For a first walk through Hongdae and Hapjeong, begin amid the crowds at Exit 9 of Hongik University Station, but do not mistake that single scene for the whole district. “Hongdae” is not an administrative neighborhood. The name began as shorthand for Hongik University and expanded into a cultural area spanning parts of Seogyo-dong, Donggyo-dong, Sangsu-dong, and Hapjeong-dong. A 3.5-kilometer, three-hour walk reveals how a university, visual art, independent music, commercial tourism, religious history, and industrial heritage came to overlap here.
0–45 minutes: From Hongik University Station to the Walking Street
Pass the large shops and visitor-oriented businesses near the station, then enter Eoulmadang-ro and the Hongdae Walking Street. The pedestrian setting did not emerge only because an old alley naturally became popular. From October 2016 to July 2017, Seoul redesigned roughly 500 meters of Eoulmadang-ro as a cultural-tourism space. Distinguish performance zones from shop entrances and residents’ routes. Before filming buskers, check their posted rules and contribution method.
45–90 minutes: Read the origin of the name in front of Hongik University
Look at the university gate and the surrounding lanes. Hongik University opened in Yongsan in 1946, moved through several temporary locations, and relocated to its present site in Sangsu-dong in April 1955. Art students and graduates attracted studios, private art academies, material shops, printers, and design offices. “In front of Hongik University” therefore became a cultural place-name much wider than the campus. The campus remains an educational space, so observe access restrictions and do not obstruct classes or student circulation.
90–130 minutes: See culture stacked vertically around Sangsangmadang
Walk past the traces of small theaters, clubs, bookstores, and exhibition spaces between Wausan-ro and Eoulmadang-ro, then stop at KT&G Sangsangmadang. Its performance hall, cinema, galleries, design shop, and classrooms show one way in which street culture entered a large multipurpose institution. Do not let one building stand in for all independent culture. Small venues survive through the labor of performers, programmers, sound engineers, lighting crews, and front-of-house staff.
130–180 minutes: Cross Hapjeong and finish at Yanghwajin
Continue past Hapjeong Station to Yanghwajin History Park. Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine and the Yanghwajin Foreign Missionary Cemetery face one another at close range, but they tell different histories: late-Joseon Catholic persecution and Protestant missionary activity after Korea’s opening, respectively. Both are places of mourning rather than photo sets. Keep voices low, avoid food and staged photography, examine the terrain of the former Yanghwa ferry landing, and return to Hapjeong Station.