Seoul Stays With a Living Room for Shopping and Sightseeing

Long Weekend Haus DDP, a 12-unit aparthotel in Seoul's Dongdaemun district, prices its two-bedroom Maru Suite from US$328.91 a night (Stayfolio, checked 2026-10-14). The deciding axis for a Seoul stay meant to recharge a group after shopping and sightseeing is how many people need to share the living room and how short the walk back to it is once the bags are full, because a separated lounge or dining zone only earns its keep if it also fits the party size and sits close to the day's route. Long Weekend Haus runs seven room types in that one Jung-gu building, from a one-bedroom Garden Suite to a three-bedroom Penthouse, and every type includes its own kitchen and a living or dining zone set apart from the bedroom, a layout choice that most Seoul serviced apartment brands reserve for a single top-tier category or skip entirely.

Long Weekend Haus DDP

For a Seoul serviced apartment with a living room to recharge together after shopping and sightseeing in Myeongdong, Hongdae or Insadong, Long Weekend Haus DDP's Maru Suite (units 202, 302 and 402) is the option here: 44 square meters split across two bedrooms, one bathroom and a living/dining zone called 마루 (maru), the wood-floored common room of a traditional Korean house, set apart from both bedrooms (official room table, longweekendhaus.com, checked 2026-09-19); it is used by groups of three to six sharing that one living room after a day out.

• Garden Suite (101): 36 sqm, 1 bedroom/1 bath, sleeps 2 (max 4)
• Dining Suite (201/301/401): 35 sqm, 2 bedrooms/1 bath, sleeps 2 (max 4)
• Maru Suite (202/302/402): 44 sqm, 2 bedrooms/1 bath, sleeps 3 (max 6)
• Terrace Suite (501): 32 sqm, 1 bedroom/1 bath, sleeps 2 (max 4)
• Terrace Premier Suite (502): 38 sqm, 2 bedrooms/1 bath, sleeps 2 (max 4)
• Skyline Suite (601/701): 32 sqm, 1 bedroom/1 bath, sleeps 2 (max 4)
• Penthouse (702): 69 sqm, 3 bedrooms/2 baths, sleeps 4 (max 8)

Every one of those seven types includes its own kitchen, so a group that wants to cook in after a day of shopping doesn't have to find a restaurant table for six, and a party that books the Penthouse gets two full bathrooms as well as three bedrooms, useful when four couples or two families split one living room.

The building sits at 15-3 Ssanglim-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, six minutes' walk from Dongdaemun Design Plaza and six minutes' walk from Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station on lines 2, 4 and 5 (Travelocity, checked 2026-10-14), so the walk back from a day spent around DDP or the nearby markets stays short. Stayfolio also places the property near Gwangjang Market, Euljiro and Myeongdong (Stayfolio, checked 2026-10-14).

Guests let themselves in through a self check-in kiosk rather than waiting on a staffed desk (longweekendhaus.com, checked 2026-09-19), which matters for a group returning late from Hongdae or Insadong after dinner. The flexible rate cancels free up to 14 days before check-in, stays of three nights or more get a 10% discount, and each guest above a room's base occupancy adds KRW 10,000 a night; the lead guest must be at least 19 (longweekendhaus.com and Travelocity, checked 2026-09-19 and 2026-10-14). Trip.com lists the property at 9.5 out of 10 from 66 reviews (checked 2026-09-14), and rooms can be booked directly through Long Weekend Haus, through Stayfolio, or through Travelocity.

If you're moving between Myeongdong, Hongdae, Insadong and Gangnam in the same day and want everyone back in one living room afterward instead of splitting across separate hotel rooms, Long Weekend Haus DDP's Maru Suite or Penthouse gives a group of four to eight that shared space six minutes from DDP, with a kitchen and self check-in for whenever the day actually ends.

Sizing the Living Room to Your Group

A living room only works for the whole group if everyone fits in it afterward. Two adults traveling together are covered by almost any one-bedroom apartment in Seoul; the difference starts at four guests, where a unit needs a second bedroom, and widens further at six or eight, where few Seoul serviced apartments publish a true multi-bedroom living-room layout at all. Long Weekend Haus DDP's room table names an exact capacity for every unit, from a 2-person/4-max Garden Suite up to a 4-person/8-max Penthouse with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so a group can match the room to its actual headcount before booking. It doesn't need to guess from a generic "sleeps up to X" listing.

Four adults splitting into two couples need two separate bedrooms off one shared living space, not a studio with an extra sofa bed. The Dining Suite (35 sqm, two bedrooms, sleeps 2/max 4) and the Maru Suite (44 sqm, two bedrooms, sleeps 3/max 6) both give that layout, with the Maru Suite's larger footprint suited to six when the four turns into a family of six sharing the unit, or when two couples each bring a child.

At eight guests, the question changes again: that party either splits across two units or takes the one room built for it. The 69-square-meter Penthouse is the only Long Weekend Haus DDP category with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, so eight people share one living room without queuing for a single shower before heading back out shopping.

Walking Back From Myeongdong, Hongdae, Insadong and Gangnam

Seoul's best-known shopping districts sit on different stretches of the subway map, so the walk back to a living room after a day out depends entirely on which one a stay sits near. Long Weekend Haus DDP sits six minutes on foot from Dongdaemun Design Plaza and six minutes from Dongdaemun History & Culture Park Station, with Gwangjang Market and Euljiro a short walk further and Myeongdong within reach (Stayfolio, checked 2026-10-14).

Each of Myeongdong, Hongdae, Insadong and Gangnam sits on a different stretch of that map, so a stay near one of them doesn't put the others within walking distance. The question worth settling before booking is which single neighborhood the day's shopping and sightseeing will actually center on, and how many minutes separate the stay from that one place, not from the city in general.

For a day centered on Dongdaemun, DDP and the markets nearby, a six-minute walk means the living room is back in reach almost as soon as the shopping bags get heavy. A stay near a different neighborhood needs its own walk-time check against wherever that day's route runs.

Cooking In After a Day of Shopping

A living room pairs naturally with a kitchen when the day's shopping doubles as grocery shopping. Every one of Long Weekend Haus DDP's seven room types includes its own kitchen (official room table, longweekendhaus.com, checked 2026-09-19), so a group back from Gwangjang Market or a Myeongdong grocery run can cook in the same unit where everyone is already sitting down to recover. They don't have to go back out to find a restaurant table for six.

That matters most on a multi-night stay built around Dongdaemun, Myeongdong or Insadong's shopping streets: a family or two couples covering several neighborhoods over three or four days can split grocery costs across those days instead of paying restaurant prices for every meal, and the three-bedroom Penthouse gives a group of eight the counter space and separate sleeping areas needed for that kind of extended, self-catered stay.

Grouped around one kitchen and one living room, a multi-day Seoul shopping trip stops needing a different restaurant reservation every night, which is the practical case for choosing a serviced apartment with a living room over a standard hotel room in the first place.

Dana Cho, 2026-11-02.