Hongdae (홍대)

Hongdae (홍대) might be one of the neighbourhoods in South Korea that I love so much. But then, I did not get to explore other neighbourhoods like Sinchon-dong (신촌동), Daehangno (대학로), Hapjeong-dong (합정동) and Sinsa-dong (신사동) to name a few, so there's that. While I love Hongdae, I have made a note for myself that Hongdae always makes my senses overload and I might feel overwhelmed whenever I'm around the area.

Interesting thing to note: you can barely see any older adults walking around Hongdae except the store owners as Hongdae is mainly dominated by local youths. So, this is the place that you want to go if you want to meet and see young locals.

Not the best picture, I know.

I love Hongdae mainly due to the street performances at the Hongdae Walking Street. Most of the time I stick to the acoustic performances or whoever performs songs that I am familiar with. I can easily spend a day here doing nothing but listening to all the street performances. I think I spent about almost 10 hours in Hongdae during my visit. I know, crazy right?

Absolutely adore this guy's voice!

I listened to him singing just for a bit during that time but his voice was truly ear-pleasing. Did not stay for longer cause I did not know the songs that he was singing. Fast forward almost a year later, I actually stayed for his performances for about 2 hours and I just realized that as I am writing this post! :) 

My favourite performers of that day! :)

These three buskers from Busan were the reason why I spent too much time at Hongdae. I was about to walk away from Hongdae when they started singing Cool's song - Sorrow. I told myself that I was going to stay until the end of the song only but then, they started singing GOD's song - One Candle after that. Next, they sang SECHSKIES' song - Couple. Guys, those are among my zillions favourite old K-pop songs! It was hard to hear other performers singing those songs. I ended up listening to their performances for about 4 hours! 4 hours of my life just flew away like that. I regretted that fact a bit but who am I kidding? I truly enjoyed myself for that 4 hours.

While I hate myself for spending too much time in Hongdae, Hongdae is definitely a neighbourhood that I find myself keep coming to whenever I am in South Korea. The indie performances steal my heart. The interesting crowd makes people-watching so entertaining and fun! Maybe, just maybe, if I get a lil bit older, I will not fancy Hongdae anymore. Until then, I can picture myself enjoying the Hongdae scene whenever I have a chance. Haha!