This week, a friend and I met and explored Hongdae, the university district known for its cafes and street shopping. After meeting through Instagram, talking, and realizing that we both (currently) lived in the same country, we decided it was time for a real meetup.
Main Hongdae shopping street in Hongdae. Photo by Soo Hyun
It was just about noon when my friend (http://imaqination.co) and I met up in front of Hongik Station, exit 9. Because it was close to lunchtime, we decided to grab some food. It was so hot outside, but we began searching for a ddeokbokki house we had decided on previously (back when we had no idea that it would reach 85 degrees that day). In case you aren't familiar with ddeokbokki, it's basically rice cake and fish cake cooked in spicy soup.
But we weren't looking for just any ddeokbokki house, we were looking for "반장 즉석 떢볶이". Why were we so dead set on finding this place? Well, at this particular restaurant, they provide more soup than traditional ddeokbokki (so you can add rice to the soup after you eat all the noodles and ricecake!), clear starch noodles (당면), ramen noodles, and you get to cook it yourself! Super cool, right? It's just like how they have grills on the tables at K-BBQ restaurants; but here, they had little stoves in the middle in the tables instead of grills.
So while ignoring the fact that we were both sweating more than humanly possible, we began looking for the restaurant. But, as you guys may know, I'm not the best with directions. And neither is my phone.
My phone is very strange- it's really bad at picking up GPS signals, so it usually thinks that I am a couple streets away (or more) from where I actually am. So if I start walking by where my GPS tells me to go, I'm probably going to end up- you guessed it- a couple streets away from the destination. This was no exception.
At first, all was going well. We seemed to be on track, and my Maps app's idea of what street we were on seemed to match with where we actually were. But suddenly, about halfway there, it started acting up (typical...). Though just moments ago, we were supposedly on the right street, heading towards our lunch location, my Map suddenly reported that we had gone up the wrong street and that we were somehow three streets away from our track. Luckily, I knew better than to trust my GPS, and looked around for the street signs. We ended up ditching the GPS for a bit as we navigated the streets the old-fashioned way. Finally, we reached the ddeokbokki place and ran inside, more than ready to escape the heat.
Trekking in the heat was so worth it! We ordered one of the jajang-and-gochujang ddeokbokki (one order is two servings), cooked the meal ourselves, and stayed there way longer than we'd originally planned. We ended up enduring some awkward stares and whispers during our time there, as we sometimes laughed or talked a little too loud, hehe... I guess it probably looked a little strange, two Korean girls speaking fluent English (and accidentally quite loudly, for that matter).
After lunch, we took some super cute photos on our way to My Juice, a cold-pressed juice shop. There are many side streets full of graffiti and cute stores in Hongdae, some of which are actually pretty quiet because most people just go to the main shopping street. We took photos in emptier streets, streets with graffiti, and streets where there was a little bit of shadow. We were very happy with the results! We love how the backgrounds turned out.
My friend standing in the main shopping street. Photo by Soo Hyun
Later, we realized that the group of streets we had taken photos in, and the street My Juice was settled in, was a few of the "cafe streets" in Hongdae (literally streets dedicated to rows of cafes).
Exterior of My Juice in Hongdae. Photo by Soo Hyun
We found our way to My Juice pretty easily, despite being hidden away on a side street. And on the way, we ended up finding a cute cafe that we decided to visit later.
My Juice is one of my favorite food/drink places in Seoul. The juice is always fresh and cold-pressed, you get to choose which fruits/veggies get blended, and you get to keep the super cute tumblers that the juice comes in. Best of all, they don't mind two teenage girls chattering and taking pictures in their store for an hour *cough cough*.
Their pricing varies on how many fruits/veggies you choose, and the size of the bottle. I ordered the Mango juice in a medium tumbler, and my friend got the strawberry juice in a medium tumbler. I loved that they didn't strain the fibers out of my juice; it was really thick and nectar-sweet. And can we please talk about that bottle? So cute!
Right: Mango Juice, Left: Strawberry Juice. Photo by Soo Hyun
We were in there for an hour. Did we take too many pictures? Perhaps.
After drinking our juice, taking too many photos, and chatting about current events (for real), we left with smiles on our faces and our new tumblers in our backpacks.
We headed to the main shopping streets, not looking for anything in particular. Though it was a weekday afternoon, there were many moms, college students, and tourists flocking the streets and weaving through the shops. We thought about getting a pair of bracelets, but never ended up getting any, despite the abundance of accessory shops. We did leave with some great photos, though!
We spent an hour or so drifting between people, taking photos, and looking at all the strange/cool food options. There was one stand that was selling pastries in the shape of a fish, with ice cream inside its "mouth". It's kind of disturbing if you think about it: it looks like you're eating fish guts, since the ice cream is coming out of the fish's mouth...
Anyways!...
We eventually headed back toward the cafe we saw on our way to My Juice. The cafe was called "My Mug" (do you see the "My" theme here?), and it was a tiny, local-owned cafe run by a sweet mom-aged lady. The interior was so cozy and cute, and it even had free high-speed wifi and outlets to plug in our laptops! We were able to sit down in comfy couches/loveseats and exchange our photos from the day.
I got some nice shots of our drinks- iced hot chocolates. It was way too hot outside to order anything not iced, and it was too late in the afternoon for coffee (if I drink so much caffeine past 2pm, I'll be up until 2am).
Iced hot chocolates at My Mug in Hongdae, Korea. Photo by Soo Hyun
Iced hot chocolates at My Mug in Hongdae. Photo by Soo Hyun
We were there for an hour or so, sipping, typing, critiquing photos and chatting about when to meet again. Finally, it was time for goodbye.
We headed back toward the subway station, where we bid adieu and talked about keeping in touch.
It was such a great experience to, for the first time, explore a part of Seoul with a friend my age. Hongdae is full of fun shops, cafes, and beautiful art, and I cannot wait to go back one day with either my friend from this post, or my friends from Portland.
Until next time,
Soo Hyun
