Have you been to Seoul a couple of times and have already ran out of places to explore? Or are you the type of traveller who prefers a more ‘authentic’ local experience and tend to avoid touristy places? If so, you are at the right place! In this post, I will be sharing about Haebangchon, the new hipster hangout in Seoul.

Unknown to many tourists, I would say that Haebangchon is the new up and coming trendy place to hangout in Seoul. Haebangchon, which also means ‘Liberation Village’ in korean, is located south of Namsan Tower and near Itaewon area. In the past, during the Japanese colonial rule, a military shooting range was housed there. However, after Korea gained independence, the Americans took control of the area, albeit loosely. Thus, those displaced by the Korean War took the opportunity to seek refuge and settle down in Haebangchon.

Before urban regeneration projects in 2010, Haebangchon was a poor shanty town. However, attracted by the low rent and the exciting synergy of the old overlapping the new, many business owners took the opportunity and opened their own cafes, bars, restaurants, workshops, book stores and other interesting boutiques in Haebangchon.

My first visit to Haebangchon was during a cold late Winter afternoon in 2017. It happened that I had 1.5 days layover in Seoul during my flight pattern then and I managed to convince my Korean friend to accompany me to Haebangchon. I remembered braving the cold and walking a long way up the steep slopes!

By the time we arrived at the ‘Storage bookstore’, the skies had already turned dark. I did not have much time to hang around the area then but I managed to take a quick snap outside the bookstore!

Luckily, I had another chance to explore Haebangchon last year! This time, the spring weather was a tad too warm for my liking but nonetheless, the longer days allowed me more time to explore the hood proper:) Together with a fellow Taiwanese book lover who attended the Sogang Korea language course, we first made our way to ‘Byeol chaek bu rok’ bookstore.

There were many interesting books by local authors and designers but with our proficiency in the Korean language back then, we preferred picture books that were easy to read haha!

I have always thought that Koreans have an eye for design and art- I thoroughly enjoyed my time flipping through the pages!:) I also cannot wait to be more proficient in the language! A whole new world of prose and poetry awaits!

Wanting to check out other bookstores before deciding on our purchase, we moved on to another bookstore. This bookstore is called ‘Goyo sorsa’ and it can be translated to ‘calm narrative’. This particular bookstore definitely had a zen vibe to it and I love how the sunlight streamed through the windows during late afternoon.

After our visit to the bookstores, we continued climbing up the streets, passing by pretty cafes before chancing upon an eclectic enclave of shops! Among those were an old arcade (which I believe was the drama filming site of ‘When the Camellia blooms’, featuring Gong Hyo Jin), more cafes, and various restaurants which sold international cuisine! I also remembered vividly that there was a Thai restaurant with a full crowd!

Have I enticed you enough to drop by Haebangchon the next time you visit Korea?:)

If so, here are a few tips to make your trip even more enjoyable:

• Be prepared to climb steep slopes, wear comfortable shoes!
• The sunset is worth staying for!
• Apart from books, the bookstores sell many unique merchandise too! Do check them out too!

I hope you will find joy in exploring Haebangchon as much as I did!

PS: In case if you are wondering what books I have gotten, here is an ‘in jung’ shot (snapshot of proof) hahaha!

The purple book was written by a guesthouse owner and consisted of questions about travel. The best part of it? The questions were written in both Korean and English- Yay to that!

The other book is a lot tougher to read because the pages are filled with abstract Korean poems. I am a big fan of English poems but to fully appreciate Korean poems will require a lot more studying of the language. Nonetheless, I bought it with the aim of being able to appreciate and understand Korean poems someday:)

If you are thinking of attending Sogang University’s Korean language school, and is someone who enjoys school events, I would highly recommend you to attend the autumn semester! Although every semester is a whole new experience altogether- be it enjoying the cherry blossom in Spring, the beaches and water sports in Summer, the red and golden foliage in Autumn, or witnessing the first snowfall in Winter, the annual autumn school festival definitely makes the autumn semester even more exciting! It was a fun day filled with food, activities and lucky draw! Depending on your class or teacher, you might even have a chance to set up your own booth!

For my case, our teacher suggested that we should take up a booth. Initially, we were not exactly enthusiastic about it because much planning and work had to be done. However, I am glad that we took up the challenge! It made my last semester in Sogang University much more memorable and helped bring the class closer:)

It was an amazing experience and I do hope that those who have plans to study Korean at Sogang University will be able to experience it first hand!:)