Travel: Hello Kitty Cafe at Hongdae, Seoul, Korea

Several months back, Singapore’s flagship carrier SIA had a crazy cheap promotion for tickets to Seoul –  I think it was about $600ish, versus the usual $800+ for a ticket. That’s why so many people are heading to Korea these few months. My money went to Korean Air though, since my lifelong goal is to support South Korea’s GDP. That, and also because I wasn’t fast enough – the dates I was available to fly on were all booked. meh 😦

Anyhoos, if you’re heading to Seoul soon, you can check out this place at Hongdae. It may not be the manliest / coolest place to be seen at, but hey, it’s a novelty cafe and you get to rest your tired feet (trust me, you’ll need the rest since it’s at Hongdae and there’s plenty to walk and see).

Hongdae in the daytime

Hongdae in the day time is a stark difference from its super bustling and fun nighttime scenes

 

 

Presenting… the Hello Kitty Cafe

Yet another photo of my pal Jasmine – when two people go on a trip, our cameras usually only have photos of the other party, which is why you won’t be seeing many photos of me. haha. That, and also because I think I take pretty nice photos.

Inconsiderate tourists from Taiwan/China who refused to budge (even though I hovered around outdoors for a good 5-10 minutes in the cold winds) and spoiled my picture.

Retreating into the thankful warmth of the cafe – this is what you see the moment you walk in.

The Kitty-themed food pieces

My order – the Chocolate Banana Waffle (KRW4,000) and Jasmine’s latte (KRW4,200) with a V-line jawed Hello Kitty. She took a sip of the drink before I could do food paparazzi heh. The food doesn’t taste fantastic, but neither does it suck – remember, this is a cafe centred around the Hello Kitty concept, not for awesome food.

Moving upstairs (this is level 1.5 cos it’s in between levels 1 and 2) to get a seat. See the order counter and the height difference? This is what I mean by level 1.5.

Another concussed tourist snoozing in the corner… but what’s that behind her?

Zomg family portrait of Kitty!

When there’s input, there must be output. As I headed to the toilet, I spotted this – the staircase leading to level 2. There’s even a stickman with a Kitty head telling you to be careful when taking the steps (enlarged photo from misstamchiak here) – I kinda regret not sitting upstairs, but it was FLOODED with tourists and I just couldn’t find a seat. UGH.

Kitty-themed toilet. What, no sandbox?

And the dudes’ toilet. I’m surprised there wasn’t a Kitty (or Dear Daniel) urinal lol.

The wall along the corridor leading to the toilets

Random showcases with products for sale. Thankfully I’m more inclined towards fashion and beauty purchases, or else I’d have swiped my card to oblivion here (not that I hadn’t already done it at the Sulwhasoo and Amore Pacific counters)

Here’s a map on how you can get there BUT I’d advise that you just do a leisurely stroll once you come out from the station. Somehow, I’ve managed to find my way here everytime without using a map or needing landmarks.Some blogs state that you should come out via Exit 5 of Hongik University station whilst others say Exit 9. To be honest I can’t remember which exit I came out by -sheepish face- BUT trust me, it’s worth the wandering around. There’s really a lot of things to see / shop at Hongdae (blog post coming up soon, I promise!)

For more information, visit the Hello Kitty Cafe website (but it’s mostly in Korean). 

You can also ask any of the Korean shop owners along the stretch – say “Annyeong Haseyo. Hok-shi… Hell-low Kitty ka-peh oh-dee-eh-oh?” It’s actually slightly grammatically incorrect but it gets the gist across (If you’re up for the challenge, try 안녕하세요. 혹시 헬로키티카패 어디인지아세요? Annyeong Haseyo. Hok-shi… Hell-low Kitty ka-peh oh-dee-inn-jee ah-seh-yo?”)