Originally Posted by mikesaidyes

For your first night, you should definitely stay in Jongno/Myeongdong area. Everything is walkable. My Dad is coming next week and staying at the Metro Hotel in Myeongdong. If you need a chain hotel, there is a Westin there. The Lotte Hotel is a local brand that's very nice and worth a look if you have 300$ a night.

For 48 hours, you should stick to Jongno. Most of the tourist sites, shopping etc. are there. Jongno is also the original downtown area, so there's lots of normal activity. Yes, Myeongdong is touristy shopping. To be honest, though, all of those chains are throughout Seoul, so if you go to them in Myeongdong, it's the same everywhere. Mark one off the checklist haha.

For Jongno area, where Cheonggyechon, Insadong is, there's lots of real street food and real restaurants on Jongno-ro. The catch is language or pictures. But, Koreans are very friendly and will try simple English or just give you the most delicious thing (literally, it's what they say in Korean if you go to a new restaurant. "This is most delicious, most popular. Order it.")

The Park Hyatt is nice, but it is extremely inconvenient and there's nothing there of interest for you there except Coex mall. You're actually still two stops past the main Gangnam area around Gangnam station. Also, the subway location on Line 2 is inconvenient, so you'll take taxis often (which can add up fast). There are much easier buses, but for you, I wouldn't recommend them. They can be very confusing.