Korea - Seoul hotels on a budget

I'm looking for a twin room in Seoul that isn't exorbitantly expensive. Am on a tight budget so will probably end up in a hostel (which looks like it will be around $50/night), but thought I would ask here since I've gotten such good suggestions before. :)

I'm looking for a twin room in Seoul that isn't exorbitantly expensive. Am on a tight budget so will probably end up in a hostel (which looks like it will be around $50/night), but thought I would ask here since I've gotten such good suggestions before. :)

Through lonely planet, or even agoda, you can do much better than that. Give an attempt.

I looked at Hostelworld, they usually have everything on Lonely Planet. The top rated hostels are $40-60 for a twin with a shared bathroom.

There is only one on Agoda that is below $50 a night once taxes are figured in. Am I missing something?

My internet connection is terrible so it's not easy to search multiple sites :(

There's one in Dongdaemun. I'm going there next month and will post a review after. I've stayed in many of the Toyoko Inns in Japan and they are all a great value for the money. Rooms are a little small but the the hotels are always clean, well managed and serve breakfast.

Korean cities are very crowded, so there are a lot of hotels that cater to couples needing a little privacy. These hotels don't market anywhere on the internet, since they are primarily for locals. When you enter the lobby, the receptionist is behind smoked glass, with only a slot around waist height. They are really only expecting local Korean customers, but in Seoul they are about USA 3* quality for KRW 40000 or 50000. Sometimes there might be a language barrier since the receptionist will probably know zero English. I only know the barest amount of rudimentary Korean and I don't have any difficulty buying a room.

Korean cities are very crowded, so there are a lot of hotels that cater to couples needing a little privacy. These hotels don't market anywhere on the internet, since they are primarily for locals.
The keyword is "motel" (모텔), and they do advertise on the Internet, just not in English. Try eg. http://www.hotel365.co.kr/, which is reasonably usable even through eg. Google Translate (http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hotel365.co.kr%2F&sl=ko&tl=en).

Priceline some hotels, I think you'd be pleased at what you can come up with(I know I was). Look at the helpful bidding sites to get some ideas on prices/properties

There's one in Dongdaemun. I'm going there next month and will post a review after. I've stayed in many of the Toyoko Inns in Japan and they are all a great value for the money. Rooms are a little small but the the hotels are always clean, well managed and serve breakfast.

fdflys, how was your stay at Tokyo Inn?

Priceline some hotels, I think you'd be pleased at what you can come up with(I know I was). Look at the helpful bidding sites to get some ideas on prices/properties

Out of curiosity, how low were you able to go, Sweet Willie? And are you based in MNL now?

Priceline bidding for Korea is around 30% discount. If you have time, you can start off at 50% and bid every 24 hours to see what they take.

Out of curiosity, how low were you able to go, Sweet Willie? And are you based in MNL now?
IIRC in the mid $70 range for 4-5*hotels. (Marriott Rennaissance). I would assume one could bid on 3* or lower.

Not based in MNL, I'm just looking FW to our trip to Manila this December.

Also suggest keeping an eye on Hyatt & if they run another stay twice get a free night you could stay for a good price IF you have a cheap Hyatt property near you to do the stays at.

My stay at the Toyoko Inn went well. You can take the bus directly from ICN (bus #6001) - it took about 1 1/2 hours in to town and a little less going back. There are two subway stops very close to the hotel (same station different exits) - stop is Dongdaemun History & Culture. The hotel has a selection of rooms including some in the basement which are likely without windows. I chose a double room for 77,000 won - got a double bed, desk, tv with an amazing amount of channels (some english) and a small fridge. It was not huge but clean and functional. The lobby has four free computers and offers free breakfast (asian + toast, juice, coffee) and best of all a free washing machine (that is also a dryer). If you use the washer/dryer do it when you have time to hang your clothes for a few hours in the room (the dryer kind of steam dries so things feel a little damp). It's a good location for shopping - close by are the all night hipster malls which sell all kinds of clothes but emphasize hip young casual clothes. It's a pretty fun scene as some malls provide entertainment (boy & girl bands performing on stages in front of the malls and a ride called "disco jump" which is hysterical to watch (think tilt a whirl on a giant couch). There are food vendors and lots of restaurants around the area. I joined the Toyoko Inn club when I arrived and got a discount on the already low rates. It was perfect for my needs.

Try this website: http://innostel.visitseoul.net/en/
It's run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. But, to reserve, you need to have verified by visa activated on your card, same goes for mastercard.
I booked Seoul backpackers single room for 25000 won per night. They were running special discounts last month. Plus you get free limousine service from the airport to your hotel/hostel if you booked before the end of this month.

Try this website: http://innostel.visitseoul.net/en/
It's run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. But, to reserve, you need to have verified by visa activated on your card, same goes for mastercard.
I booked Seoul backpackers single room for 25000 won per night. They were running special discounts last month. Plus you get free limousine service from the airport to your hotel/hostel if you booked before the end of this month.

Where did you see the 25,000 won for a single room per night? I just checked at http://www.seoulbackpackers.com and it's 40,000 for a single. And at the Innostel website it was 45,000! The free limo promo from Innostel ended Oct. 10.

Where did you see the 25,000 won for a single room per night? I just checked at http://www.seoulbackpackers.com and it's 40,000 for a single. And at the Innostel website it was 45,000! The free limo promo from Innostel ended Oct. 10.

It seems that their promotions have ended. I booked Seoul backpackers last September while they were running discounts - visit Korea promotions or something like that. I paid 75000 won for 3 nights. http://flic.kr/p/8JRkZ3

I was wrong about the limousine service. I thought it was supposed to be until end of October.