5 awesome things to do in Hongdae, Seoul

In the Spring I visited South Korea for two weeks. While I spent most of my time in Seoul, I also visited Busan for a few days. I loved everything about South Korea; the things I saw, tasted, and experienced were incredible! Throughout the year I will be doing a series of posts about my trip. Check out the full series under the tag Lea In Korea. My go to neighborhood for things to do is Hongdae; Not sure where to eat? Want to go shopping? Looking for live music? Need some cuddles at an animal café? All done site seeing and want to relax at a regular café? Then go to Hongdae. With it only being one stop away on the metro from our Airbnb, it was the perfect hang out place. See the bottom of the post for a map of all 5 things to do in Hongdae.

To see my top five things to do in Hongdae, Seoul see below;

1. Eating Dakgalbi

We tried Dakgalbi for the first time at Yoogane (요가네), a chain restaurant that can be found throughout Seoul and Busan. It was just the right mix of spicy, chicken, veggies, dukbokki, and melted cheese.

2. More animal cafes than I could count; cats, dogs, raccoons, meerkats and more!

I visited two different animal cafes; a meerkat and a raccoon/dog cafe. The Meerkat Cafe was my favorite. For the price of a drink (9,000 Won), got to cuddle with a bundle of meerkats. They were in glass enclosures in the center of the cafe. I patiently waited for my turn, then was allowed in for 15 minutes and received the best group hugs ever. The café also had a resident fox, cat, and raccoon cruising around – there was never a dull moment. To get there take the elevator up to the 3rd floor.

3. Watching K-pop dancers and local performers

Just a few steps away from a row of restaurants is a large busking area filled with K-pop dancing, indie bands, and other acts that switch out every few hours. The best seats to watch the performances are at the restaurants above by the windows. It gives you a front row to the performances and is great people watching.

4. The Daiso

My favorite store in the area is Daiso, a Japanese dollar store. Unlike our North American Dollarama, everything I found at the Daiso was of great quality. I kept going back and buying more things – I couldn’t help myself.

5. Trickeye and ice museum

The Trickeye museum is filled with tons of illusions and is a fantastic place to take souvenir photos. If you download their app the images come to life. Whether your dream is to ride a unicorn, water ski on sharks, or survive meeting a dragon, you can do it here with photo evidence. Afterward, be sure to check out the ice museum; it’s a great way to cool off on a hot day. Adult admission for the whole experience is 18,000won.

Click the photo below to get my full map of Seoul

The first time I experienced Hongdae I was energized by all the activity. The main streets were full of vendors selling trendy clothes and accessories. Makeup stores were found everywhere. There was something going on down every street I could find. I loved it all.

Bonus video of my first three things to do in Hongdae.