Hongdae Hongdae 홍대

Whew my posts are all gonna be so backdated because I still have so much stuff to write about that I haven't yet! 

After looking through the photos that I took in Seoul, I realised that I didn't take that many photos after all. Not only that, but the photos that I took were all kinda rushed and look "dislocated". Kinda regret not taking more photos now, but I guess I just wasn't in the photo-taking mood during the time that I was there. 

Oh welps. Just have to make do with what I have. 

This post will be about my favourite place to hang out in Seoul- HONGDAE!

Why is it my favourite? 

Well, the first reason is kind of a no-brainer. It's because Hongdae has the ONLY arcade in the WHOLE of Seoul that has a DDR machine!

The arcade is called Dream Game Land, and it is located somewhere on Sinchon-ro, nearest to exit 3 of Hongik University Station.

I found out about this arcade through the Internet because yes, I went online to look for an arcade to play DDR at while I was in Seoul. 

Still gotta exercise while I pig out you know? 

Anyway, the website didn't give me much details about the location of Dream Game Land, except that it was located in the Donggyo-dong area. So, it was a little like asking me to go look for a karaoke bar in Chinatown... Totally useless!

When I got off the subway at Hongik, I literally walked around for thirty minutes with my translation app and phrasebook out. I asked about a dozen Korean people (in my broken Korean no less) if they knew where Dream Game Land arcade was, and they all gave me the same blank stare. 

......Dots.....

Just when I was starting to feel like Dream Game Land did not actually exist, I saw a drunk-looking dude wearing a Harvard sweatshirt, so I approached him and asked if he could speak English. He could, just barely, but it was enough for him to point me in the right direction. Thankfully, I had found a Youtube video that someone took of walking on the street towards Dream Game Land, and the drunk-looking dude was able to identify the street just by watching the video. 

As I walked away, I thought to myself: "his Harvard sweatshirt must be a fake" LOL

 Imagine my excitement and elation upon finding the arcade?!

The arcade is actually located in a really small and old basement. The whole place smells kind of sketchy and I'm pretty sure no one has wiped those railings in months.

Propped against the wall are the two machines that I've been looking forward to! 

On the left is a Pump It Up Pro 2 machine. Like most machines in Korea, it smelled kinda funky. Still, it's really cheap compared to Singapore. Only about SGD$0.50 per game / 3 songs.

The only DDR machine in Seoul happens to be the latest version that they have out of the 3 DDR machines in the whole of Korea. Sadly, that version, SuperNOVA2, is a really outdated one. Here in Singapore, we are kept up to date with the latest- DDR2013. SuperNOVA2 is like... dinosaur-aged, being four versions behind DDR2013. It was released in 2008, so can you imagine how old it is?

The panels are in terrible condition. I barely hit any AAs during that week. I was lucky to even hit an A. But after playing on this terrible platform, I think my accuracy improved, because I was forced to be more careful with my stepping on these insensitive panels.

SuperNOVA2 had a strange feature that I had never encountered before. Getting to choose your character before playing!

I thought it was kinda lame... Haha!

In most arcades, there are karaoke boxes for you to go in and sing. I wish Singapore had this! A real K-box, instead of the super expensive K Box that cheats people's monies every weekend.....

Alright. The second reason why I like Hongdae so much is because it has a really funky vibe to its streets. 

There's graffiti everywhere.

Like everywhere.

And I like that Korean graffiti is fun and quirky. It doesn't seem to take itself seriously, and is not half as depressing looking as its NYC counterparts. I really had fun walking around, trying to decipher all that "street art" and its inherent meanings.

Hongdae has about a gadzillion cafes, with Coffee Prince being one of the famous ones. I found it smuggy and pretentious. Smuggy's not a real word, but you know what I mean.

I don't know why people kept telling me that Hongdae was great for shopping. It's true that there is a great variety of shops here selling offbeat fashion pieces. But it's also true that the price tags on most things here are slightly higher than elsewhere. 

There's a little Korean ramen shop in Hongdae that I became the Foursquare mayor of.

The first time I stepped in there, I was alone, hungry and in need of something spicy. So, I asked the dude in the kitchen for something "맵다".

He did not hold back man... My ramen was so spicy OMO, my eyes are tearing just thinking about how spicy it was!

At first I thought I was the only one experiencing this searing, tear-inducing pain. But when I looked at the other people in the restaurant, I realised that I was not the only one crying and sniffling into my food. It made me feel a bit better about myself LOL!

I came here to eat on a separate day with Hyoju.

We both laughed and cried into our food that afternoon. But oh! It was sooooo 맛있다!

For the Hello Kitty lovers...

There's the very pink Hello Kitty Cafe tucked away in an unassuming street.

More pink awaits you inside the cafe...

There's a small corner selling Hello Kitty merchandise.

Hello Kitty silhouettes everywhere.

Upstairs is another pink seating area.

More merchandise shelved up there too.

I waited a really long time for my pathetic order to arrive. Like fifteen minutes? 

Really? It takes fifteen minutes to make a green tea latte and take out the piece of chocolate cake that you have on display?

Maybe it's because I don't like Hello Kitty that much.

I mean I think it's cute.

But I have no qualms about making her face disappear off my green tea latte foam.

Korean street food is a dieter's nightmare. The sausages are so good, I would have eaten five in a row had I more stomach space leftover from lunch!

This shop reminds me South Street in Philly.

Have you ever watched the Kdrama, Mary Stayed Out All Night 매리는 외빅중? 

Well, this is the shop that Mary's dad worked in the show! I recognised it immediately as I was strolling by. Was so excited that I entirely forgot to try the dukbokki there.

A lovely flower display outside a shopping centre.

Hyoju and I spent about half an hour in this shop looking through accessories and stuff. The prices were bearable, which is why we stayed so long.

Hongdae's actually more well-known for its Japanese restaurants. Here is one of the more famous ones, but we were deterred by the line outside.

I actually did not take a single picture of Hongdae in the night!

To be fair, I didn't like Hongdae at night as much as I did in the day. Too many noisy angmors spoiling the atmosphere at night. Not to mention, I don't feel as safe since I was walking around alone.

Spotted: a funny poster outside a T-shirt shop. Why must they censor the children's eyes??? LOL!

Hyoju brought me to this design building where there's a shop on the first floor.

Designer bookmark.

Kinda regret not buying it now.

I found Кошка in one corner... T^T 

Sigh... I miss her so much... Wonder what she's doing now.......

Really looks like Jersey City / NYC doesn't it? 

While I was there, spring had not arrived in force yet, but some trees had begun to bloom.

I wish I were there this week or next to see all the trees and bushes in full blossom.

And here's a weird but cool building next to Hapjeong Station.