Last Updated on September 11, 2024 by Laura
After a summer spent in South Korea, and particularly Seoul, I think I found the accommodation that stolen my heart. This is called Hanok Essay. A modernly renovated hanok in the heart of my favourite Seoul neighbourhood: Seochon. In this blog, you will discover everything about our stay in a Seoul hanok and why it is the perfect place to explore the city!
Hanok Essay
Stay in a Seoul hanok – Overview of Hanok Essay
Hanok Essay is located in the heart of Seochon, a historic neighbourhood not too far from Gyeongbokgung Palace. It’s a modernised hanok with a strong aesthetic sense and an excellent optimisation of the small spaces. Indeed, something I really love about Korean culture is their way to make useful and pretty even the tiniest of the spaces. Hanok Essay displays itself into three different ambiances: garden, lounge and open bath (which shares the scene with the bedroom). We tried to spend our time in each of these spaces and make the best of our stay in this lovely accommodation.
Garden
Stay in a Seoul hanok – Hanok Essay Courtyard and Entrance
You might be disappointed if you expect a garden considering the literally meaning of the world. But, from what I learnt from my Korean experience, is that no matter how small. If there is green everything can be a garden. In a more westernised perspective, Hanok Essay has a very lovely courtyard. A space that is made for welcoming the guests in a warm way and can be used as a perfect reading space during summer nights. Indeed, the bedroom window completely disappear and transform the house in a pretty open space. If you are brave enough to deal with the mosquitos, you can potentially sleep with fresh air on your face. Unfortunately, we didn’t dare that much.
However, we loved to have this little garden/courtyard where to hang out. It definitely added charm to the already lovely hanok. And (don’t tell anyone) I loved they called it garden!
Lounge
Stay in a Seoul hanok – Hanok Essay Lounge area
At a short walk from the courtyard, you will be welcomed by the Hanok Essay’s lounge. This is a moderately large space that seems to scream “please seat here with a coffee and relax all day long!”. Indeed, the room is equipped with everything you need for preparing coffee and tea. All you need to do is sit down and wind down at the end of nice day around Seoul.
In this area, I noted a few interesting design choices. For example, the flooring that contrasts sharply with the wooden architecture of the hanok. This seems to be almost an extension of the courtyard if one leaves the door open. The presence of a fire-pit reinforces the idea that this space could be potentially enjoyed as a partially outdoor(ish) space during the winter months. Indeed, you can take advantage of the rooftop cover and the warm coming from the fire-pit.
Of course we visited in full summer. Therefore, I couldn’t prove my theory with 35 degrees out there but, if any of you will visit in winter and can prove this, give me a shout!
Open Bath
Stay in a Seoul hanok – Hanok Essat Open Bath
The third (and probably my favourite) area of Hanok Essay is the open bath. This is a stone bathtub with a convenient view on the courtyard and a cozy feeling of the bedroom. To note that most of these large bathtub in Korea are not understood to be used with soap. Therefore, don’t expect to soak yourself into foam because it’s against the appropriate etiquette. Indeed, these tubs are complimentary part of the relaxation you do at the end of the day. Therefore, you can soak your feet or you can immerse yourself just with water and salts. While during our stay in Hanok Nujung we did a salt bath, here we decided to just sit down and soak our feet. It was a great idea since my feet were very sore from two-days non-stop walking!
Bedroom
Stay in a Seoul hanok – Hanok Essay bedroom
Despite the open-air bath steals most of the attention at Hanok Essay. I want to give a shout out to the actual bedroom of the hanok. This is located at the very end of the bath/bedroom space and it’s actually a lovely space. I loved how simple yet cosy it has been organised. Moreover this is one of the comfiest beds we slept during our stay in South Korea!
Stay in a Seoul hanok. Our experience at Hanok Essay
I have to say I am always impressed with the quality of the properties managed by Stayfolio. Hanok Essay is one of those. We really loved our stay. The hanok is small but comfortable enough for two people. Differently from Hanok Nujung (where we spent our first night in Seoul), we didn’t do breakfast at the hanok. We wanted to explore a little bit the area. Nevertheless, we discovered that not many cafes in Korea open before 10.30 am. Therefore we ended up doing breakfast at Starbucks, which is just 5 mins walk from the hanok.
The location of the hanok particularly ideal as it’s pretty close to many landmarks that foreign visitors to Korea have on their list! Indeed, we basically walked all the way through Gyeongbokgung palace and explored Seochon without taking any single bus/metro.
We really loved our stay at Hanok Essay and would definitely recommend for any trip to Seoul.
Video of our stay at Hanok Essay
If you want to see a video of our stay at Hanok Essay. I recently published a reel that resume our lovely stay! See it below!
How to book your stay at Hanok Essay with Stayfolio
Hanok Essay is available exclusively via Stayfolio. This is a platform with an incredible portfolio of carefully curated and unique stays. These properties share a common and defined sense of aesthetic that is combined with promotion of local culture.
This is something I really liked of the Stayfolio’s manifesto which focuses on small, local owners rather than big, corporate hotel chains. Indeed each of these accommodations are full of character, history and local culture.
Booking Hanok Essay with Stayfolio
You can book Hanok Essay via Stayfolio here. Members who book their stays at Stayfolio can unlock also exclusive discounts, hidden properties and before release access to exclusive properties in all the destinations curated by the platform.
Please note that after booking, the check-in instructions for each place will be emailed to you on the day of your arrival.
Rates for a stay at Hanok Essay start at $299 per night.
Practical information
Getting to Hanok Essay from the Incheon Airport
Hanok Essay is located on 12, Pirundae-ro 3-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. This is a small alley in the Seochon Hanok Village. We actually found it very easily. From the main street “Pirundae-ro”, find a wine bar called “Apelo”. The side street next to this bar goes directly to Hanok Essay. See pictures above.
Arex + Subway or Bus
If you are travelling from the Incheon Airport the most convenient way to reach Hanok Essay is by taking the Arex from your terminal. We took the express Arex from terminal 1 to Seoul Station. From there, you have two options: Taking the subway Line 4, change at Chungmuro Station with Line 3 and get off at Gyeonbokgung Station. From there is a 12 mins walk.
By taxi
A third possible option is by taxi. This in the end is what we used from the Seoul Station. Indeed, the trip with Arex was very comfortable but once at the station, we realised that with all those luggage public transport wasn’t the best choice. So we opted to go for a taxi. We paid around 12,000 won to get to the hanok from the central station.
If you are planning a trip to South Korea, I do recommend checking my article about the best app to download for your trip as these will be lifesavers in situations like the above! In fact, it was very easy to grab a taxi with Kakao T.
Explore the area: Seochon
Stay in a Seoul hanok – Seochon main street
Seochon is one of the oldest neighbourhood in the northeast area of Seoul. It’s located just in the west side of the majestic Gyeongbokgung Palace. The neighbourhood is divided as well into 15 smaller areas called “Dong”. Seochon is made of a series of maze-like alleys. There are more than 600 historically protected hanoks in Seochon. This makes this area of Seoul one of the most picturesque neighbourhood where to walk around. I have to say I really fell in love with Seochon. I could easily spent my whole stay in Seoul just there.
READ MORE: Discover the best things to do in Seoul.
What to see in Seochon
Seochon is home of numerous aesthetic cafes, lovely restaurants and small independent shops. I really loved also the Stayfolio shop, Makefolio, at just five minutes walk from the hanok. The close proximity to Gyeongbokgung Palace makes it also an ideal place to explore the historical palace. Moreover, it’s a great, less crowded, alternative to the Bukchon Hanok Village thanks to its very photogenic hanok alleys. Furthermore, you can also visit some historical houses such as Yi Sang-beom’s House and the 19th-century Sangchonjae Hanok House. Seochon is also home of the historical Tongin Market, which is an excellent alternative to the more crowded Gwangjang Market.
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