Touring Seoul: Haebangchon on a Weekend

                    (Artwork in Haebangchon's 
                      pedestrian underpass)

When I first arrived in Seoul more than ten years ago, Itaewon was my go-to place during the weekend. Why? It was right next to my Hannam-dong neighborhood in the Yongsan District in Seoul, Korea. And Hannam-dong was as boring as an insect museum.😴

                        (Talk Greek to me)

I could just lazily walk for ten minutes from the Hannam-dong 5-gori towards the Soonchunhyang Hospital street, and climb up the inclined path next to Cheil Building.  And I'd be in the busy Itaewon intersection!

                  (Greek food in Haebangchon)

And over the years, I realized a lot of Koreans and foreigners made Itaewon their hangout spot during the weekends. Before, I could easily get a spot by the window of Starbucks, the one next to McDonalds. Years on, it would always be crowded even if I got there right after Sunday lunch.

(This busy road leads up to Namsan and Hyatt Hotel)

    (When you can't sit and sip coffee, you stand)

Luckily, Haebangchon, the area next to Itaewon (Exit 2 of Noksapyeong Station), also hosts a lot of cafés and restaurants that attract locals and foreigners during the day, and a few bars that attract drunkards at night.😂

Especially during holidays and summer weekends, crowds would descend upon Haebangchon. From the main street where traffic from Itaewon flows, the restaurants, ice cream parlors, cafés, and burger stands located even inside the alleyways would always be full.

       (When churros was the craze around Seoul)

And that winding road that leads up to Hyatt Hotel would be crowded as well. It seemed that people, who have been used to the Gangnam, Daehangno, and Hongdae spots, ventured to check out the Haebangchon life as well.

And one summer weekend, when my Sunday was as uneventful as a scripted Korean wedding, I dragged my Korean friend Woongjae to join me in exploring Haebangchon in search of lunch.

            (Creativity transforms a set of steps)

Needless to say, we spent half an hour walking up and down the alleys in search of an empty table with seats until we found Greece.

El Grecos hidden inside an alleyway had space for two hungry tummies. Lucky us, we finally were able to sit down and enjoy a Haebangchon lunch. 

             (Shaved ice with flavors in a cup is 
              a perfect companion during summer)

After eating and speaking Greek, we strolled around the area and found ourselves back in Itaewon for coffee. Since the cafés at Haebangchon were small, we figured the ones in Itaewon probably had better seats for us.

                     (The Haebangchon crowd)

And since I knew all the cafés in Itaewon, we headed to Leonidas right across Hamilton. There, we got a table as this place is spacious and had more corners than any café in the neighborhood. Their staff is also friendly. This is the only coffee shop in Seoul that gave me a box of chocolates!👌

So, in case you run out of places to discover in Seoul, Haebangchon is a recommended spot! Have fun!😀