[Cultural Excursion] 'Hongdae Streets' with Mr. Jon Dunbar

TITLE: 'Hongdae Streets'

LEADER: Jon Dunbar


DATE: Saturday. October 18, 2025. 2:00PM


COST: KRW25,000 for RAS Korea lifetime and annual members; KRW30,000 for Non-members


MEETING POINT: At the top of the stairs of EXIT 7, Hongdae Station (홍대역, Subway Line No. 2, AREX, and Gyeongui-Jungang Line) at 2:00PM.


RSVP by October 17 (Friday) by clicking HERE https://forms.gle/CqyefBETouG8HAJc9 with payment of the fee via bank transfer.

RSVP: https://forms.gle/CqyefBETouG8HAJc9

Please register one RSVP at a time.

☞Payment to be remitted to the following account:
SHINHAN BANK ACCOUNT # 100-026-383501 (RAS-KB)

*Reservation is not confirmed until payment has been received by RAS Korea in advance of the event.


DESCRIPTION:

For about three decades, the area around Hongik University has been symbolic of youth culture in Korea. For years it was ground zero for the country’s live music scene, and in more recent years gentrification has changed its character to more of a tourism and shopping destination. Under all the sheen of bright lights and throbbing music, it’s still possible to find traces of what had been there before.

We will follow the old train routes of the Gyeongui, Sinchon, and Danginri Lines, and visit sites along the way such as Hongdae Playground, the former location of Duriban which centered around a 521-day anti-eviction sit-in protest, several live music venues past and present, and what might be the oldest extant graffiti in Korea. Stories of crazier times will be shared all along the way.

This walking excursion will set off at 2:00 pm from the top of Exit 7 of Hongdae Station (홍대역, Subway Line No. 2, AREX, Gyeongui-Jungang Line). The excursion will last until about 5:00 and end near Hongdae Station; participants may join afterwards for dinner and drinks (not included in the excursion fee) nearby.


LEADER:

Jon Dunbar has been a part of the Korean punk scene since December 2003. He’s published 39 issues of the punk zine Broke in Korea, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and the fiction novel “Hongdae Fire,” and operates Korea’s oldest remaining English-language blog, as well as managed the Korean Punk and Hardcore Facebook page, which has over 10,000 followers.

You may also like the following events from Royal Asiatic Society Korea:

• Next Saturday, 25th October, 02:00 pm, [Cultural Excursion] 'Exploring Itaewon's History' with Matt VanVolkenburg in Seoul
• This month, 28th October, 07:20 pm, [Lecture] '21st Century Korean Cinema: Stories, Culture, and the Unseen Language of Film' in Seoul

Also check out other Music events in Seoul, Entertainment events in Seoul, Meetups in Seoul.