Minjoonggak Guesthouse

We booked because the listing showed a mountain view and a washing machine inside the room. Neither was there when we arrived. I checked rooms on the same floor and saw one with a front-loading machine, but the front desk said our booking didn’t include either feature. That was hard to accept when “Mountain View” was clearly shown on Trip.com, and we’d chosen a Family Twin Room, which is more premium than the regular rooms. The staff member then said they couldn’t change rooms because we’d already used ours, and claimed we’d picked the basic option, so we were on a low floor without a mountain view. When I checked Trip.com again, I saw “Mountain View” listed for every room type. I disputed it with Trip.com, but they said the property owner couldn’t speak Korean and they’d have a Korean-speaking colleague check. The response we got was that we could use a washing machine at reception level and that our room had a window. That wasn’t the point. It’s the dishonesty in how this was handled, not whether I actually needed the washer or the view, that made me unhappy. To make matters worse, they provide hand towels but no bath towels. The hob in our room was also installed backwards, with its control knob facing inward. There’s a lot wrong here. I wouldn’t recommend it, especially with better options a short walk away.

Getting a parking spot could take a few tries because there are lots of cars in the area. The entrance has about 10 very tight spaces that are nearly always full, but reception gave us a map of three other free lots nearby. We always managed to find a space within about 15 minutes, and those lots are close by. The rooms were nice and well equipped. We skipped breakfast, which is also on the second floor. The front desk is up there too, and the owner was friendly and quickly helped when our air conditioning stopped working and I asked for another pillow. He didn’t speak English. The location worked well for us, though Seogwipo feels spread out, with shops and restaurants across town rather than one clear center.

We had to book somewhere else and couldn’t get our money back. We’d reserved three nights through Agoda, but on arrival they said our room wasn’t available because of a mapping error. They said they’d notify Agoda and email me confirmation so I could get a refund. Neither happened. I asked again the next day and they promised to send the email, but nothing arrived. I wouldn’t recommend staying here.

It’s affordable and in a handy area with plenty of restaurants, but the rooms are a bit rough. My toilet leaked every time I flushed, the walls were really thin, and there’s only one elevator. Some rooms apparently smell of cigarettes despite the no-smoking rule. They email you a link with your room number and key code, and anyone with the URL can open it without authentication. Since it displays both details, be careful about opening that link in public.