Depends on what the definition of best is. Like do you want accessibility to transport? Foreigner friendly? Rich neighborhood? Super traditional korean neighborhood? Ghetto but unique neighborhood?

Depends on what you're going to be doing, but generally staying somewhere with quick and easy access to the No. 2 subway line is good.

If money isn't an option, I'd say close to Hongdae or Euljiro subway stops.

I’d say either Hongdae, Sinchon or Dongdaemun. If you are young, Hongdae definitely. Many people will tell you to stay in myeongdong but honestly I don’t like it that much, yeah it’s central but kinda very touristy and overpriced, and I think you don’t get the best “Korean” experience since most stores and food places try to cater to foreigners.

I think it's better to stay in central Seoul to use a hotel or Airbnb. Myeongdong, Jongno, Itaewon, Hapjeong are all close by public transportation. Seoul has well-developed public transportation and is especially convenient to travel by subway.

I’ve stayed in both Myeongdong and Hongdae, and preferred Myeongdong for its relative proximity to most things.

I would suggest Myeongdong, due to it's central location, excellent public transportation access, and an abundance of shops, and restaurants.

I like Hapjeong because it’s near two subway lines. But the Myeongdong or Jongno area could be good with all the buses and subway stations nearby.

Hongdae is also amazing for food and overall constant liveliness, plenty of great shopping too. I personally always go for this neighborhood

Just did Myeongdong for a week not far from the cable car point, at the beginning of the month.

Lots of food, lots of shopping, plenty of culture a little further north. You can always take the metro to other parts of the city if desired. Most stops are a few minutes apart.

Even if Myeongdong "isn't that good anymore" it's still centrally located and pretty close to some other touristy stuff. Gyeongbokgung and the N Seoul Tower are basically right next door for instance. If you're coming to Seoul for a general tourist experience I don't think you can go wrong with staying in Myeongdong.

When I traveled to Korea, yes Myeongdong wasn't it's peak glory.

But you wanna know what it had? Decent food, centralized location, and MANY hotels to choose from.

I was able to visit Seoul tower and see a few of the national land marks when I was there which was nice.

But if you wanna go somewhere hip and trendy, try HongDae, if you want to go to a place with a LOT of foreigners Itaewon, if you want to just spend lots of money Gangnam.

If what you want to do is what you listed, then staying in Myeongdong wouldn't be a bad idea, additionally just be weary of the reviews for some places, TONS of them are compensated reviews and will probably falsely represent the actual quality of the place. Speaking from experience looking at google, agoda, and other American review sites.

Myeongdong is great to stay in, the food & shopping is unmatched

Why is no one mentioning Yongsan. We stayed near the Girls schools. You can get quickly to any other part of Seoul. Itaewon can be reached by foot or by bus. Many cute cafes, not too many people, Seoul Tower / Park is just infront of the door. Just no street food, but many random restaurants

Use this Area Guide!

I highly recommend Wecostay Myeongdong!

I have stayed twice at the Nine Tree in Insadong— amazing hotel!! The staff is super polite and informative, the train station is just down the street and there are bus stations right around it as well! I found it very easy to get around Seoul no problem! Also, there’s a big market thing attached to the hotel as well as behind the hotel on the street with lots of shops and some food stalls.

Edit to add: you mentioned not being big on nightlife so I also think this side of town would be nice as things seemed to quiet down once it got around 8-9pm! Also there’s a temple across the street which is pleasant to stroll in during the mornings or late evenings!

im currently in seoul, staying in the ibis styles ambassador in myeongdong and am really liking it. myeongdong is pretty central (very close to namsan) and our hotel is close to the station. its also convenient for shopping + food (myeongdong market). it is a bit touristy tho imo

I would recommend anywhere near the old city center. Areas like Gwanghwamun, Jongro, Euljiro, and places around there. It’s really the center of Seoul and a lot of the tourist areas, but if you get a place that’s a bit far away to avoid crowds, you can get to the other areas quite easily because of the subway system (download the Subway Korea app).

I just got back from a trip to Seoul with my daughter. We stayed in Mangwon and loved it. It is residential with lots of cute cafes, is near to the river and close to Hongdae. We travelled out and about to other areas using the bus and metro, so no issues with transport links.

Jongno area is nice. It’s near the palace complex area but is also a business district.

I say Hapjeong. You’re close to lots of food, cafes, Han River and not far from Hongdae and the Mangwon area. It’s quieter than Hongdae and Yeonnamdong but still a lot going on. Plus there’s the airport bus that takes you straight to Incheon

Insadong was great for me. Close to the subway but walking distance from cute shops, cafes and hanok villages

We stayed at a serviced apartment in Somerset Palace near Insadong. It was very convenient though rooms were a bit dated. Would still 100%recommend

Gangnam, Jamsil and basically every place south of the river is your best bet for safety IMHO. There are crazy people everywhere but since they are more "expensive" areas, they are at the very least cleaner and the roads more accessible since they are so large (they were built after the Japanese occupation).

Try UH suite

White Linen House is a beautiful guest house I stayed in in Sinsa. Close to everything. Has an elevator. Super large rooms with seating area, washer dryer and kitchenette 

Myeongdong will be good if you are looking for accessibility, Gangnam and Seongsu are also good options if it fits your budget

I always stay in myeongdong area at shin shin hotel, though i think its been renamed. Rooms were clean and are always around $50-60 US

Sinchon, find a love motel. There's one with a Spiderman statue that has a glowing penis, pick that one.

If anything pick a neighborhood just outside of where you want to spend time. I like staying outside of itaewon personally, nice place to party and it's centrally located.

Hotel Rian is a 3 star business hotel that is sometimes priced as low as US$65 a night. It has close walking access to metro stations on the 2/3/5 lines

Insadong

I always liked staying at the Hyatt in Itaewon.

Just a short trip down to all the bars and shopping.

Central Seoul. Myeongdong, Jongno area. He will see too many adult things in Hongdae haha. Gangnam too far for daily tourist hopping around.

I stayed in Myeongdong, and loved it!! So much restaurant and malls, and very accessible to transportation!

Everyday after 5pm, they have streets food vendors at the myeongdong noon square!

Euljiro-3, easiest. You can literally walk to Insadong or the palaces if the weather is good and you need to clock in some steps.

Jongno, but not myeongdong is my vote. North of myeongdong is best.

Anywhere really. Public transport is quite excellent

I recommend downloading kakaometro if you haven’t yet. Find a station that is above the river, somewhat central, and has 2-3 subway lines running through it. That would be your best bet. Also using naver maps or kakao maps to search for olive young’s, convenience stores (type 편의점 ), and marts (마트). Olive young and convenience stores are usually close to subway stations in my experience and the tourist areas will also have olive young so you don’t need to worry much about finding an accommodation near one

Somewhere near Mapo station? There's an Oliveyoung nearby and the station is close enough to some hotels.

When I was in Seoul I stayed in Yeouido-dong (specifically at the Kensington Hotel in my case, but there are other hotels too). It's just south of the Han and when I was there it was definitely quieter but not totally dead. There's a subway station and you can take Line 5 to get very close to some attractions (the Gwanghwamun station is quite close to Gyeongbokgung Palace, the national museum, and the western tip of Cheonggyecheon stream, for example). Yeouido-dong definitely has some convenience stores and you'd be walking distance to an Olive Young and the Hyundai Seoul for shopping.

Others may have better ideas, but it could be worth looking into!