Staying in Hongdae, Seoul

For the whole of our week in Seoul we stayed in a hostel room just for the three of us in Hongdae. It is a very busy area of Seoul that has many great cafes, restaurants, shopping and nightlife.

We ate one of the best lunches on the day we arrived to Seoul and waited for a possibility to check in. We wrote our names on the list and waited for about a half an hour to get seats. Writing your name on a list in front of a restaurant is a very common habit in South Korea. The empolyees will then check out the list, prepare the table for the amount of people you have signed and call you by your name. Be sure to be there when it happens, or you might lose your place in the line.

We stayed for a week in a hostel on the northern part of Hongdae. The location was really good, you can walk everywhere. We had a three-person room for ourselves from the Bunk Guesthouse. After my friends left back home, I swapped hostels and spent the rest of the days in southern Hongdae, in Zzip Guesthouse. I can highly recommend both, but for some reason the latter felt more comfy for a person traveling alone. The hostel owners in both places are amazing and will help you with anything.

On a couple of evenings during the week we went out in Hongdae. We spent one evening in Mike's Cabin throwing darts. We excelled in it, of course.

On a second night we snuck up to Bar다 and sat by the bar in a fully packed pub with amazing atmosphere. We chatted with a local man from Jeju who asked us how we found the pub in question. I told him honestly that I think someone must've mentioned it in a Tiktok. He told he had been friends with the owner for already many years and every time he visited Seoul, he came to this pub. At one point of the evening a customer played the piano for the full bar.

Hongdae is famous for its night life, and there are many clubs and bars to choose from no matter what day of the week it is. As I mentioned in a post earlier, we spent one night in B1, a hip hop club, and my friend also tested out Sinkhole, which was pretty good as well. Both very casual, no need to dress up fancy.

Hongdae was a great spot for staying and enjoying the restaurants in the evening. Otherwise, during the days we took the very convenient subway to other parts of Seoul. The below pictures are from a restaurant very close to our hostel, but unfortunately I can't remember the name. It was an Izakaya themed restaurant.

Just an hour before my friends jumped in a taxi in Hongdae, we ran to a photobooth close by and took some pictures. It was a fun experience, can recommend! There are maaany different photo booths around Hongdae. Now I have some pictures of us printed with me as I continue my travels.

Hongdae is a very good base to stay as a backpacker. Easy to take the subway anywhere, but you can also find a lot of things to do and see around the area. If you are traveling solo, you will for sure meet other travelers from Hongdae.