Drinking spots in Hongdae — soju bars, beer halls, pojangmacha and makgeolli houses.
Hongdae has 144 bars and pubs licensed and operating within 800 m, as of 2026-08-11.Source: business-licence data published by Korea's Ministry of the Interior and Safety. Updated daily; closed businesses excluded.
The area around Hongik University — live music venues, late-opening bars and student-priced food. It gets busiest after 9pm.
Korean drinking is built around anju — food ordered alongside the alcohol, not optional in most places. Soju and beer are the standard pair (mixed together it is called somaek); makgeolli, a cloudy rice brew, is usually drunk with savoury pancakes. Pouring your own glass is avoided: you pour for others and they pour for you.
Ordered by how complete each public record is and how long the licence has been held — not a popularity ranking. Opening hours, prices and ratings are not in this data.