SEOUL · HONGDAE GUIDE
Hongik University Station to Yeonnam-dong: A Walking Guide
Take Exit 3 of Hongik University Station — it has an escalator and leads directly into Yeonnam-dong and the start of the Gyeongui Line Forest Park (nicknamed 'Yeontral Park'). The walk to the park itself is about 10 minutes. A quick loop through the park and the nearest streets takes roughly 1–2 hours; building in a coffee stop and a meal in Yeonnam-dong turns it into a comfortable 2–4 hour route.
Finding Exit 3: Orientation at the Station
Hongik University Station sits in Seoul's Mapo-gu district and functions as a genuine interchange — Line 2, the Airport Railroad (AREX), and the Gyeongui–Jungang Line all meet here. With three subway lines converging, the station has nine exits total, and it's easy to surface facing the wrong direction if you're not paying attention to signage. Travelers arriving from Incheon Airport via AREX, or transferring from Line 2's loop, both need to navigate the same underground layout before choosing an exit.
For Yeonnam-dong specifically, Exit 3 is the one to use. It has an escalator, which matters if you're carrying luggage or just don't want to climb stairs after a subway ride, and it surfaces facing toward Yeonnam-dong and the entrance to the Gyeongui Line Forest Park. Use this as a simple decision rule: if your goal for the next few hours is the park, Yeonnam-dong's café streets, and a slower pace, take Exit 3. If your goal is Hongdae's main shopping strip, street food stalls, and busking crowds, take Exit 9 instead — Exit 8 sits right beside it as a slightly less crowded alternative. The two exits point in opposite directions, so it's worth deciding which experience you want before you climb the escalator.
A 2–4 Hour Route: From Exit 3 Through Yeontral Park and Yeonnam-dong
Coming up from Exit 3, you walk almost immediately into the Gyeongui Line Forest Park, a long green corridor created by covering over a decommissioned section of the old Gyeongui railway line. The full park stretches roughly 6.3 kilometers through the city, but you don't need to walk anywhere near that distance to build a satisfying route — the section closest to the station, in Yeonnam-dong, is the most famous stretch and is locally nicknamed 'Yeontral Park,' a play on Yeonnam-dong and New York's Central Park. It's the section people mean when they say they're 'going to the park' near Hongdae.
A workable sequence for this walk runs: Exit 3 → into the Yeonnam-dong section of the park, following the lawns and the small artificial stream → a short detour off the park into Yeonnam-dong's side streets for coffee → deeper into the neighborhood for a meal → back toward the station, or further along the park if you still have energy. There's no fixed pace for this — skip the food and coffee stops and you're looking at the 1–2 hour version built around the park alone; add both, and 2–4 hours is a realistic, unhurried budget. On weekends especially, expect the lawns dotted with people picnicking and drinking canned or craft beer near the stream, which is worth factoring into how much time you allow for that first stretch.
Detours for Food and Coffee
Yeonnam-dong's streets around the park are dense with small restaurants, and a few names worth having on your radar as you plan the meal portion of this route include Donsoobaek Hongdae, Cheongdonok, and Hongs Jjukkumi Hongdae — all sit within the broader Hongdae dining scene that spills into Yeonnam-dong's quieter blocks. Because this guide focuses on the walking route rather than restaurant-by-restaurant reviews, treat these as starting points for your own detour rather than a fixed itinerary, and confirm current hours, menus, and whether reservations are needed before you go, since none of that was independently verified for this piece.
If you want a coffee break to fold into the earlier part of the walk, Anthracite Hapjeong is a well-known name in the wider Hongdae-adjacent café scene and a reasonable option, though its exact distance from the station or from Yeonnam-dong itself wasn't confirmed in our research. Given how quickly small businesses in this neighborhood open, close, or change hands, it's worth checking a map app or the venue's own listing shortly before you visit rather than relying solely on this guide for real-time accuracy.
Where to Base Yourself, and Timing the Visit
If you're structuring a trip around this walk, several hotels cluster tightly near Hongik University Station. L7 Hongdae is reported to be about a five-minute walk from the station, and RYSE Hotel sits near the same cluster of exits and Hongdae's core streets. Third-party booking listings place Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hongdae roughly 0.06 miles from L7 Hongdae and roughly 0.09 miles from RYSE Hotel, indicating all three sit within the same tight cluster near the station. Holiday Inn Express Seoul Hongdae is also in the immediate area as a more budget-oriented option. Any of these makes a workable bookend for a morning or evening walk to Yeonnam-dong without needing a taxi or bus to get started.
For timing, treat the walk as flexible rather than fixed: a quick look at Yeontral Park alone can reasonably be done in 1 to 2 hours, while the fuller version — park, a café detour, and a meal in Yeonnam-dong — fits comfortably into 2 to 4 hours and works well as a self-contained half-day plan before or after other Hongdae plans. Expect the lawns to be busiest on weekend afternoons. One planning note worth flagging: unofficial sources mention a possible future Exit 8-1 near Exit 9, targeted for completion later this decade, which could eventually shift exit-based directions at this station — if you're reading this guide well after 2026, it's worth double-checking current exit signage before you commit to Exit 3.
Places in this guide
Frequently asked questions
Which exit do I take from Hongik University Station to reach Yeonnam-dong?
Exit 3. It has an escalator and surfaces facing toward Yeonnam-dong and the entrance to the Gyeongui Line Forest Park, sometimes called 'Yeontral Park.'
How long should I budget for this walk?
The station-to-neighborhood stretch itself is about 10 minutes. A quick look at the park and immediate streets takes 1 to 2 hours; add a café stop and a meal in Yeonnam-dong, and a comfortable route runs 2 to 4 hours.
Is this the same direction as Hongdae's main shopping and busking street?
No — that's the opposite direction. Exit 9 (with Exit 8 nearby) leads to Hongdae's main shopping street and busking crowds; take that instead if that's your priority. Exit 3 leads toward Yeonnam-dong and the park.
Where can I stay near the start of this walk?
L7 Hongdae and RYSE Hotel are both reported close to the station, with Mercure Ambassador Seoul Hongdae (about 0.06 miles from L7, about 0.09 miles from RYSE per third-party listings) and Holiday Inn Express Seoul Hongdae also nearby. Confirm current rates and availability directly, as these weren't verified for this guide.
Sources & methodology
Away Edition checked official tourism listings, business websites, and current public listings. Time-sensitive details should be confirmed directly. Inclusion is editorial and does not imply payment.