Neighborhood 48H guide
Itaewon & Yongsan: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Global food, Leeum and the National Museum.
Itaewon, on the south slope of Namsan, is Seoul’s most international neighborhood, with restaurants and bars from everywhere. Hannam-dong next door has the Leeum museum; the National Museum of Korea is in Yongsan to the west.
Photo gallery
Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Varied dining and two of the city’s best museums.
Who it's for: Food lovers and museum-goers.
Pros
- International food
- Museums
- Nightlife
Cons
- Hilly
- Busy weekend nights
- Fewer sights on foot
48H in Itaewon
Museums, dinner.
10:00 – National Museum of Korea
Free; closed Mondays.
14:00 – Leeum Museum of Art
Korean art and contemporary works in Hannam-dong.
19:00 – Itaewon
Dinner and bars along the main street.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
See / do
See / do
National Museum of Korea
137 Seobinggo-ro
Korea’s national collection, from prehistory to the Joseon era.
Photo: Ethan Doyle White · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →See / do
Leeum Museum of Art
Hannam-dong
Samsung’s museum of traditional Korean and contemporary art.
Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
Grand Hyatt Seoul
Itaewon
Hilltop hotel on Namsan above Itaewon.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for Itaewon & Yongsan.
In Korea, a home rented to travellers must be registered. In Seoul, most private-home rentals fall under the Foreign Tourist Urban Homestay category of the Tourism Promotion Act: the host must live in the home, guests must be foreign tourists, and the home must be registered with the district office. Officetels and one-room units cannot be registered. Book only listings that show a registration, or a licensed hotel or guesthouse.
Browse vacation rentals in Itaewon & Yongsan on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Seoul
- Jongno & Bukchon — Gyeongbokgung, hanok lanes and Ikseon-dong.
- Myeongdong & Namsan — Street food, the cathedral and N Seoul Tower.
- Hongdae & Mangwon — Buskers, the Gyeongui Line park and Mangwon Market.
- Gangnam & COEX — Starfield Library and Bongeunsa temple.
- Jamsil — Lotte World Tower, Seoul Sky and Seokchon Lake.
- Yeouido — Han River park and The Hyundai Seoul.
- Seongsu & Seoul Forest — Warehouse cafés, pop-ups and Seoul Forest.
- Dongdaemun — DDP, late-night fashion malls and Gwangjang Market.