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Hongdae Seoul Guide: Best Things To Do, Shopping, Cafes & Nightlife
Hongdae is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Seoul for shopping, street performances, cafes, nightlife, and youth culture. Centered around Hongik University, the area is known for its creative energy, buskers, indie roots, and busy walking streets packed with fashion stores, restaurants, and things to do from morning until… well, the next morning. Hongdae is more than nightlife though, it’s one of the most energetic neighborhoods in Seoul and one of the most popular areas for visitors for good reason. I lived in the neighborhoods around Hongdae for more than a decade and watched it change a lot. It used to feel a bit more grungy and indie than…
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Best Brunch In Hongdae: Local Picks For Pancakes, Bagels and Build-Your-Own Sets
Brunch places galore. It seems like that’s what the Hongdae vicinity has become, and it’s pretty stunning to me because I’ve been living in the area for the past nine years and for most of that time, good brunch spots were nearly impossible to find. A few would pop up and then disappear. Now they are in full force, and deliciously so. If you’re in the area and want good food in the morning, I highly recommend coming over early, when the night crowd has skedaddled and the coffee drinkers have taken over. The streets feel different before noon in Hongdae and it’s one of my favorite ways to experience…
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Best Cafes In Hongdae: Themed Spaces, Great Coffee and Seoul’s Most Creative Neighborhood
Cafe hopping is one of the great pleasures of living in or visiting Seoul, and nowhere does it better than Hongdae. Known for its youthful energy, creative vibe, and streets that seem to reinvent themselves every few months, Hongdae is packed with themed cafes, beautifully designed coffee shops, dessert spots, and concept spaces that make it easy to spend an entire day just wandering from one to the next. The neighborhood has been a creative hub since Hongik University drew art students and musicians here decades ago, and that energy runs directly through its cafe culture. You won’t find the same polished minimalism you get in Gangnam or the traditional…
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caFACE: A Selfie Obsession Of The Latte Variety
In a selfie obsessed world, why not dive in and start sticking that face on every other thing under the sun including the latte that you savor in the cafe up the road? I’m not anti selfie, do NOT get me wrong. I’ve been known to take a few. Hey, I took a selfie of myself holding a latte with a selfied photo of me in this here post. How often can one even do that? I dare say the chances are slim that most will ever be able to do this but if you’re in Seoul, then you’ve got better chances than most. A Seoul cafe with the sole…
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Yeonnam-dong Seoul Guide: Things To Do, Where To Eat, and the Best Cafes
Yeonnam-dong, a neighborhood near Hongdae (a hotspot for live music, bars, and a local busking scene), has quietly become one of Seoul’s most loved areas to wander. The first six years I lived in the area, it was under construction and no one wanted to cross the street to walk the area. That all changed when Gyeongui Line Forest Park opened. Locals quickly nicknamed it Yeontral Park, a playful nod to New York’s Central Park, and suddenly Yeonnam-dong became a place people wanted to linger. Today, Yeonnam-dong is filled with cafes, restaurants, creative studios, and a long, thin green park where locals picnic, walk dogs, and rest between errands. If…
