2 reviewed party hostels · from €10.52/night · Hostelworld rated
Busan runs on fried fish, soju, and a nightlife scene that picks up long after Seoul has called it a night. The two districts you need to know are Seomyeon and Kyungsung. Seomyeon is the commercial heart, packed with neon-lit bars and clubs spread across underground alleys and multi-storey entertainment buildings. Kyungsung, anchored around Kyungsung University and Pukyong National University, skews younger and cheaper, with pojangmacha street stalls spilling onto the pavement alongside craft beer bars and late-night karaoke rooms. The hostel scene is smaller than Seoul's but solid. Blue Backpackers Hostel sits right in central Busan, a five-minute walk from Seomyeon, and is a reliable base for budget travellers who want to be close to the action. Dorm beds typically run between 15,000 and 25,000 KRW a night depending on the season.
Rated by Hostelworld score · Prices per dorm bed per night
Kimchee Busan Downtown Guesthouse is the ideal choice for party enthusiasts seeking a vibrant atmosphere. With its prime location near the bustling Seomyeon area and proximity to the famous Haeundae beach, this brand-new guesthouse accommodates over 100 people, guaranteeing an opportunity to connect with fellow travellers from around the globe. Get ready for an unforgettable party experience at Kimchee Busan Downtown Guesthouse.
Guest House Dear Moon is the ultimate party hostel in Busan! With its ideal location near popular attractions like Nampo-dong and Jagalchi Market, it offers a vibrant atmosphere for travellers. The lounge and public kitchens make it easy to socialize and meet fellow party enthusiasts. The lively terraces and air-conditioned rooms ensure a comfortable stay. If you're into partying, shopping, street food, Dear Moon is the perfect choice in Jung-gu.
Organised nights out with a local guide
This guided pub crawl takes small groups through local favourite bars in Busan's nightlife districts, visiting spots that don't typically appear in guidebooks. Each bar on the crawl includes a free shot, and the guide keeps the group moving across multiple venues through the night. It's designed with solo travellers in mind, so it doubles as a way to meet other people while getting a local's take on where to drink.
How Busan's nightlife zones break down
Seomyeon is Busan's commercial and entertainment hub, sitting at the interchange of Metro Lines 1 and 2, which makes it easy to reach from almost anywhere in the city. The main action runs along Seomyeon-ro and the network of alleys behind it, where bars, clubs, and karaoke rooms stack up across multiple floors of entertainment buildings. It's the obvious base for anyone who wants to be close to nightlife without commuting.
This area clusters around Kyungsung University and Pukyong National University in the Nam-gu district, and the student population keeps prices low and the atmosphere loose. The streets around the university exit are lined with cheap restaurants, bars, and pojangmacha stalls that stay busy late into the night. It's more local in feel than Seomyeon and a better spot for travellers who want to drink alongside Koreans rather than in expat-focused venues.
Both beach neighbourhoods sit along the eastern coast of Busan, about 15–20 minutes from Seomyeon by metro. Gwangalli is the backpacker favourite, with a strip of affordable bars facing the beach and the illuminated Gwangan Bridge as a backdrop. Haeundae is larger, more upscale, and better known for its international beach festival in summer, though the bar prices reflect the tourist footfall.
Where the hostel pub crawls end up, and where to go on your own
One of Seomyeon's best-known clubs, Thursday Party draws a mixed crowd of locals, expats, and travellers across its busy dance floor. EDM and K-pop dominate the playlist, and the energy picks up sharply after midnight. Drinks are reasonably priced by club standards, with bottles of beer around 6,000 KRW.
A foreigner-friendly bar in the Kyungsung area that's been a backpacker staple for years. It's relaxed early in the evening and gets louder as the university crowd filters in after 11 pm. The staff speak English and it's a decent place to get your bearings before heading further into the night.
A basement club in Seomyeon that focuses on house and techno rather than the K-pop mainstream. The sound system is genuinely good and the crowd tends to be locals who take their music seriously. It doesn't get interesting until well past midnight, so arrive late.
Not a single venue but a stretch of open-fronted bars running along the beachfront road near Gwangalli Beach. Grab a plastic chair, order a beer or a cocktail pitcher, and watch Gwangan Bridge change colour over the water. Prices are lower than in Haeundae and the atmosphere is more local.
A rooftop cocktail bar in Seomyeon with a solid city view and a crowd that's mostly Korean twenty-somethings on dates or group nights out. Cocktails run around 12,000–15,000 KRW. It's a good spot for a few drinks before moving on to a club, and the bar staff know what they're doing.
Kyungsung's go-to spot for indie music and craft beer on tap. The venue is small, usually loud, and pulls a crowd of students and younger locals who aren't interested in the mainstream club scene. Live bands play some nights. check their Instagram for schedules.
Several concealed cocktail bars operate along the back alleys off Seomyeon's main strip, accessed through unmarked doors or past hidden entrances. The drinks are well-made and the settings are deliberately intimate. It takes a bit of wandering to find them, which is half the point.