Koreana Hotel

Location & getting around — on the Gwanghwamun crossroads

The hotel is on Sejong-daero in Jung-gu. Cheonggyecheon is 170m away, Deoksugung 320m, Gwanghwamun Station 370m, City Hall Station 530m, Myeongdong 900m and Changgyeonggung 2.1km. Gimpo Airport is 15.5km and Incheon 48.2km (both straight-line).

Administratively it is Jung-gu, but in practice this is Gwanghwamun. Both Gwanghwamun and City Hall stations are walkable, Cheonggyecheon runs 170m from the door and Deoksugung is 320m. Location scores 9.3.

Reviews describe the walking radius directly — Gyeonghuigung, Deoksugung and Gwanghwamun all on foot, making the itinerary efficient; excellent access from both City Hall and Gwanghwamun stations. One guest notes a city tour bus stop directly outside.

Others mention Gwanghwamun Square filling the window, and that during a rally on the square almost no noise reached the room.

Rooms & occupancy — the word that recurs is “large”

Built in 1972 and renovated in 2008, with 285 rooms. Check-in is 3pm and check-out is noon.

Two to three times the size

This is the most repeated compliment. One review states it plainly: an old hotel, but incomparably larger than newer hotels at similar prices — at least twice, and up to three times the size. The Deluxe Queen B is described as having a spacious bathroom with the tub and shower separated.

The bathtub gets its own mention. A guest observes that many hotels now offer showers only, and that being able to soak after a hot day out mattered — an amenity quietly disappearing from mid-range Seoul hotels.

Four-person types, and bicycles

Listed types are Royal Studio, Imperial Studio, Premier King, Superior Queen, Deluxe Queen, Deluxe Queen B, Triple Room, Quadruple Room, Family Bunk Room, Premier Family Room, Superior Family Twin, Deluxe Family Twin and a non-smoking Residence Twin.

Some types include bicycle hire — the Deluxe Family Twin for two adults and two children, the Deluxe Queen for two adults. With Cheonggyecheon 170m away, that pairs with the position.

Reviews note how hard rooms for four are to find in Seoul, and describe being pleased with the value and cleanliness here.

What to factor in

It is a 1972 building. Scuffed furniture with good hygiene on one hand; a bathroom odour attributed to the age of the building on the other.

Free child stays cover ages 0–1 only — narrow for a hotel with this many four-person types, so check the total.

Facilities — the practical things

The facility list covers a restaurant, sauna, bar, gym and business centre. There is no pool.

What reviews name instead is everyday infrastructure — a coin laundry, and free use of kitchenware and a microwave. One guest mentions in-room tablet room service being convenient.

Breakfast reviews well. Served as a buffet and à la carte, described as thoughtfully composed and good, and simply as excellent. Where not included in the rate the property lists 28,000 KRW for children.

Service comments run warm: a room upgrade, and one detailed comparison — a guest who split a six-day trip between three nights here and two at an international five-star chain, and found service and convenience clearly better here.

Overall the hotel scores 8.7 with a location rating of 9.3 across 19,884 reviews. Solo travellers rate it 8.7.

Compared & alternatives — Jongno sorts by what is outside the door

The three Jongno properties sit 280–370m from a subway station, so the station decides nothing.

Hotel	Outside the door	Nearest station	To Myeongdong	Overall
Nine Tree Insadong	Jogyesa Temple 120m	Anguk 280m	1.4km	8.9
Koreana Hotel	Cheonggyecheon 170m	Gwanghwamun 370m	900m	8.7
Hotel Atrium Seoul Jongno	Gwangjang Market 220m	Jongno 5-ga 350m	1.7km	8.3

It is the closest of the three to Myeongdong. At 900m — under fifteen minutes on foot — an evening trip there is shortest from here.

For Insadong and Bukchon, Nine Tree Insadong is 120m from Jogyesa with a far larger review sample. For Gwangjang Market street food, Atrium is 220m from it.

For a newer building at a similar price, look to Myeongdong rather than Jongno — Solaria Nishitetsu Myeongdong is one option. City-wide comparisons are in Where to Stay in Seoul.

Bottom line — age traded for floor space

Being a 1972 building is both the weakness and the strength. Scuffed furniture and a reported bathroom odour on one side; on the other, floor plans from an era that produced rooms two to three times the size of newer hotels at the same price, a bathtub, tub and shower separated in some types, and several ways to sleep four.

The position earns its keep too. Cheonggyecheon 170m, Deoksugung 320m, Gwanghwamun Station 370m, Myeongdong 900m — every direction out of the Gwanghwamun crossroads is short.

If a recent finish is your priority, this is the wrong hotel. If you need space, a bathtub and room for four, that combination is hard to find in central Seoul at this price.