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홍대거리 Hongdae Street in Hongdae

Hongdae (Korean: 홍대) is a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea near Hongik University, after which it is named. It is known for its urban arts and indie music culture, local shops, clubs, cafés and entertainment. The area is located in Mapo District in the western end of Seoul, stretching from Seogyo-dong, Hapjeong-dong & Seogang-dong.

Characteristics

Under the influence of Hongik University (Hongdae), a prestigious private university know for it's Fine Arts Program, the neighborhood was built on a foundation of artistic souls since the 1990s. In the early days, thanks to then-cheap rent, budget musicians and street artists started moving into the ateliers of the Hongdae area. In the true sense of the word, the Korean indie scene started from the two bands, Sister's Barbershop and Crying Nut at Hongdae in the mid-1990s. Before that many cover bands were playing near Shinchon and Idae. Later, other bands like Jaurim, Peppertones and Idiotape started to play at venues in Hongdae, and the area begins to have a reputation as the mecca of urban arts and underground club culture. Now the area provides street art festivals and performances, as well as music concerts by independent artists and mainstream entertainers.

Many come to Hongdae for its aesthetically unique characteristics. There are many graffiti murals painted all over the streets of Hongdae. One of the well known areas for these murals is Hongdae Mural Street (also known as ‘Picasso's Street’).

Like other multi-cultural metropolitan areas, this street is undergoing gentrification. However, despite the recent explosion of upmarket brand shops that pushes artists to move toward the southern area near Hapjeong Station, the street still enjoys a reputation as the city's prime spot for indie musicians. Many live music venues and festivals draw revelers from a wide range of visitors. YG Entertainment, the major K-pop agency is also located near the street.

Culture

Hongdae has become an area known for its diversity and indie art culture which include independent clothing stalls, vintage shops, art studios, trendy cafés and clubs. Additionally it has become home to dancers, musicians and even aspiring independent K-Pop groups who perform through what is known as Busking or Street Performing. Busking helps performers improve their skills, get exposure and even make a little money with their performances. In 2016, Hongdae was ranked one of the coolest neighborhoods in the world.

An indie band playing at a local club

Clubbing

Hongdae is also known colloquially as one the top places to go clubbing in Seoul. The Hongdae clubbing scene can be traced back to the 1990's and originated from studio cafés and bars in the late 1980's; it has since evolved into a diverse culture of it's own. Clubs have become an important place for people to gather and share music, dance, as well as to communicate with one another. These clubs have also created a space for numerous aspiring DJs and musicians to perform in as well as provide a wide range of music genres for visitors to enjoy such as dance, techno, rock and hip-hop. Though many clubs are open to anyone over 19 years of age, there are some clubs who still strictly enforce unwritten rules such as dress codes and banning of foreigners.

Cafés

In the late 1990's this artistic culture extended into the creation of trendy cafés, which have now evolved into the famous themed café culture known to be found in Korea today. Some popular cafés include the 943 King's Cross Café, which is Harry Potter themed, animal cafes, where patrons can visit and play with various animals such as cats, dogs, and even sheep. Character cafés are also quite common and include characters such as Sanrio's Cinnamoroll as well as Line Friends cafés and Kakao Friends cafés.

Street Food

Hongdae is also home to many street foods and food vendors. Foods offered range from tteokbokki and rice cake skewers to hotteok and skewers sugar coated fruit.