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I went out in Korea's coolest neighborhood and it was unbelievably hip

Drake Baer

2015-10-28T18:40:00Z

In San Francisco it's the Mission, in New York it's the East Village, in Berlin it's Kreuzberg.

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In Seoul, the booming capital of South Korea, it's Hongdae — the go-to neighborhood for all things street food, street fashion, and anything else a hipster could want.

On a recent reporting trip to Seoul, I gawked my way through the hyper-visual hood and it's equally excellent neighbors, Hapjeong and Sinchon.

The results, as you'll see, were awesome.

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The walk began outside our apartment in Hapjeong, the Alphabet City to Hongdae's East Village.

It's a many-splendored neighborhood. As in (golden!) cheese tarts.

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McDonald's — delivered by ballers like this guy.

An open container policy, which turns 7 Elevens into al fresco watering holes. Throw back a soju (basically Korean vodka), smoke a cigarette, and catch up with your bro, as two bromances do here.

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The 'mandoo,' or dumplings, are on point.

Starbucks is everywhere.

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The pizzas are maximal. Camembert Sweet Potato sounds pretty good, especially with a few squiggles of mustard and mayo.

Culture is literally in the streets.

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You know you've reached Hongdae when you see a few identifying features. One of them is thoroughly cute boutiques, like this one.

Or this one.

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Or this one.

Another identifier is the cafes and bars that are seemingly always open.

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The streets are crowded with shops and pedestrians.

You can pick up clothes for your phone, too.

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It's cool in Korea to dress just like your boyfriend or girlfriend.

Seriously.

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Street food is a way of life.

This guy's whipping up takoyaki, a snack imported from Japan where a ball of wheat flour is formed around a slice of octopus. It tastes like cornbread and calamari.

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You might enjoy an ice cream-filled fish.

Or any number of fried vegetables.

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The backpack game? Also solid.

Meat on a stick? Why not.

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Even the subway is fresh. We're headed to the neighboring hood Sinchon, in search of friendship and foodstuffs.

Sinchon station is a happening place. Just ask a rabbit.

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The destination: a beer with expat buddy Dave, who works in publishing. Craft beer took off in Korea in the past five years, and the the results are on par with just about any brew in the States.

We then ventured over to a chik-maeg, or chicken and beer, shop across the street.

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Tons of people were already chowing down.

As my buddy Jay explained, Korean fried chicken is fried twice, giving it the extra-crunchy flavor.

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Plus you eat it with chopsticks, so your beer doesn't get all sticky.

Like everything else in Korea, you eat chicken with a generous pour of soju.

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It's the kind of food that prompts some remarkably goofy looks of satisfaction.

The only thing that could make it better? An appearance by superstar Tech Insider video producer Will Wei.

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One thing's for sure: the next day, you're going to need some coffee.

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