Hongdae is probably the most famous area for nightlife in South Korea. It is known for its urban arts and indie music culture, clubs and entertainments. It’s always full of youngsters and you’re least likely to draw attention no matter what you wear in this part of town. Where being average is considered as a sin, this is Hongdae.
Since it’s one of the fastest changing places in the whole country, shops, cafes, restaurants and stuff tend to open and go away in a very short time. It’s sort of like a test bed for business people. Amongst the vigorous flow of everchanging environment, ‘Hongdae Free Market (not FLEA market!)’ has been famous for nealry a decade. Hongdae Free Market is an open market where artists share ideas and communicate with visitors freely. It’s being held on every Saturday normaly from 1pm to 6pm (2pm to 7pm for about two months in the super summery season) at a small venure called Hongdae playground (Hongdae Noriteo 홍대 놀이터 in Korean).
It’s always fun to go to the free market because the artists change depending on their schedules, and for this reason you can always find something new. It feels like you’re looking for your birthday present that you don’t know what’s inside. Here are some snaps I took on the 28th.
On my way to the playground.
Main entrance to the Hongik University.
When you see the university in front of you, turn to the right and keep following to this street. The play ground is on the left handside.
There are a lot of stalls around the playground but they are not a part of the free market.
Welcome to ‘Hongdae Free Market’ 😀
The actual playground part which is not really used for its original purpose.
They were made of bottle tops 😉
Traditional Korean fans with cute little(?) cates. Love them.
Another cat-themed stall.
Leather products.
Wooden crafts
I love owls, so it was quite interesting to see all the owl stuff in one stall.
They were so adorable.
Heaps of customised shoes!
Latte to cool off 😉
Hwa in the World 