The 12 Types of Korean Hotels Explained

Decoding The Wide Array Of Korean Accommodation

Looking for a hotel in Korea can be confusing - minbak, yeogwan, hotel, motel guesthouse, Airbnb, and resort are just a few of the commonly used terms for different types of accommodation in South Korea, and they all mean something a little different.  This is a guide to the 12 main types of accommodation found in Korea - hopefully, it will save you stress and money on your Korean travels and help you have a more authentic experience.

But first, a bit of background - traditionally, Korean accommodation options were just “yeogwan” and “minbak” - both being simple and cheap, providing just a thin mattress on the floor. In the early 1900’s the first "hotels" were built in Korea. In the last few decades traditional wooden homes called “hanok” have been converted into accommodations for tourists; motels have sprung up like acne on a teenager’s forehead, providing privacy for randy couples; and Airbnb’s and hostels have become more and more popular.

Ondol or chimdae room?

Before we delve into types of accommodation, there are two vastly different categories of room you need to choose in most cases - “ondol” or  “chimdae.”  “Ondol” literally means “heated floor;” so an ondol room has no Western-style bed, just thick blankets called “yeo” that you use as a mattress on the floor. When you enter, the room will be bare and your yeo will be folded away in a wardrobe for you to pull out and set up when you’re ready for sleeping. This is a traditional Korean-style room and it’s how many Koreans sleep at home. Koreans especially favor ondol rooms when they're traveling in large groups or with families as more people can comfortably sleep in one room.

“Chimdae” means “bed”. A chimdae room has a Western-style bed.  Bonus tip: Quite often, a standard Western-style bed in Korea is very firm, probably more firm than most Westerners are used to, so you may want to think about traveling with a lightweight camping mattress to add a bit of extra cushioning.

Pre-book or just turn up?

If it’s a holiday, the weekend, peak season, or if you’re staying in a tourist hotspot, accommodation can fill up quickly, so it’s best to book ahead. On the weekdays and non-holiday periods accommodation is usually plentiful so you should be good to just wander around until you find somewhere to stay. Many places are listed on Booking.com, Airbnb or Tripadvisor so you can easily see other people’s reviews before booking.

Listed below are the 12 main types of Korean accommodation in rough order of cheapest to most expensive:

1. Sauna  사우나

A sauna, also called a jimjilbang, in South Korea

A sauna, or jimjilbang, can be identified by the icon of a steaming circle on the outside of the building.  They're the cheapest kind of accommodation option at about W7,000-W10,000 per night and are open 24 hrs. 

Upon arrival, you will be given a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, and you’ll sleep on the floor in a shared sleeping area. They’re popular with older Koreans because of the warm floor and include access to hot baths and saunas that adjoin the rooms. Be warned though, there are no mattresses, just very thin yeo to sleep on.

Need to pre-book a place? We usually use Booking.com:

2. Yeogwan 여관

A yeogwan is a very basic motel. In cities, you’ll find them clustered around bus and train stations, but they are also scattered throughout nearly all neighborhoods. Many large villages have at least one, and sometimes you’ll even find them beside the road in the middle of the countryside.

They have a reputation for being old and shabby - this is usually true, probably because the term “yeogwan” is going out of fashion. Newer establishments label themselves “motel” instead.

In our experience, quality and cleanliness vary greatly from one yeogwan to the next - we’ve stayed in yeogwan that were dark, dirty, and moldy; we’ve also stayed in yeogwan that were bright, pleasant, and clean. There’s just a huge variation in quality, but they’re nearly always great value for money - just ask to see the room before you hand over any cash - you’ll usually pay W25,000 to W50,000 per night. 

3. Hostel  호스텔

A hostel is pretty much the same idea as anywhere else – budget accommodation with shared dormitory rooms, bathroom, and sometimes kitchen facilities - and sometimes with private rooms if you want to pay a bit more. Hostels are mostly for international visitors and are a good place to meet new people from all over the world.  The staff usually speak English and can help organize tours and transport. You won't find many hostels in Korea besides Seoul, Busan, and Jeju Island.

4. Minbak  민박

A minbak we stayed in on Jeju Island. This was run by a sweet old lady and was her spare upstairs room.

“Minbak” roughly translates as “homestay”. It’s an accommodation term that is very vaguely defined. In reality, a minbak can be anything from a multi-story hotel setup in which every room has kitchen facilities and a private bathroom to a small room in an old lady’s house with a shared bathroom. As a rule of thumb, in a minbak you will usually have an ondol room (no western-style bed), kitchen facilities, and a private bathroom - but make sure you ask to see your room before you hand over any money, so you know for sure what you’re getting.

Minbak are usually good value, but be aware they’re not always cheap. The price can range from W20,000 to W80,000 a night, but they’re usually somewhere around W50,000. 

As always, you get what you pay for.  

A bad minbak can be dirty, noisy, moldy and so small that your mattress touches the walls on three sides; while a nice minbak will be a light-filled room in a seaside cottage hosted by a kind old lady who feeds you homemade snacks. 

5. Motel  모텔

Not always the innocent roadside motel variety - motels in Korea are often a pseudonym for “love motels”.  A love motel is a place where couples, married or otherwise, go for a romantic rendezvous, and rooms can often be rented by the hour or the night. 

Though they’re not brothels, prostitutes sometimes use them for clients. On the outside, they appear similar to hotels but will usually have darkened windows and a strange “rope curtain” over the driveway entrance (this is for privacy). Rooms have colored lighting, garish wallpaper, and the odd picture of a scantily clad lady on the wall.

Despite motels’ sleazy reputation, a lot of travelers, including us, recommend them as cheap, usually clean, and exceedingly good value; your rooms often include a large, flat-screen TV, computer, and a snazzy bathroom.

Again, quality varies a lot from motel to motel so ask to see a room before you hand over cash. If the place just feels cheap and nasty, if the staff are rude, if it smells like stale cigarette smoke, or if there’s a vending machine filled with sex toys in the hallway, you might want to steer clear. Most of the time though they’ll probably be clean, tidy, comfortable (sometimes even luxurious), and, at W50,000 to W90,000 per night, a great budget accommodation option.

6. Guesthouse - 게스트 하우스

It’s not a common term, but they are around, guesthouses can either be like a bed-and-breakfast in a Western country or similar to a hostel (with shared rooms) with a more casual setup in someone’s house. Breakfast is often included. They usually cost around the same as a cheap hotel at W60,000-ish per night.

7. Hotel - 호텔

Hotels in Korea are usually the standard hotel-style accommodation that you would expect anywhere in the world. However, as is often the case in Korea, the quality and price vary greatly and don’t often correlate.  A reasonably priced hotel room for W60,000 can be lovely and clean, while in the same city, a W80,000 room could be old and stuffy.

We would just add though - beware of hotels labeled “business hotel” or “tourist hotel” – the few we’ve stayed in were overpriced, dirty, and poorly ventilated. They seem to be consistently terrible so we’d say just stay away from these options.

8. AirBnB

Just like everywhere else in the world, the popularity of Airbnb has sky-rocketed in South Korea over the last few years. 

Airbnb provides easy access to feedback from previous guests, a super simple booking system, and more security in your booking.

You’ll also get many more pictures of your accommodation before you book so you can really be sure it’s got what you need all in one spot - kitchen, aircon, and the exact location is all there and easy to find.

A guesthouse room in Hwasun, the south west of Jeju Island.

9. Hanok Guesthouse - 한옥 게스트하우스

These are the same as guesthouses but in a traditional Korean wooden house called a “hanok”. Most are genuine old houses, over 100 years old. Hanok are built with natural materials and have beautiful sliding paper doors.  The rooms usually surround a courtyard, sometimes with a garden in it - and if you’re really lucky there may be chickens, ducks, or rabbits wandering around.

The hanok guesthouses we’ve stayed in have been consistently well renovated with clean, shared bathrooms. You sleep on a “yeo” - soft mattresses on the floor, although nowadays you can also find hanok that have Western-style beds as well.  

Hanok guesthouses aren’t found just anywhere in Korea. Sadly, most of Korea’s hanok were destroyed in the development-obsessed decades following the Korean War. They tend to be concentrated in certain neighborhoods - Bukcheon in Seoul and Hanok Maeul in Jeonju are two of the most famous.

Sometimes breakfast is included. A single room starts at about W90,000.

Hanok guesthouses are our favorite type of accommodation simply because of the incredible presence of the buildings and the atmosphere they create.  If you stay in a hanok guesthouse in Bukcheon near the center of Seoul, you can’t even hear a single car. Amazing!  There’s also usually no TV so you can truly “unplug” and relax.

10. Pension - 펜션

All the pensions we’ve stayed in have had very bright spacious rooms with private bathrooms and kitchen facilities. Pensions are in quiet towns or in the countryside.  The majority of the time they are ondol style rooms geared towards families or groups of friends on vacation.  They may be pricier (W80,000-130,000) than the average hotel room, but are cleaner and usually don't stink of cigarette smoke. Plus with your own kitchen you can easily cook healthy and cheap meals.  Occasionally pensions include breakfast or you can pay to have a BBQ meal.

11. Resort 리조트

Resorts are quite expensive in Korea, so we’ve never bothered with them much.  They’re usually in the countryside or quieter areas.   Average prices for resorts in Jeju Island can range from W100,000 up to W600,000.  Ouch. The more expensive ones usually include your own kitchen facilities, an indoor or outside pool, and a buffet breakfast.

12. Luxury Hotels

Luxury hotels will set you back several hundred dollars a night and are very nice and clean, often with gym facilities, a swimming pool, and fancy buffet breakfast.  Among the most expensive luxury hotels is the Shilla Hotel – to book a room in one of their Presidential Suites is a cool $8,000 per night. We’ve only stayed in one once as part of a media/blogger paid tour - which was very nice! But I’d reserve this type of accommodation if work was footing the bill, otherwise, keep on walking.

Book your South Korea accommodation here:

Join our Facebook group for more discussion about slow travel adventures in South Korea! If you are heading to Jeju Island, you can see our short film Jeju: A Bicycle Adventure for travel inspiration.

Photos by Jarrod Hall. 
Additional reporting by Migyoung Kim.
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