Unique Cafes in Hongdae
When most people think of Hongdae, they might conjure up images of clubs, Friday night, live music, and dancing until the wee hours of the morning. But Hongdae has more to offer than a fun place to hang out on the weekends. Hongdae, home to Hongik University, the most famous of the art universities in Korea, also has a flair for the artsy, quirky, and offbeat. Home to flea markets with handmade crafts and accessories on weekend mornings, boutiques with unique vintage and contemporary finds, spontaneous performances from drum circles and B-boy crews, and some of the best graffiti you’ll see in the city, it also holds perhaps the highest number of and most unique cafes per square mile in the city. Kitschy, cuddly, and eclectic -- you’ll find places to suit all styles. So check out a few of Hongdae’s different cafes to get your java fix while you revel in the atmosphere.
Charlie Brown café
The Charlie Brown café is a franchise coffee shop chain that may not provide the coziest of coffee shop interiors, but instead specializes in bright, modern design -- sprinkled intermittently, of course, with images, stuffed dolls, and relics of your favorite cartoon beagle and his gang of friends. Namesake comic kid, Charlie Brown may actually take a backseat to his canine companion in this café, but lovers of the famous comic strip will have plenty to look at in this cute-as-a-button coffee shop. Drink prices and offerings are similar to those of your standard coffee shop chains, though they might rethink the play-on wording of their Americano, “Brown coffee” -- something about it just sounds altogether unappetizing. The café also offers food and dessert choices, many that have impressions or chocolate dustings with characters’ images, if you’re not the type to feel guilty for eventually eating your Schroeder’s head. While not the most ambient of coffee shops, the atmosphere is quiet enough to study or have meetings without having to sift through the other background noise you get at some of the more famous, popular chains.
Charlie Brown café can be reached from Hongik University Station (Line 2, Exit 5), Hapjeong Station (Line 2 or 5, Exit 3), or Sangsu Station (Line 6), Exit 1. It’s close to the playground near Hongik University’s main gate.
Hello Kitty café
Hello Kitty, the cartoon cat that makes even grown women go ga-ga for her cute bow and simple style, has been turned into a lifestyle café. Pink from top to bottom, you can’t miss the café in its alley off fashion street in Hongdae. Hello Kitty memorabilia is mixed with bows, chandeliers, and plush armchairs and benches to provide the most intense saturation of pink and pretty that you’ve likely ever laid eyes on. The motif doesn’t let up an inch, windows in cut-out shapes of the famous kitty give views between one room to the next, mirrors in the bathroom also feature the Hello Kitty silhouette. Even lamps, chairs, and toilets in the café are unable to escape the pink and bow treatment. Lattes come with the famous feline face stenciled in cinnamon or chocolate and desserts just as pretty as the cat herself are available for those with a sweet tooth. Hello Kitty neck pillows also abound in order for guests to get their maximum pretty pamper treatment on.
To get to the Hello Kitty café, you can go to Hongik University Station (Line 2, Exit 5), Hapjeong Station (Line 2 or 5, Exit 3), or Sangsu Station (Line 6), Exit 1. It’s on an uphill alley off of Hongdae’s main drag of shops and boutiques.
Bau Haus café – Hongdae
Korea hasn’t traditionally been a domestic pet-raising society, but times they are a-changing. Nowadays, more and more Korean families are raising pets in their homes and for those who can’t but still want their fix of puppy loving, Bau Haus offers the perfect solution. Bau Haus, German for bow house (think bow-wow), has been providing a space for dogs and the people who love them since 2000. They eventually moved to their current larger location in 2004, and on any given day now have between 20-30 dogs running around free rein in the cafe. The numbers differ from day to day because customers are also able to bring their puppies to join in on the fun and dogs staying in the café’s dog hotel service are also likely to enter the fray. You won’t find just the teacup poodles and malteses that are most commonly seen in Korea, the café houses a huge Siberian Husky, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, and plenty of other large breeds alongside their more diminutive brethren. It’s possible you may have to wait for a table, especially if you go on the weekend. Once seated, you can order your standard coffee and tea fare, as well as out-of-the-ordinary milkshakes. The prices for the drinks are slightly more expensive than you might find at other coffee shops, but there is no admission fee to enjoy hours playing with your new cuddly best friends.
To get to the Bau Haus café, you can go to Hongik University Station (Line 2, Exit 5), Hapjeong Station (Line 2 or 5, Exit 3), or Sangsu Station (Line 6), Exit 1. It is located in one of the side streets off of Parking Lot Street.
Gio Cat café – Hongdae
If you think there’s a personality difference between those who claim themselves to be dog lovers or cat lovers; you can see the difference clearly by comparing a visit to Gio Cat café to one at Bau Haus. While Bau Haus has an energetic and sometimes even chaotic energy, Gio Cat café is calm, quiet, and cool. While patrons at Bau Haus romp around with their canine companions, patrons at Gio Cat are content to stroke the glossy manes of the Siamese, Russian Blue, and 20-plus other cats that purr beneath their hands. Gio Cat also has stricter rules for its customers, in order to ensure control of the kittens’ environment. Only a certain number of guests are allowed in at a time, so like Bau Haus, you may find yourself on a waitlist, especially on a weekend. Guests should take off their shoes before entering and there is a set of rules that is displayed in several places around the café, reminding guests not to feed the cats, pull their tails, wake up a sleeping cat, use flash photography, or forcefully pet their bellies. While the feline friends at Gio Cat may not clamor for your attention the way the dogs at Bau Haus do, with a little patience they’ll eventually come to you and curl up in your lap for a catnap.
Gio Cat café can be reached from Hongik University Station (Line 2, Exit 5), Hapjeong Station (Line 2 or 5, Exit 3), or Sangsu Station (Line 6), Exit 2. It’s close to the playground near Hongik University’s main gate.
Dr. Fish café / Heimdall
The infamous Dr. Fish café is a popular one among expats and Koreans alike, if not only for its delight-your-friends-with-this-story factor. The premise of the cafes, there are a few sprinkled around the city, is that customers can put their feet in shallow pools located in the cafes and get “nature’s pedicure.” In the pools there are swarms of small fish, typically separated into two different varieties -- Turkish and Chinese -- that nibble the dead skin off of your feet, all while you sip on a refreshing drink and chat with your friends. Although the time that you spend soaking your feet is up to you, most people see a difference in the soft¬ness of their heels after only fifteen to thirty minutes. To ensure hygienic conditions, customers are asked to first wash their feet thoroughly in special foot sinks.
To get to the Dr. Fish café, you can go to Sangsu Station (Line 6, Exit 2) and walk towards the front gates of Hongik University. At the three-way intersection, take a left and then a right at the By the Way convenience store. Dr. Fish café (Heimdall in Korean) is located on the 7th floor of the building with the Fish and Grill restaurant on the ground level.
Café HoHomyoll
Finally, Café HoHomyoll might not have any specific themes or gimmicks like the aforementioned coffee shops, but it’s worth seeking out for the cozy, inviting atmosphere alone. Even though it has a full vintage VW van stuffed in the café, it may still be easy to pass this pleasant coffee shop by as you make your way from Sangsu Station towards the streets full of clubs and bars. The coffee shop, opened by owner Ye-Rang Yoon two years ago, has an unpretentious yet delightfully sophisticated mix of vintage and modern style and unique knick knacks, many VW-inspired, look to have been thoughtfully and individually placed throughout the interior of the café to produce just the right amount of quirk without making the customer feel claustrophobic. If the novelty of having your mocha prepared in the gutted inside of a VW van isn’t enough, the extensive menu of Paninis, waffles, and quiche doesn’t hurt either. Prices for drinks and food are comparable to other cafes and the ambience is quiet enough that patrons often stay for a lazy afternoon to read, study, or catch up with old friends.
To get to Café HoHomyoll, go to Sangsu Station, Exit 2 and walk about 50 m. The shop will be on your right and the porch area has a red wagon with two ET dolls on display.
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