Seoul on a budget ๐Ÿค‘

Seoul on a budget ๐Ÿค‘

Angela Huo
For the financially smart (or broke) girlies visiting Seoul ๐Ÿ’…๐Ÿ’… My guide covers: โ—‹ Cheap eats ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ โ—‹ Free activities ๐Ÿ‘Ÿ โ—‹ Shopping ๐Ÿ›๏ธ โ—‹ Cheap hotels ๐ŸŒ™ Bonus: โ—‹ How to save extra $$ Use (and save) this guide to explore Seoul without needing to scrape by ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿป NaverMap links included :)
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Cheap eats ๐Ÿฝ๏ธ

Everything underย โ‚ฉ10,000 (roughly $10)

Mammoth Coffee Express
@angelahuoo
Iced americano for only $1 ๐Ÿค‘ This chain has multiple locations
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๋นต์‚ฌ์ด์—๋‚€๊ณผ์ผ
@angelahuoo
My former Korean classmate recommends their kimchi fried rice!
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Queen's Bakery
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Huge variety of pastries if you want to venture outside of Paris Baguette ๐Ÿ˜‹
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Namdaemun Market
@angelahuoo
Famous market with classic Korean food ๐Ÿคฉ bring cash!
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Mangwon Market
@angelahuoo
Smaller than Namdaemun Market but still has a lot of delicious food
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Gwangjang Market
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The fried donuts ๐ŸคŒ๐Ÿป
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Free activities ๐Ÿ‘Ÿ

I love anything free

Insa 1010
@angelahuoo
A cute little gallery in Jongno, this area actually has a cluster of galleries. Tip: search โ€œ๊ฐค๋Ÿฌ๋ฆฌโ€ on NaverMap and a bunch will pop up!
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Seoul Forest Park
@angelahuoo
Getcho steps in ๐Ÿ‘Ÿ
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Jogyesa Temple
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A Buddhist temple with a gorgeous garden and intricate paintings
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SeMA - Seoul Museum of Art
@angelahuoo
There werenโ€™t many exhibitions when I went but it is a famous gallery
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MMCA (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) Seoul
@angelahuoo
I saw some sick 3D pieces and installations here ๐Ÿ˜ฎโ€๐Ÿ’จ
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Gallery Hyundai
@angelahuoo
A very quiet gallery in Jongno-gu
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Shopping ๐Ÿ›๏ธ

Make sure to have cash on hand!

Gotomall Underground Shopping Mall
@angelahuoo
Hair clips, socks, and scrunchies for only $1 ๐Ÿคฉ The mall is right beside the Express Bus Terminal; I stumbled across this place by accident haha
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ALL MASK STORY No.4
@angelahuoo
This is where youโ€™ll find discounted skincare and makeup ๐Ÿค‘ I bought the cosrx snail mucin for only $12
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Nyunyu
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Wholesale accessories yessir
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Object
@angelahuoo
A hidden gem in Hongdae with super cute stationery ๐Ÿฅฐ
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Sappun Hongdae Branch
@angelahuoo
The place for CHEAP and TRENDY shoes
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Cheap Hotels ๐ŸŒ™

Nightly rates underย โ‚ฉ100,000 (roughly $100)

Hotel MIDO Myeongdong
@angelahuoo
Super close to the Namdaemun Market!
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Wegoinn Hostel
@angelahuoo
SUPERIOR LOCATION ๐Ÿคฉ This hostel is a 3 mins walk from the No. 2 Line and it is also within walking distance to Hongdae. Definitely a top stay if you are thinking about hitting the clubsโ€”the subways are closed after 12am and calling a cab is a nightmare during peak hours
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I stayed atย ๐‡๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž'๐ฌ Single Room for 1 night. It was very clean and the staff was very friendly. Excellent location as it was very close toย ๐’๐ž๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง, which has the Express Train that takes you directly to the airport! I recommend this stay for people with early flights ๐Ÿฅฐ

The only drawback was that the building is on a slope so dragging my luggage uphill was tough.

Hotelette Seoul Station
@angelahuoo
Bang for the buck stay near Seoul Station ๐Ÿ’ธ
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Bonus: How to save extra $$

I'm still figuring out how to optimize cost savings myself, but here are the tips and tricks that I've learned ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป

Rakuten Chrome plugin for % ๐œ๐š๐ฌ๐ก ๐›๐š๐œ๐ค:

Sign up for Rakuten and install its Chrome plugin to get cash back onย  ๐‡๐จ๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฌ.๐œ๐จ๐ฆ, ๐„๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ž๐๐ข๐š, car rentals, and air tickets. For large expenses such as these, a little % of cash back can go a long way!!

Download theย ๐‡๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ app for cheaper stays:

This is Montreal-based travel startup that uses its advanced algorithms to predict cheap flights and cheap hotels so that you can get the best rates โšก๏ธโšก๏ธ Hopper is one of my fav apps because it's so user-friendly!

Feel free to use my code for $10 off:ย ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฅ๐š๐ก81๐ž

If you're a ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ž๐ง๐ญ:

Register for UNiDAYS to get a unique code for 8% off Hotels.com

Thanks for reading! Feel free to check out my other Korea guides :)

My ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ of the coolest places to visit in Seoul ๐Ÿคฉ From typical touristy spots to cafes gatekept from foreigners, here's 115 things to do in Seoul! Explore the bustling streets of districts such as Gangnam and Myeongdong, where futuristic skyscrapers house trendy boutiques, K-pop hubs, and innovative culinary experiences. I'm excited for you to dive into the latest fashion trends in Seoul, indulge in Korean beauty products, and savor the diverse flavors of Seoul's street food scene. ๐“๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฉ ๐ ๐จ๐ž๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐ž๐ž ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐ž๐ฌ. Here, you'll find additional spots for: โœง Casual Eats (17) โœง Fancy Eats (8) โœง Cafes (42) โœง Attractions (15) โœง Art galleries (10) โœง Shopping (18) โœง Bars (5) NaverMap links included because I gotchu <3 Many months of research went into thisโ€”I hope you enjoy! For a peek at my Seoul adventures, feel free to check out my ๐“๐ข๐ค๐ญ๐จ๐ค @๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž๐ฅ๐š๐ก๐ฎ๐จ๐จ
Digital Nomads โ€ข Family โ€ข Couples โ€ข Female Solo โ€ข Groups โ€ข Adventure โ€ข Art โ€ข Coffee โ€ข Foodie โ€ข People & Culture โ€ข Shopping
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First time visiting? Check out my quick ๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ค!ย 

Topics: must-download apps, payment methods, data & SIM, navigation, items to pack, emergency numbers, Seoul districts breakdown

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Angela Huo
Hello! My name is Angela, and I'm a Gen Z from Canada ๐Ÿค ๐Ÿ“ฑ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ My favorite destination is ๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท, but I've also travelled to ๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Follow me if you like: food ๐Ÿœ art & culture ๐ŸŽจ shopping ๐Ÿ‘— makeup & skincare ๐Ÿ’„ nightlife ๐ŸŒƒ unique experiences ๐ŸŒŽ and hidden gems ๐Ÿ’Œ Happy to share my experiences and research with everyone ~~ Tiktok: @angelahuoo Pinterest @angelahuoo Instagram: @angela.huo
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