Staying in Itaewon and Hannam: Seoul's Most International Neighborhood (2026)

Itaewon is the part of Seoul that has been international for longest. A US garrison sat next door for seventy years, embassies filled the surrounding hills, and the result is a neighborhood where you can eat Turkish, Nigerian, Pakistani and Mexican food within one block, and where more people speak English than anywhere else in the country.

Next door, Hannam-dong is quieter, richer and increasingly the address for Seoul’s art and design world. Together they make one of the most interesting places to stay in the city, provided you do not mind hills.

This is the hub guide. Three companion guides cover hotels, food and what to see. Information is as of September 2026.

A note on the 2022 tragedy

On 29 October 2022, 159 people died in a crowd crush in a narrow alley beside the Hamilton Hotel during Halloween celebrations. A memorial space stands near Itaewon Station exit 1.

The neighborhood has recovered but the alley remains a place people visit to pay respects. If you go, treat it as you would any memorial: quietly, and without photographing people who are grieving. Halloween weekend is now heavily managed by police, with one-way pedestrian systems in the main alleys.

Where Itaewon is

Itaewon sits on the southern slope of Namsan, in Yongsan-gu, between the mountain and the Han River. The whole area is built on a hill, and that is the single most useful thing to know before you book: streets that look adjacent on a map can be a steep five-minute climb apart.

Four connected areas:

• Itaewon-ro — the main strip. Restaurants, bars, tailors, shops, the mosque up the hill.
• Gyeongnidan-gil — west, up the slope. Small restaurants and cafés, quieter, very steep.
• Haebangchon (HBC) — further west and higher. Expat-heavy, cheap eats, good views.
• Hannam-dong — east. The Leeum museum, designer boutiques, expensive cafés, embassies.

Subway

• Itaewon Station (Line 6) — the main street, exits 1–4.
• Noksapyeong Station (Line 6) — Gyeongnidan-gil and Haebangchon.
• Hangangjin Station (Line 6) — Hannam-dong and the Leeum.

All three are one stop apart. Line 6 is a slow line that does not connect directly to Myeongdong or Gangnam, so expect a transfer most days.

Getting here from Incheon Airport

• AREX to Seoul Station, then Line 4 one stop to Samgakji and Line 6 two stops. About 90 minutes total.
• Airport bus 6010 goes to Hannam, which is convenient if you are staying on that side.
• Taxi — 60–75 minutes and ₩65,000–85,000.

Details in our Incheon Airport to Seoul guide.

What Itaewon is good at

Food from everywhere. This is the only part of Seoul where a genuinely wide range of world cuisines is available and good. It also has the country’s largest concentration of halal-certified restaurants, clustered around the mosque.

Museums. The Leeum Museum of Art in Hannam is one of Korea’s best, with free admission to the traditional collection by advance reservation. The War Memorial of Korea is free and enormous. The National Museum of Korea is two stops away — see our full guide.

Bars you can walk between. Craft beer, cocktails, and a drinking culture that starts later and runs longer than most of Seoul.

English. Menus, signs and staff. If a first-time visitor is anxious about the language barrier, this is the easiest neighborhood in Korea.

What it is not good at

• Sightseeing density. Beyond the two museums and the mosque, there is little to see. Itaewon is for eating and drinking.
• Transport. Line 6 is slow and poorly connected.
• Hills. They are genuinely steep, especially Gyeongnidan-gil and Haebangchon.
• Value. Hannam is expensive, and Itaewon’s main strip charges tourist prices.

Compare with seven other areas in our Seoul neighborhood guide.

Where to stay, in one paragraph

Two extremes and not much between: the Grand Hyatt Seoul up on the mountain with the best view in the city, and the Mondrian Seoul Itaewon in Hannam, plus a scattering of small boutique hotels and guesthouses along the main road. Budget options exist but are thin. The hotel guide covers it by budget.

Where to eat, in one paragraph

Turkish kebab, Indian and Pakistani curry, Nigerian and Ethiopian food, Mexican tacos, and Seoul’s best selection of halal-certified restaurants around the mosque. Plus craft beer bars, a strong brunch scene in Hannam, and Korean barbecue that is fine but not the reason you came. See the food guide.

A one-day plan

Morning: War Memorial of Korea (free, closed Mondays). Midday: lunch on Itaewon-ro, then walk up to the Seoul Central Mosque. Afternoon: Leeum Museum of Art in Hannam (book ahead, closed Mondays), then Hannam’s boutiques. Evening: dinner on Gyeongnidan-gil, drinks on the main strip.

Practical notes

• Mondays close things. Both the Leeum and the War Memorial close on Mondays.
• Wear shoes with grip. The hills are real, and Gyeongnidan-gil in the rain is unpleasant.
• It is an evening neighborhood. Many restaurants do not open until noon and the streets are dull before 17:00.
• Weekends get very busy on the main strip after 20:00.
• The mosque area has a modest dress expectation. Cover shoulders and knees if you plan to enter.

Wrapping up

Stay in Itaewon or Hannam if you have already seen the palaces, if you want to eat something other than Korean food for a night, or if you want the easiest English-speaking base in the country. Do not stay here if your itinerary is built around Gyeongbokgung and Insadong, which are 30 minutes and a transfer away.

Continue with hotels, food or what to see.