10 Best Hostels in Hongdae, Seoul — Backpacker Picks

Topping the list is Inno Hostel & Pub Lounge Hongdae, the best backpacker hostel in Hongdae at 8.6/10 from 3,800+ reviews. The draw is the in-house pub lounge on the ground floor, open 17:00-23:00, which turns into a nightly meeting spot for travelers from all over. Add free breakfast and a real range of rooms — 6- and 8-bed dorms, a female-only dorm, a twin private and a family room — and you have a place that works for solo travelers and anyone who wants company. Dorm beds start at $19 a night, and it sits a short 8-minute walk from Hongik University Station on Line 2, so getting in and out of the city is easy.

Hostel CLEO Hongdae scores 8.5/10 across more than 2,800 reviews and sits right on Hongdae Walking Street, in the middle of one of Seoul's busiest going-out districts. The look is pared-back white and natural wood with green plants — closer to a minimal coffee shop than a backpacker bunkhouse — and the dorms stay clean and orderly. There's a 4th-floor rooftop terrace for sunset and a mix of room types: 4- and 6-bed dorms, a female-only dorm, and twin private rooms. Beds start at about $20 a night, and Hongik University Station is a 5-minute walk. It's a good fit for design-minded travelers who want to be steps from the Walking Street rather than a few blocks back.

At number 3, Sunny Hill Hostel Hongdae is the warm, family-run option, scoring 8.4/10 across 1,800+ reviews. The draw is a genuinely big communal kitchen — a 4-burner stove, dishwasher, microwave and a 400-litre fridge, all free around the clock — plus owner Mr. Park, who worked in LA for 10 years and gives guide-level tips in native English. There is a 4-person family room (one king, two singles, en-suite) that suits a small family or four friends, and a 6-bed mixed dorm from $18 a night. It sits a 6-minute walk from Hongik University Station, with Mangwon Market close by for fresh groceries. This is the place for travelers who want to cook their own meals and a homey feel over a slick design shoot.

Ranked #4, Birdsnest Hostel Hongdae is a tiny boutique hostel scoring 8.4/10 across more than 1,500 reviews. The whole appeal is the size — just 20 beds across a few dorms, which keeps the place feeling more like a friend's flat than a business operation. It runs a foreigner-only policy (guests need a non-Korean passport), so the common area tends to fill with international travellers rather than a quiet local crowd. Add free coffee 24 hours a day and a warm lounge with sofas and contemporary art, and you have a stay built for solo travellers who actually want to talk to people. Beds start around $19 a night, it sits a 5-minute walk from Hongik University Station, and a 4-bed female dorm gives solo women a calmer option. It is not for anyone who wants privacy or a full kitchen — but for company on a budget, it delivers.

Coming in at #5, High Street Guesthouse Hongdae scores 8.3/10 and leans hard into one idea: an in-house bar pouring cheap soju and Korean beer, wrapped in an industrial look of red brick, black steel, natural wood and Edison bulbs. The standout room is a private double at 18 sqm — the largest in this hostel group — with an en-suite bathroom, while the cheapest bed is a 6-bed mixed dorm from about $21 a night. It sits in Mapo-gu, a 4-minute walk from Hongik University Station and roughly 3 minutes from the Hongdae live-music streets. The trade-off is plain: this is a place for travelers who want to be inside the nightlife, not asleep above it.

At #6 is Nabi Hostel Hongdae, the pick for travelers who do not want to drag a suitcase far. It sits a 2-minute walk (200m) from Hongik University Station Exit 3 — the shortest hop from the airport train of any hostel here, since the AREX runs direct from Incheon Airport to that station. The building opened in 2014, so it looks a touch older than its neighbors, but it is well kept. Downstairs there is an in-house restaurant serving a continental breakfast for about $7, plus Korean plates like bibimbap and bulgogi later in the day. The real draw beyond the location is the tour desk, which books day trips to the DMZ, Nami Island and Everland for 10-15% less than online rates. Dorm beds start around $19 a night and a private double runs about $50. Best for travelers who want fast metro access over a big communal scene.

Coming in at #7, Time Travelers Party Hostel Hongdae scores 8.2/10 across more than 1,400 reviews and earns its name. The headline draw is the free pub crawl every night at 21:00, when the hostel rounds up a group and walks everyone to 3 Hongdae bars to drink and meet people — the crawl is free and you only cover your own drinks, roughly $3 to $5 a glass. Back at the hostel, free beer pong runs in the common area from 22:00 as a nightly league, with 2 free beers for the winner. It is foreigner-only, so the crowd skews international, and there is a free Korean BBQ night on the rooftop every Wednesday and Saturday. Dorms start at about $21 a night, a 5-minute walk from Hongik University Station. Best for solo travellers in their 20s who came to socialise, not to sleep early.

Ranked #8, Zzzip Guesthouse Hongdae scores 8.2/10 across 2,800+ reviews and trades nightlife for calm. It sits in Yeonnam-dong, about 600 metres from the Hongdae Walking Street and 800 metres from the party street, so the bar noise never carries to your room. Dorm beds start at $17 a night in the mixed 6-bed room, the cheapest rate in this group, and there's a female-only 4-bed dorm for travelers who want a locked, quiet floor. The ground-floor common area runs a long work table with 100 Mbps Wi-Fi and a power outlet at every seat, open 24 hours — which makes it a sane base for anyone working online. The trade-off is distance: it's a 12-minute walk to Hongik University Station, farther than the others here, though Sangsu Station on Line 6 is only 6 minutes away. Best for solo travelers, remote workers and early sleepers — not for anyone chasing a pub crawl.

Ranked #9, The One Hostel Hongdae is a budget hostel scoring 8.1/10, sitting in central Hongdae two minutes from KT&G Sangsangmadang, the free contemporary-arts centre. The draw is the price and the hours: a bed in the 8-person mixed dorm starts at $16 a night, and the 24-hour reception means you can check in or out at any time, with no late check-in fee. The building is older — a four-floor grey-white block that opened in 2013 — and it is a 10-minute walk from Hongik University Station, a touch further out than the newer hostels in this list. There is a 6-bed female-only dorm as well, and private doubles with their own bathroom. For travellers on a tight budget, or anyone arriving on a late flight or leaving before dawn, the round-the-clock desk and the rock-bottom dorm rate make it an easy pick.

Closing out at #10 is KOZAYO Hongdae Hostel, the newest place in this Hongdae lineup and the one that scores best on cleanliness — 8.5/10 overall, with a standout 8.7/10 for cleanliness, the highest in the group. It opened in 2019, so everything still feels fresh: new furniture, no wear and tear, and a Scandinavian-Korean look in grey, white and wood. Dorms come with proper blackout privacy curtains, and there are tidy private rooms too. The 6-bed mixed dorm runs about $21 a night and the 4-bed female-only dorm around $24, both with under-bed lockers and en-suite bathrooms. It sits a 7-minute walk from Hongik University Station in Mapo-gu. Best for travelers who put cleanliness and modern design first — female solo travelers and couples especially.