During my first Asialink residency I stayed in a hostel in the Jongno sam-ga (종로3가) area of Seoul.
The Jongno area constitutes the old core of the city, roughly bordered by Sejong-daero in the west, the palace district to the north, Jongmyo to the east and the renovated Cheonggyecheon stream to the south.
The entire area is a warren of alleyways and streets lit up at night by insanely bright neon signs, most of which advertise shops, bars, restaurants and PC Bangs.
This is what it looked like in 2005. God knows what it looks like now.