Hongdae can be a little tricky to navigate and a little overwhelming when it comes to where to eat and shop, just because there is so much goodness packed into this university town. Here are my top recommendations around Hongik University Station when it comes to food, shopping, and entertainment.
A lot of people have requested a Hongdae Guide and I have put it off because there is just so much to cover. I decided to split it up into neighborhoods. First, we have the main area near Hongik University Station and that’s what I’ll be covering in this post. Then, we have the surrounding areas like Yeonnamdong, Sangsu, Hapjepng, and Mangwon which I’ll cover separately.
The neighborhood “Hongdae” takes its name from Hongik dae-hak-yo, (홍익 대학교) or Hongdae for short. “Dae-hak-yo” means university in Korean.
One thing you should know about Hongdae is that you should not make this the first stop on your itinerary. Don’t get here at 9 am because it will be dead. Hongdae starts to awaken around 11am, and a lot of places don’t open until 1pm or 2pm, and quite often, they open later than their stated time maybe and I’m just guessing here… because someone went out drinking the other night and didn’t hear their alarm clock. I have kids so I’m used to waking up early, and on more than one occasion I’ve gotten here at 10 or 10:30 and it’s completely dead.
Hongdae is one of my favorite places to hang out in Korea, because it really speaks to the side of me that loves pink, girly whimsical things. This is a university town that caters to students, so you’ll find cheap and trendy clothing, cheap food, and cheap everything. The design of the cafes is well thought out and so are the hair salons. I’ve passed by many a hair salon hoping that it’s a cafe, but alas… another cool looking hair salon.
With that in mind, let’s get started with our Hongdae tour!
Caffe Yam (까페얌)
This cafe serves up the most beautiful Instagram worthy cakes and drinks. I’m talking about unicorn & mermaid cakes as well as Cookie Monster tiramisu lattes. You can even wear a headband that matches your dessert while in the store. Caffe Yam is on the second floor of a walk up building and has cute little vignettes set up in every corner. It’s a sweet little cafe for girly girls who love sweet treats.
Carin Hongdae Lounge
Carin Lounge is a pink and gold boutique that sells sunglasses. More importantly, it’s a beautiful space to enjoy a fancy and expensive raspberry LEGO cake and other desserts. You will definitely get India Madhavi vibes from this store. The desserts and coffee come from a collaboration with JL Dessert Bar, and come with a hefty price tag. I believe that I paid about $9 for my LEGO cake, but it was not too sweet and just heavenly. If you don’t want to spend a ton on desserts though, you can probably just step in, browse the sunglasses, and snap a few photos.
Address: 7 Hongik-ro 2-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Trick Eye Museum (서울 트릭아이미술관)
Have you guys ever been to one of these places? They are basically paintings that look like optical illusions. They’re pretty cool. It’s best to come here with a couple of friends so you can take pictures of each other falling off a cliff. Next to the Trick Eye Museum, you’ll find the Ice Museum, and a couple floors up, you’ll find the Love Museum.
Address: 20, Hongik-ro 3-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Hongdae Shopping Street
This is one of the main shopping streets in Hongdae. On one side you’ll find a series of Korean beauty road shops, and on the other side you’ll find clothing and accessory vendors selling very affordable stuff. I think that there are actually better shops for clothing but this place is worth walking though and you’ll find inexpensive clothes here.
Address: 365-8 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Lize Milk & Cocoa (밀크코코아)
This adorable clothing store can easily be mistaken for a flower shop on the outside. They have a nice selection of women’s clothes that are really pretty and reasonably priced. There are 2 floors of clothing and I think that most of the things here are a little bit on the dressy side, but it’s one of my favorite places to browse.
Address: 358-107 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Website: http://www.milkcocoa.co.kr/
Nerdy Cafe (신상카페)
This is a really interesting store. It feels like you’re walking into an American home from the 80’s and there’s pictures on the wall of this family. I thought who are these people? Is this a celebrity? I asked the worker and he said they were models! The cafe serves up homestyle desserts that your grandma would make.
Address: 94-12 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Website: www.whoisnerdy.com
Unipopcorn (유 니 팝 콘)
I love the name of this store and I want to steal the name for my channel! It’s so cute. The store itself is super intergalactic purple and pink girly explosion featuring sailor moon stuff, Blythe dolls, and delicate unique jewelry. It is a small store but it’s fun to browse and look at all the unique trinkets they have in stock. Next door there is a hair salon with personality.
Hongdae D’Five (홍대 디파이브)
Pink and green ice cream pasta anyone? Hongdae D’Five (디파이브) is gorgeous and like many places in Hongdae, gives you India Madhavi vibes. For those of you wondering, the pasta is actually a bacon pepper cream and it’s not bad! My daughter enjoyed it. On the second floor, there’s a space reserved strictly for Instagram photos. There is a giant teddy bear, flower crowns, and bouquets along with a tripod that will fit your phone. Go nuts!
Address: 366-8, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
New Gacha Shop
I think this is a relatively new gatcha shop with 3 floors. The first floor sells gashapon, the second, Japanese collectibles, and the third has a photo zone and these Japanese game machines.
Mint Heim (민트하임)
This cafe serves up chocolate mint everything! The Oreo cheesecake was quite good and the mint coffee was really interesting. If you like mint chocolate this cafe is a must. It looks like everything is made in house – I spied stacks of Oreo boxes and the many containers of mint syrup.
Address: 366-28 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Hepsibah (헵시바)
This little knick knack shop is easy to miss but I really like looking at all the little displays in here. It’s a good place to pick up cute trinkets. They sell all kinds of character merchandise and have a ton of those nano blocks shaped like cute characters.
Address: 365-15 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Instagram: hepsibah_h
ÅLAND (에이랜드 홍대점)
I would say that Aland is like the Urban Outfitters of Korea with a beauty section rivaling Barney’s New York. They carry Korean beauty products like Cosrx, Dear Klairs, Ahamisa, and Beauty People. This is where I come to stock up on all my Cosrx skincare. You can also find clothes, shoes & accessories here as well as home goods and gifts.
Nolsoop (놀숲)
Are you looking for a place to rest and just recharge (literally)? Really though, Nolsoop (놀숲) is a great place to sit and chill and charge up your electronic devices. If you like to read manga they have that here too. You can also watch TV, play PlayStation, board games or grab a bite to eat. Back in my student days before I had kids and things to do, I would have loved hanging out here. It costs about 3000 KRW for 1 hour and a drink is included in the price. The hourly rate goes down the longer you stay.
Address: 357-4 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Website: nolsoop.co.kr
Artbox Hongdae
This is the place to pick up cute gadgets and souvenirs, home decor, stationery, and blind boxes in Korea. I love just wandering up and down the aisles to see what kinds of little treasures I need to take home with me.
Address: 31 Wausan-ro 21-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Isaac Toast
This is a chain restaurant that serves up a mean breakfast sandwich. It’s all in the sauce which is this sweet tangy zesty yellow sauce.
Address: 93 Wausan-ro, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Cafe de One Piece (원피스 카페)
If you’re into this anime, you may want to check out the pirate ship cafe. No photos or videos are allowed inside.
Address: 343-10 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Sonny Angel Terrace (소니엔젤)
This is a pretty little space that sells Sonny angel figures . You can get special edition Korea Sonny Angel dolls here and take a pic with this cute pink VW.
Address: Address: 86, Wausan-ro 29ga-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Vant 36.5
This beauty & skincare store / cafe has a gorgeous front patio and back patio with cardboard cutouts of the Kpop group BTS that you can take photos with. Upstairs you’ll find a beauty and skincare shop.
Address: 84 Wausan-ro 29ga-gil, Sinsa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Maison de Aloha ( 메종 드 알로하)
This is a bit of a trek from Hongik University Station, but it’s one of my favorite stores in Hongdae. I especially fell in love with a pink locker plastered with BOP posters and pictures of Britney Spears and Leonardo DiCaprio. If you are an 80’s child who read BOP magazine, collected trolls or barbies, and roller skated in your free time, you’ll probably love this shop too.
Neko Coach (네코코치)
Here’s a cute little store that sells stuff from Japan: monchichi Bebichi monkeys, sailor moon and Sanrio Merch, alpacasso, dream catchers. It’s super pretty and cute.
Address: 7 Wausan-ro 29ga-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Website: http://nekokochi.co.kr/
Dr. Althea (닥터엘시아)
The front patio is a gorgeous photo spot. Inside you’ll find a clothing shop and there’s a cafe upstairs.
Address: 16 Wausan-ro 29da-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Website: http://doctoralthea.co.kr/
Style Nanda (스타일난다 )
You’ve probably heard about this clothing and makeup store. Don’t miss the pink pool cafe on the third floor – the menu is actually different from the Myeongdong location. Get this cake on dry ice (it actually tastes good!)and don’t forget to take a free photo in the Maison Kitsune photo booth!
Address: 23 Wausan-ro 29da-gil, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Chuu (츄)
This super girly clothing store is popular for the -5kg jeans that make you look like you lost 5 kg. Upstairs on the 3rd floor they have a really cute airport themed space which makes for great photos.
Hongdae Gacha Shop
I believe this is the original Hongdae Gatcha Shop. I love the creative little displays that the owner put together. I can’t figure out if the owner is the same as the one I mentioned earlier, because they have a lot of the same stuff.
Flower Cafe Lovin Her
This is kind of out of the way but it’s a flower themed cafe that serves up pretty flower themed drinks and also has a couple of lunch dishes (not just desserts). They also have these pretty flower cupcakes.
Dessert Laboratory (디저트연구소)
Dessert Laboratory is a cafe with a laboratory theme. They serve really Instagram-worthy desserts which all feature some sort of cheesecake mousse. It’s a really calming and hip space. However if you are not a fan of super sweet desserts, you may want to skip this place.
Address: 332-32 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Bunny Cafe (버니 카페)
My daughter’s favorite cafe of all time! This bunny cafe has an Alice in wonderland theme and it’s really fun if you like bunnies! You can pay for 30 min or 1 hour with the bunnies. I would also recommend purchasing some “bunny food” which will include leaves and sometimes carrots, depending on the day. (Bunnies don’t eat carrots EVERY DAY!) The owner is super sweet. The bunnies do poop a lot, but the owner is really good about cleaning up after them.
Address: 347-3 Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Morning Glory
This is a Korean stationery store that I like. At Morning Glory, you can find most of the standard office supplies that you’ll buy at Staples or Office Depot, but in many cases, the cute version. I’d recommend picking up a cute correction tape, pencil sharpener, and some MonAmi pens. I just love looking at the pens and testing them out on paper. The Hongdae Morning Glory location is particularly big.
Kakao Friends Flagship Store
Kakao Friends is Korea’s answer to Sanrio. Kakao is a chat app that everyone in Korea uses and the characters are more popular than Sanrio or Disney here. The brand is actually starting to grow on me. My favorite is this little lion that looks like a bear named Ryan.
LINE Friends L7 Hongdae Store
For all you kpop BTS fans, the LINE store in Hongdae is where you can find all the BT21 merchandise. You can actually find it at random places like Olive Young but this is your BT21 central. You can also find the standard LINE characters at this store. Downstairs they have a spacious cafe where you can take photos with the BT21 statues. If you are comparing the Itaewon store to the Hongdae store, I would choose the Itaewon store because it’s much larger. However the downstairs cafe in Hongdae has all the special BT21 character statues, so if you are into BT21, then you may favor the Hongdae location over the Itaewon location.
Butter Shop
I just discovered this little home goods store. They have a lot of cute little knick knacks that i think make nice souvenirs. There’s also a nice blind box section and candy section. The home goods are cute, affordable and trendy.
Nuguna School Uniform
If this appeals to you, one thing that is popular among tourists in Hongdae is to dress up in a Korean school uniform. These uniforms are much cuter than your typical uniform but I think it runs you 15-30 and in the store itself there’s a pink and purple classroom where you can take photos. If you watch the Korean talent show, Produce 101, you can find uniforms similar tot the ones worn on the show. This is right near the train station (Exit 7) if you’re interested.
Park Yong Seok Sushi (박용석스시)
I haven’t included many restaurants here because to be honest I always eat at the same sushi restaurant if I’m hungry, but usually when I go to Hongdae I fill up my stomach with sugar. The sushi restaurant I always eat at is Park Yong Seok (박용석스시) Sushi. There are multiple locations, and I usually go to shop #3. I usually get this $10 lunch set which comes with 10 pieces of nigiri, a small tempura, udon, and miso soup. The cuts of fish are gigantic by Korean standards.