Хондэ: Центр искусства и молодежной культуры Сеула

Neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea

Hongdae (hangul=홍대) is a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea near Hongik University, after which it is named. It is known for its urban arts and indie music culture, local shops, clubs, cafés and entertainment. The area is located in Mapo District in the western end of Seoul, stretching from Seogyo dong, Hapjeong dong & Seogang dong.

Hongdae (hangul=홍대) is an abbreviation of Hongik Daehakgyo, Hongik University (hangul=홍익대학교).

Under the influence of Hongik University (Hongdae), a prestigious private university known for its Fine Arts Program, the neighborhood was built on a foundation of artistic souls since the 1990s. In the early days, thanks to then cheap rent, budget musicians and street artists started moving into the ateliers of the Hongdae area. In the true sense of the word, the Korean indie scene started from the two bands, Sister's Barbershop and Crying Nut at Hongdae in the mid 1990s. Before that many cover bands were playing near Shinchon and Idae. Later, other bands like Jaurim, Peppertones and Idiotape started to play at venues in Hongdae, and the area begins to have a reputation as the mecca of urban arts and underground club culture. Now the area provides street art festivals and performances, as well as music concerts by independent artists and mainstream entertainers. Many come to Hongdae for its aesthetically unique characteristics. There are many graffiti murals painted all over the streets of Hongdae. One of the well known areas for these murals is Hongdae Mural Street (also known as ‘Picasso's Street’). Like other multi cultural metropolitan areas, this street is undergoing gentrification. However, despite the recent explosion of upmarket brand shops that pushes artists to move toward the southern area near Hapjeong Station, the street still enjoys a reputation as the city's prime spot for indie musicians. Many live music venues and festivals draw revelers from a wide range of visitors. YG Entertainment, the major K pop agency is also located near the street.

Hongdae is also known colloquially as one the top places to go clubbing in Seoul. The Hongdae clubbing scene can be traced back to the 1990s and originated from studio cafés and bars in the late 1980s; it has since evolved into a diverse culture of its own. Clubs have become an important place for people to gather and share music, dance, as well as to communicate with one another. These clubs have also created a space for numerous aspiring DJs and musicians to perform in as well as provide a wide range of music genres for visitors to enjoy such as dance, techno, rock and hip hop. Though many clubs are open to anyone over 19 years of age, there are some clubs who still strictly enforce unwritten rules such as dress codes and banning of foreigners.

In the late 1990s this artistic culture extended into the creation of trendy cafés, which have now evolved into the famous themed café culture known to be found in Korea today. Some popular cafés include the 943 King's Cross Café, which is Harry Potter themed, animal cafes, where patrons can visit and play with various animals such as cats, dogs, and even sheep. Character cafés are also quite common and include characters such as Sanrio's Cinnamoroll as well as Line Friends cafés and Kakao Friends cafés.

Hongdae is also home to many street foods and food vendors. Foods offered range from tteokbokki and rice cake skewers to hotteok and skewers sugar coated fruit.

Zandari Festa is named after 'Zandari', an old name for the Hongdae area. 'Zandari' implies small bridge, and the festival's ambition is also to be a bridge between the artists and audiences around the local indie music scene. Every Fall, it is held over 3 days in the pre scheduled hosting live clubs. The festival encourages bands to invite themselves, artists are also encouraged to take part in planning and promoting the shows they play in.

Since March 2001, 'Club Day' started as a wristband powered event which allows entry to more than a dozen clubs for the price of one. After 2007, 'Sound Day' also launched together with the indie music concert venues. During 2008 through early 2009 they were suspend due to high levels of violence and disturbances by US Army soldiers and underage individuals. They reopened again but came to close soon in January 2011 (as the 117th Club Day), mainly due to the dispute over the distribution of profits between popular live/dance clubs and other budget ones. After a four year break, in January 2015, six live clubs established the 'Live Club Cooperative' and with other clubs, they resumed the 'Live Club Day' on 27 February. The 'Live Club Day' is held on the last Friday of every month. The ticket system is the same as before, one can get access to multiple clubs for a variety of genres including rock, jazz, hip hop and electronic with one ticket.

During early 1990s, students from the College of Fine Arts at Hongik University began to decorate the streets, walls, and roads around the college. Their efforts were soon joined by many artists from across the country and the first 'Street Art Festival' was held in 1993. Every year, students of Hongik University and neighbor artists join to produce diversity of visual arts on Hongdae streets like graffiti wall painting, installation arts and performances.