Located near the Hongdae, Yeonnam dong is a hot place with narrow alleyways and small streets, full of trendy shops, cozy coffee shops, bars and restaurants. The neighborhood is extremely popular among young people, because of nearest located to Hongdae. The Yeonnam dong has become the hip neighborhood, after young people began to open businesses one after another there. Today, it is one of the best places to hang out with friends, go on a date, enjoy urban culture.
What to see in Yeonnam dong?
The area of Yeonnam dong is a great for taking amazing pictures or walking along the cute and small streets. For example, there are mural alleyways with unique vibes, where you can make amazing Instagram shots. Or another place, near the Yeonnam dong, there is a small unusual market โDongjin marketโ (๋์ง์์ฅ), that takes place every weekend. The market is popular for unique handmade items such as handmade knitting, jewelry, accessories. One more place with cute and interesting items, โFabric shop bramโ sells many accessories and colorful dreamcatchers. Also you can visit โPinokio Bookshopโ, small shop that sells funny picture books in Korean, English, Japanese languages. โNeon moonโ is another shop, where you can find various vintage stuffs.
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Where to eat in Yeonnam dong?
Mostly, restaurants and eateries are located along the main street of the neighborhood. You can choose one after exploring the whole area or just search using a map.
We visited this place and liked their food.
Grilled 300
Actually this place is located in the way that leads to main street of hip neighborhood. We noticed the restaurant because of beautiful outside view from the second floor of building.
Grilled 300 serves steak, pasta, fried chicken and some beverages. We ordered roasted chicken in cream sauce (=20,000 WON) and wine cocktail (=5,000 WON). Everything were delectable.
The place isnโt quite big, but has a good atmosphere and cool vibes. The restaurant was clean and orderly. I was very satisfied with their food and friendly staff.
Location: 230 Donggyo-ro, Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Open hours: Mon-Fri: 12:00 am – 10:00 pm
Sat-Sun: 12:00 am – 11:00 pm
Where to have a cup of coffee?
Greem cafรฉ(์ฐ๋จ๋223-14)
The cafรฉ named after its address ์ฐ๋จ๋223-14, or sometimes it is called โGreem cafรฉโ, the Korean word which means painting or cartoon. This cozy and fantastic cafรฉ was opened in Yeongnam dong in July 2017, and today has one more branch in Jeju-do Island. The cafe has become incredibly popular among Youtube bloggers and Instagrammers, because of unique vibes. We visited in the evening on weekend, fortunately there was no queue, besides it is said that cafรฉ gets really busy during the weekends.
In Yeongnam dong 223-14 Cafรฉ, visitors enter the cartoon world. It is like you can find yourself in a “drawn two dimensional” world in which everything, floors, walls, ceiling, tables, furniture – resembles black and white pictures from comics or cartoons. It is said that the cafรฉ inspired from the famous Korean drama โW โ Two Worldsโ, in which the story line occurs in a webtoon world. Before I visited this cafe, I had seen the famous drama, so because of knowing the whole story, it was twice as pleasant to visit and see the atmosphere of comics as in drama.
They serve regular hot and iced drinks: coffees, fruit ade, teas. The cups are also created in the cafรฉโs signature cartoon style.
Yeongnam dong 223-14 Cafรฉ has a roof terrace with a clothes line with pictures and furniture in cartoon style. Donโt forget to go upstairs to check it and make some amazing shots =)
Location: 223-14 Yeonnam-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Open hours: 11:00 am โ 9:00 pm
Instagram: @greem_cafe @ jeju_greem_cafe
Another hot places in Yeonnam dong: Tuk Tuk Noodle Thai, B’Mucho, L’Empreinte Bistro Seoul, Soi Yeonnam, When You Miss Your Mother’s Home Cooking, Sarukame.
How to get to Yeonnam dong?
By subway: Line #2, Hongik University station, Exit 3 (900 m walk)
Take the subway to Hongik University station. Then take Exit 3 to street leads to the Yeonnam dong. During going to destination you can see a park converted from a railway, called โGyeongui Line Forest Parkโ. After the Gyeongui railway was placed underground, the park was created in its place. Another name of park is โYeontral parkโ. It is a combination of two words, Yeonhui-dong and central park, and like the central park in New York, Gyeongui park lies on the center of the city with square shape. Today locals enjoy this green space by riding the bike, having a picnic, walking a dog, etc. Walking through the park is also a good way for enjoying the beautiful scenery and exploring Korean culture over here.
I hope this post about Yeonnam dong neighborhood was informative and you enjoyed it. Donโt forget to comment if you have any more recommendations or tips related to this post. Thanks for reading and have a nice trip!
