14 April 2012 - Getting to Hongdae Free Market

I took the subway from Hoegi Station to Hongik University station, exit 5 for Hongdae free market. Erhh....Nope, it should be exit 9. I couldn't find exit 5 in the station but exit 9 looked like the exit I should take.  Subsequently, I learnt from the tourist information centre that exit 5 was replaced by exit 9 long long time ago.  No wonder...

Gong Cha!!!!  Gong Cha originates from Taiwan and is my favourite drink in Singapore.  When Gong Cha first opened an outlet in Bedok Point, I practically drop by everyday to buy myself a cup of Gong Cha on my way home from work.  This went on for a week.  Hahaaa...Gong Cha milk Oolong Tea and Gong Cha milk Alisan tea are my two favourites from the menu and I always go for 30% sugar level.  Another favourite of mine is Macha Milk with Azuki bean but I find its difficult to suck up the beans even with the bigger straws. Not to underestimate the tiny bits of rice crusts added in the drink which give it a different twist as compared to the normal milk tea with Azuki bean. I wondered what type of milk did they add into their drink becos the milk in the drink is soooo nice... I told Jae he must try Gong Cha!

Passed by a street performance by some young students.  So cool.
I wish there's more of such performances in Singapore.

Its almost 3pm. I better have my lunch before I checked out Hongdae free market.  Didn't know whether the food here is nice a not but the price is cheap!

Hahahaaa...I can never get tired of my favourite Sundubu jjigae 순두부찌개 ㅋㅋㅋ
Can you guess what's the next picture??

Of course this is a must for me!!  A Chinese young couple was sitting beside me and omgggg...their Korean was so fluent.  How I envy them...From their conversation, I think they were studying and working part time in Seoul.  Nope, I didn't mean to eavesdrop but their conversation was pretty much audible ㅋㅋㅋ  My lunch cost only KRW4500.  I was surprised that I had to pay first instead of paying at the end of my meal.  In this trip, this was the second time I encountered payment first before my food arrives. Most of the time, the amount payable was presented upfront unlike in the previous trip, whereby bills were presented on the table but it would be flipped over so that the customers do not see the amount payable as they eat. Well, its definitely okay for me to pay first since we also have such practice in Singapore hawker centres and food courts.

From the eating place facing the main road, I turned left and turn left again at the first turn/corner. Walk straight until you saw this building ahead. I think this is Hongik University. At this point of time, you will see a traffic light. Cross to your right as shown in the picture. Do not cross over to get to the university. Frankly speaking, I was not sure which direction to go for Hongdae Free Market. I only knew it would be near Hongik University. I asked a student and she gave me some directions which indicated that I was on the right track.

This was what I saw when I got across the road.  Walk straight as shown by the red arrow.

Walk for one minute and you will see this on your right.  Walk in as directed by the red arrow shown.  The free market starts from here  ^^  *Excited

I love visiting flea market and was curious why it was called "Free Market".  Free flow of creativity without any boundaries???  Well, I don't know but obviously, things will not be free of charge in this market.  I don't like people to haggle over prices when it comes to handmade things becos it is not the money that matters to the person who designed and created the product but its a matter of whether the person who bought the product can appreciate it a not.  

This was the playground in the free market. It was also the landmark used for the market  becos it would be mentioned so frequently online when it comes to the location of the free market  ^^

She's sooooooooooooo CUTEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! 

Another cutie pie  ^^

Some bloggers had mentioned that photography is prohibited on the products sold.  Probably its due to copyrights of the designs.  Hence, I only take some pictures from the playground. I love this free market so much becos one can really see a lot of talented creative designers.  Yeap, I bought some meaningful gifts here for my friends as well ^^ 

Its almost 5pm and there's still a lot of people.  Many tourists were here as well.

안녕 ^^

Free Market does not operates during Winter. It operates from March till November, every Saturday from 1pm till 6pm.

I walked around Hongdae trying to locate the Mural Street art but couldn't find it.  I asked the information centre who gave me the wrong direction, so I decided to shop around.  I preferred Sinchon to Hondae.  My feeling for Hondae was a mixture of likes and dislikes becos I love the place but I get a headache when I see the crowd. The crowd made me wanna get out of the place asap but at the same time, the shopping tends to pull me back...