Honggik University Area (Hongdae)

One of our favorite areas of Seoul thus far is Hongdae, a young and lively place with a vibrant art and music scene. It’s pretty close to our ‘hood and every time we go we stumble onto something new and interesting. Our first journey to Hongdae was in search of a legendary bar shaped like an inner ear (which we couldn’t find) brought us to a park in the center of the area where many musicians and artists were performing. We caught our first punk show in Korea, as well as a beat box-master, a drum circle, a creepy dude performing yoga in the bushes and many other foreigners.

Now, when I say Hongdae is close, it still requires two subway transfers and about 45 minutes of our time (at least until we figure out the bus, which will take about half the time). So we hopped the subway back home, only to find that we had MISSED the last subway that could take us all the way home. Without realizing our mistake, we hopped on the usual train only to be dropped off in Gupabal, which is one of the worst places to be stranded inSeoul. There is nothing there – mostly mud, apartments, and heavy machinery. The taxi drivers didn’t even want to take us home because Hwajeong was out of the way – luckily, we met an English speaker who helped us negotiate with a cabby. Home safe and sound
J

With our new knowledge of the subway, our next visits to Hongdae went much more smoothly. We discovered some lovely little cafes that played great music and had very interesting atmospheres. We found a puzzle café, where you seriously just put together puzzles, which we couldn’t stop in for long. Our most recent visit to Hongdae was the weekend of the

Seoul Fringe Festival, a week long event in which independent artists and musicians come together in the streets to put on collaborative performances and displays.