Those days · 100 images
Hongdae: from streets to stages
From campus benches to painted alley walls, intimate stages to market stalls. Centered on the 1990s, these images trace the places where people studied, walked, listened to music and exchanged their creations.
Explore the 100 photographs1957 · 1996
A day begins on campus
The main building, playing field, benches and gate frame everyday movements. Follow people through the university and out into the surrounding streets.
Hongik University’s main building in 1957
Tall, repeated windows line the main building in this black-and-white photograph. Steps and a rounded planted area sit in front of its central entrance. Alongside later campus images, it offers a view of the changing scale and form of the university’s buildings.
The broad path by the gymnasium
People move along the broad path beside Hongik University’s gymnasium. Banners hang along one edge, and a large painted design marks the pavement. The open space between buildings serves as a route and a meeting place.
Walking beneath campus banners
Two people walk side by side beneath banners hung between the trees. Campus buildings and other pedestrians appear behind them. The photograph brings together a campus walkway and the notices suspended above it.
Two sculpted figures on campus
A figure with its hands at its waist stands beside another seated on a chair, both part of a sculpture. Actual pedestrians and a banner bearing the word TOEIC appear behind them. The figures’ exaggerated expressions occupy a space used for everyday movement.
Basketball beyond the sculpture
People holding basketballs appear beyond metal silhouettes of human figures. Long shadows fall across the dirt surface between two basketball hoops. Art and everyday exercise meet in the same view of the campus.
A brick-paved campus walkway
A broad brick-paved space extends between the trees. People pass beneath hanging banners, with seats arranged along one side. Campus notices, movement and rest share the edges of the same path.
Cars and walkers on campus
Cars and a white van occupy a campus road. People walk between trees and buildings, passing through the same space as the vehicles. The scene shows a campus route shared by pedestrian and vehicle traffic.
The sports ground and a tall campus building
People gather and move across the dirt sports ground. A tall building rises behind the stepped edge of the field. The open playing surface contrasts with the vertical mass of the campus building.
People passing through the main entrance
Pedestrians and vehicles pass toward and away from Hongik University’s main entrance. Large banners hang on the neighboring building. The approach to the campus meets the movement of the surrounding street.
Banners beside the main entrance
Vehicles line up beneath large banners on a building wall. A loaded truck passes in the foreground, with the campus extending behind it. University notices and everyday vehicle traffic appear together in one frame.
The crossing in front of the university
Hongik University’s main entrance and campus road appear behind people using the crossing. Cars form a long line through the scene. The university meets its neighborhood where pedestrian access and vehicle traffic overlap.
Campus buildings beyond the field
Small groups of people stand on the sports ground. Stepped seating and a tall campus building appear behind them. From the dirt foreground to the distant building, the view reveals the campus at several levels.
1965–1996 · A 2005 view of Hongik-ro
Between signs and painted walls
Walk from Hongik University Station toward the gate and into narrow lanes. Apartments, restaurants, galleries and crossings reveal different sides of the university district.
The newly opened Second Hangang Bridge
A few cars travel along the broad bridge. Railings and streetlights repeat at regular intervals into the distance. The photograph records the road shortly after the opening of the Second Hangang Bridge, now known as Yanghwa Bridge.
A low-rise city along Yanghwa-ro
Low buildings and open plots flank the straight road. Trees and utility poles line the route, with hills visible in the distance. This 1966 view records the road now known as Yanghwa-ro and its surrounding neighborhood.
Crossing beside Seogyo Apartments
A car passes beside people using the crossing. Seogyo Apartments and multistory shop buildings extend along the road behind them. Housing, businesses and pedestrian routes share the same street.
A road through the university district
Cars move across lanes branching in several directions. Shop signs and road signs appear among the buildings and trees on both sides. The broad roadway carries traffic through the university neighborhood.
Hongik-ro: then and later
Compare the roadway-centered view of 1996 with the broad pedestrian space in 2005. Taken from different positions on Hongik-ro, the images reveal how buildings and street uses differ.
Later refers to the more recent photograph in the pair, not the present day.
The campus at the end of Hongik-ro
Following the center line of Hongik-ro leads the eye toward campus buildings in the distance. Shops and apartments line the road while cars travel between them. The avenue connects the university with the surrounding residential and commercial streets.
Hongik-ro from the pedestrian space
A paved pedestrian area and low planting beds extend through the street. Shops and vehicles line the sides, while a large building fills the distant view. The 2005 photograph brings the street surface and surrounding building heights into one frame.
Traffic along Yanghwa-ro
Taxis and other vehicles follow behind a silver car. Low shop buildings and a construction crane share the far side of the road. Traffic and building work appear together around Hongik University Station.
The road toward Seogyo Hotel
The road continues into the distance along a gentle slope. A sign on the right designates a bus-only right turn as traffic moves in several lines. Signs and lane markings reveal how vehicles were directed through the area.
Summer at the Hongdae entrance junction
A truck and cars cross in front of a road lined with green trees. Blue direction signs hang above the lanes. The view from the junction brings together the depth of the street and traffic moving in different directions.
Along Seogyo Apartments
The road follows the long facade of Seogyo Apartments. Vehicles and pedestrians pass between ground-level shops and street trees. The university district’s commercial activity reaches directly to the edge of its housing.
Construction beside the Hongdae entrance
A building site wrapped in green screening occupies one side of the junction. Across from it, shop signs cover several floors of a commercial building. Construction and operating businesses face each other across the same crossing.
Namsan beyond the rooftops
The roofs of low houses and mid-rise buildings overlap closely. Namsan and its tower appear in the distance, with a large rectangular building in the foreground. The elevated view reveals differences in building height that are less apparent from the street.
Shops toward Seogyo Apartments
Low shop buildings and tall vertical signs gather across the junction. Cars pass on the roadway, and wires run between buildings. The scene records a stretch of small businesses near the university’s main entrance.
The open parking area opposite the university
Cars fill a broad space across from the university. Commercial buildings of varying sizes and their signs line the far side. Parking occupies a substantial area in the middle of the university neighborhood.
Signs and walkers at an alley entrance
Signs for several businesses cover the walls at the entrance to a Hongdae alley. People walk along the pavement and road edge beside parked vehicles. The scene brings together businesses sharing a building and movement through a narrow street.
An alley layered with signs
Restaurant signs and awnings crowd both sides of the narrow lane. A large painting covers one wall as people walk between the shops. The confined path and stacked signs reveal how closely these businesses stood together.
A junction near Seobong Gallery
Buildings of different heights and shapes stand beyond the junction. Traffic lights and wires hang above passing cars. The view brings the main road and the entrances to adjoining streets into one frame.
An open intersection under the signals
Traffic lanes spread across the foreground of the broad intersection. People appear beside the shops on the left and along the pavement on the right. The width and branching directions of the road dominate this view.
Crossing together
Several people cross the zebra crossing side by side. Shop signs and a truck are visible on the far side. For this brief moment, the intersection becomes a passage for people on foot.
A narrow lane beside café steps
A café sign stands above the steps on the right. Shops sit under striped awnings while people pass through the narrow central lane. The entrances to upstairs businesses form part of the streetscape too.
Cars passing the crossing
Two white cars pass in front of the zebra crossing. A long row of low commercial buildings lines the opposite side. Vehicles, pedestrians and shops share this cross-section of the street.
Looking down Hongik-ro
Shop signs overlap along both sides of the descending road. Cars follow its slope in a line. The long view shows Hongik-ro linking the university area with the surrounding streets.
Painted walls along the shops
Colorful paintings run beneath a red-striped awning. People walk through the middle of the lane, passing signs and objects outside the shops. Even the outer walls have become part of the shops’ displays.
A tree-lined street with buses
A bus and cars travel along the road beside the street trees. People walk past buildings carrying signs on their upper floors. Through traffic and visits to local shops occupy neighboring strips of the same street.
Between cars outside the main gate
Cars and pedestrians share the broad space in front of Hongik University. Signs cover several floors of the buildings behind them. Parking areas and shops stood close to the university entrance.
The neighborhood seen from inside the gate
People pass beside the gate pillar while someone sits on the steps reading an open sheet of paper. A photo booth stands on the left, with roads and shops beyond the gate. Movement and brief pauses share this boundary between campus and neighborhood.
Walking and pausing beside a mural
People walk past a wall covered in paintings. Others sit close to a shop entrance. The narrow alley accommodates both movement and brief pauses.
Footsteps across Hongik-ro
Cars wait behind people crossing the road. Shop signs, including Burger King, line both sides. Movement along Hongik-ro meets movement across it at this crossing.
Cars and a motorcycle on the road
A motorcycle passes among the cars. Street trees and shop signs line both sides of the road. Different forms of transport share the same stretch of Hongik-ro.
Housing and shops facing Hongik-ro
The long Seogyo Apartment building stands to the right, opposite a row of shop signs. People walk on the pavement close to traffic. Housing and commerce face each other across a single road.
A yellow bus along the street
A yellow-and-white bus passes on the left. The road bends gently between shop buildings and street trees. The large vehicle gives a sense of the street’s width and the scale of the surrounding buildings.
A crossing beside construction screens
A large building and construction screens rise behind people crossing the street. Yellow fabric hangs among the screens. Construction was underway beside the university streets as everyday traffic continued.
People gathered at the junction
People stand near the junction or walk in different directions. Cars pass between the construction site and the shops behind them. Pedestrian movement, traffic and building work overlap in this scene.
Projecting signs in a side lane
A line of projecting shop signs runs along the right side of the narrow lane. Steps and small displays stand outside the entrances. The scale of the shops and the width of the route change just off the main road.
Hongik-ro filled with buses and cars
Buses and cars travel in both directions along Hongik-ro. People gather on the pavements beneath signs mounted high on the buildings. Traffic and pedestrians form separate streams along this main university street.
The junction beneath direction signs
Cars pass beneath road signs pointing in several directions. Shops and zebra crossings occupy the corners on either side. The image records the meeting of signs, lanes and street corners outside the university.
Seogyo Apartment outside the university
Windows and balconies repeat along the long Seogyo Apartment building. Shops and houses of different sizes crowd its surroundings. The elevated view reveals how closely residential and commercial spaces met outside the university.
1990s–2011 · Some images undated
Close to the stage
Drug and Baljeonso, Crying Nut and Masterplan lead into the years of Club Day. Performers, listeners, DJs and dancers all occupy these spaces.
The source dates this scene to the 1990s; the exact year is unconfirmed.
The circular platform at Baljeonso
Two people stand on a circular platform at Baljeonso, with others seated around its edge. Lights and pipes are visible beneath the low ceiling. The photograph records the close arrangement of the platform and seating in a 1990s club.
The source dates this scene to the 1990s; the exact year is unconfirmed.
No Brain in motion at Drug
No Brain performs against a wall covered in graffiti at Drug. A figure in front lifts one leg high while a musician plays guitar behind him. Movement and live music fill the compact interior together.
Photographed in Sinchon, included as a record of the connected university-district music scene.
Crying Nut performing on a Sinchon street
Spectators gather behind the band on a red floor. The singer in front and the guitarist farther back strike different poses during the performance. Taken in Sinchon in 1997, the photograph adds a neighboring university district to the story of Hongdae’s bands.
Identified in the research report as a 1998 Masterplan performance, included as a record of the wider music scene.
A close view of the Masterplan stage
Two performers hold microphones beneath a low ceiling. Overhead pipes and the wall behind the performers appear close by. This record of a 1998 Masterplan performance provides context for the music scene around Hongdae.
A frame of a 1997 performance, reproduced with later captions in a 2026 article. The exact venue is unconfirmed.
A recorded frame from Crying Nut’s 1997 performance
A vertical frame from a performance video shows the band and a closely gathered audience. Later explanatory text remains above and below the scene. A 2026 article identifies it as a 1997 performance of “Maldallija,” while the exact venue is unconfirmed.
At the Club Day reception desk
Red printed materials, lists and writing tools cover the reception table. People reach across the desk as they handle the items. This photograph records the entrance to the Art Lounge party marking the 100th Club Day in 2009.
A crowded floor at M2
People crowd the floor of M2 in this view from above. Ceiling fixtures and beams of light overlap above the crowd. The scene was photographed on October 30, 2010, around Halloween.
M2 as pictured in a 2011 magazine; the shooting date is unconfirmed.
The crowd seen from M2’s DJ booth
The view from behind the DJ includes both mixing equipment and the audience. Blue light spreads over the crowd, where some people raise their hands. The image appeared in a 2011 magazine, but its exact shooting date is unknown.
Super Kidd and the front-row audience
Super Kidd performs under red lighting. Among the audience close to the stage, someone raises a camera toward the musicians. The scene comes from Club Day at Soundholicity in January 2011.
Nabimat beneath blue lights
Musicians holding guitars stand across the stage. The audience forms overlapping dark silhouettes under blue light. The view shows the compact arrangement of a venue where performers and listeners face one another.
A notice and a queue outside M2
People waiting to enter line up beside a large notice on the wall. Light from the entrance reaches across the wall and pavement. The photograph shows M2 in January 2011, when a notice announced the temporary suspension of Club Day.
The red stage at Spot
A red-lit stage appears at the far end of the dark room. Audience members’ heads and shoulders fill the foreground. The photograph looks toward Copy Machine’s performance from the crowd at Club Spot.
NB2 as pictured in a 2013 research report; the shooting date is unconfirmed.
The NB2 entrance seen from the street
The “nb2” sign and entrance occupy the building’s lower level. A red awning upstairs and nearby shops reveal other uses within the same structure. Published in a 2013 research report, this undated photograph is not presented as a view from the 1990s.
2005–2010
Making, displaying and meeting
Small tables and mats bring people together in Hongik Park. Browsing and conversations around handmade goods reveal another strand of street culture.
Pausing beside a display of small ornaments
Small ornaments fill a table and upright display boards. Passersby stop close to the objects to look at them. A strip of walking space near Hongdae Playground has become a compact stall.
Stalls beside the traffic
A small stall stands immediately beside the road. Notices hang across its front as people pass nearby. The market around the park meets the flow of street traffic at close quarters.
The broad crossing beside the playground
Several people walk across the broad zebra crossing. Large windows and a structure under construction appear behind them. Pedestrian routes around the park share the frame with changes to the surrounding buildings.
A stall spread along the park’s edge
Clothing and other goods are laid out on the ground at the edge of the park. Standing signs and a low fence appear behind them. This corner of the market uses a patch of ground in place of a permanent shop.
People outside a clothing shop
Clothes and accessories hang beyond the shop entrance. Several people stand in front, looking at the display. The indoor shop and the browsing space on the pavement meet at its doorway.
Gathering around goods on the ground
People gather around small objects spread out on the ground. Some bend down or squat to inspect them more closely. The scene records the lowered viewpoints of browsing at a ground-level stall.
A pause in front of a painted wall
People sit in front of a wall covered with colorful paintings. Trees and paths continue beside them through the park. Places to rest sit close to the spaces used for buying and selling.
Pedestrians filling the crossing
People follow the zebra crossing in different directions. Shop signs and awnings overlap behind them on both sides. The frame captures movement between the shops and park across the road.
The Free Market beyond a display table
Jewelry and small objects line the table in the foreground. Clothing racks, other stalls and browsing visitors appear beyond it. The composition leads the eye from a single display into the wider market.
Pizza boxes outside the shop
Open pizza boxes and paper cups line a long table. People stand close to it beneath the pizza shop’s sign. The pavement outside the food shop has become a gathering place.
A market under the trees
Stalls and goods spread across the park’s paved ground. People walk between them or sit to inspect the items. The open space beneath the trees has been divided into many small selling areas.
The Hongik Park Free Market: then and later
The market in August 2005 and March 2010. Seasons and viewpoints differ, but both images show how stalls and visitors use the paths and open spaces of Hongik Park.
Later refers to the more recent photograph in the pair, not the present day.
Hongdae Free Market from above
Stalls and people fill the park beyond the steps. Browsing routes weave between umbrellas and trees. The elevated viewpoint reveals how the market occupies the park as a whole.
Looking down on the Free Market
Goods are displayed beneath white parasols and on nearby tables. Visitors move along the paths between trees. A slightly elevated viewpoint shows both the market’s layout and the routes through it.
Goods along a low wall
Small objects rest on red fabric spread across a low wall. People sit or stand in front of the display. A boundary structure in the park has become a market counter.
Looking closely at an object in hand
One person holds an object up for a closer look. Others gather near the display table. The small distance between people and goods defines this market encounter.
A crowded place to browse
Several people gather at a small stall to look at its goods. The colors of fabric bags and summer clothing overlap with the display. Visitors share a small patch of space as they browse.
Objects and visitors at the Free Market
Small objects sit on a table covered with white cloth. Beyond it are visitors browsing displays and signs on nearby shops. The playground’s pedestrian space serves as a place to present and choose goods.
A path through the Free Market
People move along a broad path between trees. Tables and chairs line its sides, with taller buildings behind them. This 2010 scene brings the park market and its urban surroundings into the same view.
Small stalls outside Hongik Park
Small stalls line the street by the park entrance. People browse the goods or pass along the space between them. Market activity reaches from the park toward the surrounding storefronts.
2005–2010 · Some images undated
Everyday places beyond the stage
Shop windows, pavement displays, low houses in Sangsu-dong and pedestrian spaces record the neighborhood beyond its music venues.
Clothes and decorations behind glass
Clothes and decorations fill the view through a red entrance and glass doors. Round graphics and lettering cover the glass, while displays reach the doorway. The shop presents its individual style directly to the Hongik-ro sidewalk.
Crossing Hongik-ro
A roadway stretches between shops, with pedestrians crossing farther ahead. Cars stand along the curb and shop signs line the sidewalks. This 2005 view shows how closely foot traffic and vehicles shared Hongik-ro.
Shops across the road
Cars pass in front of several floors of shops. Signs of different sizes cover the buildings, with storefront entrances along the lower levels. The view looks across the roadway at the commercial spaces of Hongik-ro.
A board-game sign beside parked motorcycles
A vertical board-game sign stands beside a row of motorcycles. Pedestrians walk along the pavement next to them. Shop advertising and parked vehicles occupy the edges of this walking route.
A broad sidewalk on Hongik-ro
People pass along a sidewalk shaded by trees. Red and gray paving blocks lead toward shop buildings and signs. The photograph records a busy pedestrian space in the university district in 2005.
Seats beside a café window
People and tables line the inside of a large café window. Reflections of the street overlap the interior. From the sidewalk, the photograph catches a glimpse of time spent indoors on Hongik-ro.
Walking past a menu board
A freestanding board with food photographs stands beside passing pedestrians. Trees and storefront entrances follow the same line of pavement. The menu advertises places to eat close to the eye level of people on foot.
Passing a display of bags
Bags hang in rows along a shop wall and display racks. People pass through the narrow space in front of them. The area for browsing merchandise meets the route used by pedestrians.
Pedestrians and a motorcycle by the shops
People walk past a row of shop signs. A motorcycle and its rider appear close to the camera on the left. Walking and motor traffic overlap within this view of the university district.
Traffic at Seogyo-dong intersection
Cars and a yellow vehicle gather at the intersection. Commercial buildings of different heights line the road with their signs. This 2005 view records Seogyo-dong traffic looking toward Donggyo-dong intersection.
Red-brick walls in a Sangsu-dong lane
Red-brick walls and low houses line a fork in the lane. Cars are parked beside the walls, with wires overhead. This residential corner of Sangsu-dong has a different scale from the busy main streets.
A lane between gates and walls
House gates and brick walls follow a narrow lane. A red awning and weathered walls appear close to the camera. The view shows how Sangsu-dong homes meet the street at their thresholds.
Signs along a curving street
Shops and signs rise on both sides of a gently curving street. Low bollards mark the edge of the pavement. The 2010 photograph shows the storefronts and pedestrian space of Saemulgyeol 1-gil.
A lane opening onto Dongmak-gil
Across the main road, a lane opens between low buildings. Wires cross overhead and more shop signs appear farther inside. The photograph records a meeting point between Dongmak-gil and the spaces behind it.
Homi Art Shop’s building and neighboring stores
Signs and awnings from several shops cover a long, low commercial building. Upper windows and rooftop structures also enter the frame. The source identifies this part of the Hongdae street as the Homi Art Shop building.
Painted walls beside a walking space
A low wall painted with a heart and a face stands beside the pedestrian area. Brick buildings and shop entrances rise behind it. On Saemulgyeol 1-gil, pictures and color also occupied the spaces between storefronts.
Steps and resting space on Saemulgyeol 2-gil
Steps and low planting beds occupy a broad pedestrian area. Buildings of different shapes and shop signs surround it. Changes in level create walking routes distinct from the vehicle roadway.
Glass façades and traffic on Jandari-gil
A road runs beside a building with a blue-glass façade. Low shops across the way and passing vehicles also appear in the frame. Different building heights and materials meet in this 2010 view of Jandari-gil.
Published in a 2011 article; the shooting date is unconfirmed.
The parking street by Seogyo 365
Cars stand closely together in front of low commercial buildings. Shop signs and pedestrians line both sides of the road. Published in a 2011 article about Seogyo 365 and the parking street, the photograph has no confirmed shooting date.
Which city’s old photos would you like to see next?
Tell us which city you’d like to see in the comments below. We’ll look for old photos of the cities you suggest first.
Beyond the photos, our stories
All comments 0
Share the memories these photos bring back.
No memories yet. Share the first one.