Gangnam (Yeoksam)

Josun Palace, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Seoul Gangnam

★★★★★

Josun Palace brings a century of Korean hotel history to the business heart of Gangnam. Its owner, the Josun hotel group, traces its story to the Josun Hotel of 1914, the first Western-style hotel in Korea, and when it opened Josun Palace in 2021 as part of Marriott's Luxury Collection, it set out to create a hotel worthy of that legacy. The hotel occupies the upper floors of a tower on Teheran-ro, Gangnam's main business boulevard, with a lobby set high above the street, so that arriving guests step out of the elevator into a calm, art-filled space with views across the towers of southern Seoul. The design is opulent but modern: rich materials, sculptural lighting, a serious collection of contemporary art, and a palette that nods to classic Korean colors. Rooms and suites are generous for Seoul, with plush beds, marble bathrooms, deep tubs and large windows over the city; the top categories add more space and more personal service. Dining is a centerpiece, with a restaurant serving creative Korean and international cuisine, an all-day dining room, a lounge and bar in the hotel's historic spirit, and a patisserie — the group is well known in Seoul for its restaurants. A fitness center completes the offer. For travelers who have business in Gangnam, or who want to explore the shopping streets of Sinsa-dong and Cheongdam, the COEX complex and Starfield Library, and the nightlife of southern Seoul, it is the most stylish base on that side of the river.

Why stay in Gangnam at all? The district is the Seoul of the famous song: wealthy, modern and polished, with designer flagships, K-beauty clinics, entertainment-agency headquarters, rooftop bars and some of the city's best restaurants. Garosu-gil's tree-lined boutiques, Apgujeong's Rodeo Street and the luxury flagships of Cheongdam are a short taxi ride away; COEX and its Starfield Library, the dramatic multi-story wall of books that is one of the most photographed interiors in Seoul, are a few subway stops east; and Seongsu, the fashionable warehouse district, is across the river. Gangnam is also convenient for Jamsil and Lotte World Tower.

The trade-off, as with Signiel, is distance from the palaces and the old city, which are around half an hour to forty minutes away by subway or taxi. Yeoksam and Gangnam stations on Line 2 connect easily to the rest of the network, and the Shinbundang Line links Gangnam to Sinsa. For travelers whose priorities are shopping, food and contemporary Seoul — or who are returning visitors who have done the palaces — a Gangnam base makes a lot of sense.

Rates are in the luxury range and frequently compete with the downtown five-stars. Marriott Bonvoy members can use points and status here, which adds value. Ask for a high floor facing north for views toward Namsan, and reserve the hotel restaurants ahead at weekends, when they are popular with local diners.