. The cable car to the top costs 14,000 won ($10.50) round trip. Skip it. The walking trail from the base of Namsan Park takes 30-40 minutes, is moderately steep but well-paved, and is free. The view from the plaza at the base of the tower is nearly identical to the view from the observation deck at the top. The love lock installation — thousands of padlocks clipped to the fences by couples — is at the base level and free to view.
Cheonggyecheon Stream is an 11-kilometer-long park built over a buried stream in the center of the city. It runs through the financial district, and walking its length in the evening — past lantern displays, under bridges, alongside office workers and couples on dates — is one of the best free experiences in Seoul. Start near Gwanghwamun Square and follow the water east. When you get tired, climb the nearest staircase and you will be next to a subway station.
The War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan is free and massive. The outdoor exhibition includes tanks, aircraft, and a full-size replica of a patrol boat. The indoor museum covers Korea’s military history from the Three Kingdoms period through the Korean War, with detailed English explanations throughout. Plan for at least two hours. The museum is under-visited by tourists, which is a shame because it is one of the best museums in the country.
Transportation: The Subway Is Your Best Friend
The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is one of the best public transportation systems in the world. It is clean, punctual, safe, and covers every neighborhood a visitor would want to reach. Fares start at 1,250 won ($0.95) for the first 10 kilometers with a T-money card, which you can buy at any convenience store for 2,500 won plus whatever amount you want to load. The card works on subways, buses, and even in taxis.
Station announcements are in Korean, English, Japanese, and Mandarin. Signage is bilingual. Transfer corridors are clearly marked and walkable. Trains run from approximately 5:30 AM to midnight.
Buses use the same T-money card and the same fare structure. They are slightly more confusing than the subway for non-Korean speakers because route maps and stop announcements are typically Korean-only. If you are comfortable with a navigation app, they are fine. If not, stick to the subway.
Taxis are everywhere and cheap by Western standards. A 15-minute ride across central Seoul costs 8,000-12,000 won ($6-9). Use the Kakao T app for hailing — it is the Korean equivalent of Uber and lets you input destinations without speaking Korean.
The Numbers
Over five days, my spending broke down as follows:
- Accommodation: $105 (5 nights × $21)
- Food: $145 (averaging $29/day for three solid meals and snacks)
- Transportation: $45 ($9/day including airport express train)
- Activities: $35 (palace entry, hanbok rental, one museum with admission fee)
- Miscellaneous: $40 (coffee, souvenirs, a face mask at a jjimjilbang)
Total: $370. The $30 margin went to an unplanned Korean fried chicken dinner on the last night that was worth every won.
Seoul rewards travelers who step away from the tourist zones and into the neighborhoods where people actually live. The city is safe, the infrastructure is excellent, and the food — the real star of any trip to Korea — is astonishingly good at every price point.