Neighbourhood guide
Hongdae, Yeonnam and Mapo
The university quarter of live music and street performers, Yeonnam’s park cafés and Mapo’s soup and barbecue houses.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © U2em · CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia CommonsAround Hongik University, Hongdae is Seoul’s quarter of live music, clubs and street performers; next door, Yeonnam-dong runs along the Gyeongui Line Forest Park, and Mapo has its old soup and barbecue houses.
Eating and drinking
Mapo Ok, Yukjeon Hoekwan, Okdongsik and other Bib Gourmands; Fritz Coffee.
Staying
RYSE, Autograph Collection.
Evenings are best.
Our advice: walk the Gyeongui Line Forest Park from Hongdae to Yeonnam.
Why it's on our list
- Eating and drinking
- Staying
What’s nearby
Distances from Hongdae, Yeonnam and Mapo are approximate, measured in a straight line (as the crow flies). Times are approximate too: walking at about 80 metres a minute, cycling at about 12 km/h and driving at typical city-traffic speeds. Traffic and routes vary.
Nearest metro stations
- Hongik Univ.Line 2200 m3 min walk
- SangsuLine 6850 m11 min walk
Key sights
- Gyeongbokgung5.3 kmCycle 27 minCar or taxi 26 min
- N Seoul Tower5.6 kmCycle 28 minCar or taxi 27 min
- Bukchon6.1 kmCycle 31 minCar or taxi 28 min
- Changdeokgung6.6 kmCycle 33 minCar or taxi 30 min
- The DDP7.6 kmCycle 38 minCar or taxi 33 min
- COEX13 kmCar or taxi 50 min
- Lotte World Tower16 kmCar or taxi 63 min
Main railway stations
- Seoul Station4.2 kmCycle 21 minCar or taxi 22 min
- Yongsan Station4.6 kmCycle 23 minCar or taxi 23 min
- Suseo Station (SRT)17 kmCar or taxi 65 min
Location
The map comes from Google Maps, which sets its own cookies once it loads.
More in depth
The back storySeoul at the table: Mingles, the stars and the noodle housesOne three-star, ten two-stars, thirty-one one-stars and fifty-one Bib Gourmands: Seoul’s table runs from Mingles in Cheongdam to buckwheat noodles in Jongno and gomtang by the river.
The back storyKorean CuisineKimchi and the banchan that come with every meal, bibimbap, cold naengmyeon, long-simmered gomtang, barbecue at the table and dumplings by the steamer: the dishes of Korea, and where to taste them in Seoul.
The back storyWhere Seoul sleeps: the palaces, Namsan, Gangnam and the riverThe Four Seasons by Gwanghwamun, the Shilla and Banyan Tree on the slopes of Namsan, Signiel high in Lotte World Tower, Josun Palace and the Park Hyatt in Gangnam, and the Mondrian’s rooftop in Itaewon: where to stay in a city of two halves.