Seoul’s once industrial Sindang-dong district is an up and coming hipster hang-out that young locals love. It houses some very chill hidden cafes, restaurants and bars earning it the nickname ‘Hipdang-dong’.
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From craft beer bars to cabaret, Tteokbokki street to traditional markets, Singdang is super-cool at the moment but less known than say Seongsu-dong or Hannam-dong.
Easily combined with neighboring Dongdaemun, Sindang is an interesting Seoul neighborhood to visit and enjoy some drinks and dinner.
Here is our guide to the best of Sindang in Seoul.
How to get to Sindang
Sindang is located a short walk away from the Dongdaemun neighbourhood (where the Dongdaemun Design Plaza is located).
You can also take the subway to Sindang Station which served by Line 2 (green) and Line 6 (brown). Sindang is also served by various bus routes.
Remember to use a T-Money card on the Seoul Metro – you can buy one in advance from Klook >
South Korea checklist
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For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, Trazy or Klook.
For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >
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All set for South Korea? Do one final check with our Seoul first timers guide and our South Korea packing list
Things to do in Sindang
Mailroom Sindang 메일룸
Special delivery! We found this quirky little Sindang cafe, themed like a post office (but sadly you can’t post souvenirs from here but the coffee is great).
We highly recommend Mailroom Sindang 메일룸, a fun way to enjoy some sweet treats and enjoy some drinks in amazing surroundings; it is very Instagramable too (google maps link).
Themed like an antique post office, you enter the cafe through a secret door to the right of the counter (it reminds us of Ranch Bar in Euljiro where you enter through a fridge door).
Once past the door you order your drinks and snacks through a hatch and they give you a key and a buzzer! Once the buzzer goes off, you open a small mailroom style box to reveal your drinks!
We found the first floor the nicest area to sit but they have several stories including a small roof terrace on the top floor.
You might like – Our guide to things to do in Seoul at night >
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Jungang Market
A traditional Korean market by day and fine foodie place at night, Jungang Market in Sindang is a marvellous mix of old and new Seoul.
By day, it is awash with elderly stall holders and farmers selling everything from ginseng to grilled squid – you’ll find lots of fresh foods including vegetables, fruit and even a dedicated area just selling fresh fish (just follow your nose).
But come here early in the evening and you are in for a very different vibe – daytime stall-holders are closing up their stalls and joining other vendors for Makgeolli or soju (best served with gossip).
After dark, several HoF bars open up (the Korean version of izakayas) and renowned restaurants like La Calle (more on this in a moment open their shutters).
South Korea Hallyu tip – if you are spending several hours in Sindang, note this is one of the few places where there is a free / very clean toilet block (otherwise, grab a drink in a cafe and use their ‘facilities’).
You might like – Our guide to Gwangjang Market or Myeongdong Night Market
Sindang-dong Tteokbokki street
Signposted by a huge cartoon statue of a huge bowl of Tteokbokki (the famous Korean street food consisting of rice cakes in a spicy gochujang sauce), this is perhaps what Sindang used to be best known for until it was reinvented as a hipster hotspot.
Seoul’s Tteokbokki street has around a dozen or so eateries each with their own unique take on tteokbokki – some have been around for decades whilst others are more recent.
Many of the more established tteokbokki restaurants have photos and autographs on the walls and exterior showing which Korean stars and dignitaries have eaten there.
Established in the 1970s as Tteokbokki town, some stores here been around even longer since the 1950s like Mabongnim Halmeoni (Grandma’s) Tteokbokki – not to be confused with Grandma’s Beer, our favorite bar chain in South Korea.
Other famous tteokbokki restaurants here include Samdae Halmeonne and I Love Sindang-dong.
One thing to be aware of, some of the restaurants here are a little ‘touty’ – similar to say Kalguksu Alley. Competition is rife as there are so many tteokbokki restaurants so some of the staff are overly keen to get you in and will wave and beckon at you enthusiastically.
The reviews for each can be quite varied so use the Korean app Naver maps to check star ratings before you go in.
You might like – Our guide to Korea’s best street foods or our South Korean food and drink hub
Kokkari Brewery, Sindang
As you’d expect from somewhere fast becoming one of the hippest districts in Seoul, there are lots of new bars popping up in and around Jungang Market.
In one of Sindang’s alleys and in the shadow of Jungang Market, we discovered Kokkori Brewery – we’d just come from a sold out Seoul baseball game in Jamsil so this cool and chilled craft beer bar was a welcome retreat.
Whilst one of the more expensive Seoul breweries and taprooms we visited, the Kokkori brewery beer quality is good.
On our May 2025 visit, there were 16 different craft beers on tap including a smoked beer, sour ale, fruit beer and a peanut beer porter (there are lots of European style lagers to try). However we weren’t brave enough to try 10% ABV Quadrupel!
You might like our guides to the best Seoul craft beer bars or Busan’s best craft beer bars.
Apothecary Cafe
Cool beans – where warehouse chic meets cracking iced coffees, Apothecary cafe / Kafe is a converted 60‑year‑old rice warehouse, and perhaps the best known coffee shop in Sindang with an almost beach vibe to it.
Head into a vast industrial building with a high ceiling and wooden rafters – sit down in one of the brightly colored chairs and order at the counter.
Based on our visit in May 2025, Apothecary Cafe is popular with studying students (the free Wi-Fi is so fast) and young couples, with lots of room for big groups.
You might like – Our guide to the best day trips from Seoul including the DMZ
La Calle Mexican
This Mexican street food stall is located inside Jungang Market and serves up some very tasty tacos with blue corn tortillas!
Spaces at the food stall are limited so make sure you arrive early to claim a seat. They are open Tuesday to Sunday from 5pm (plus from 12pm-3pm on Saturdays and Sundays). There are a couple of booth seating areas at the back, plus counter seats.
The prices are on the slightly higher side for Korea, but we’d rate them as some of the most authentic tacos we’ve tried in Seoul.
Make sure you try the al pastor pork tacos as they were our favourite! Mexican beer, cocktails, tequila and mezcal drinks are also on the menu.
Like Sindang? Have a fun night out in Seoul’s Euljiro AKA Hipjiro >
ShowFlix 쇼플릭
A musical bar and unique thing to do in Seoul at night, Sindang’s Showflix (we see what they did there!) combines cabaret and live performances with dinner and drinks.
Open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday through Sunday, every 30 minutes during your meal, a different performer will appear on stage – it is immersive too as performers might even leap off the stage to interact or bring you more drinks.
Check out this Showflix ‘dine and drink while watching a musical’ in Seoul’ via Klook or Trazy.
You might like – Our guide to the best K-pop activities in Seoul >
Phyps Mart
There are lots of trendy clothing stores and fine fashion outlets in Sindang so we couldn’t possibly name them all. However, one that really stood out on our Seoul Sindang-dong trips is Phyps Mart, the first physical shop of the Korean clothing company Physical Education Dept.
Phyps Mart Sindang is themed like a vintage American supermarket and clothes are hung up and displayed in chiller cabinets, vending machines and other aesthetically pleasing ways.
As well as clothes and fashion, Phyps Mart has an LP / vinyl section plus sells selected snacks.
You might like – Our guide to Seoul’s best shopping malls and districts >
Zoo Singdang
We’ve already talked about Sindang Kokkari craft beer bar but if cocktails are more your thing, pay a visit to Zoo Singdang, one of Seoul’s best speakeasy bars.
Via an unassuming entrance, to gain access to the bar, push the waving cat / neko statue – your Zoo experience is about to start…
With opulent interiors and signature cocktails based around the zodiac (expect dry ice galore and decadent drink styling), enhance your evening with a range of epicurean treats all finished with free ice-cream. Cocktails start from around 16,000 Korean Won as of summer 2025.
Given Zoo Singdang’s popularity, you may need to make reservations at the weekend.
You might like these Seoul neighbourhood guides:
Dongdaemun
Euljiro
Gangnam
Hannam-dong
Hongdae
Ikseon-dong
Insadong
Itaewon
Myeong-dong
Seongsu-dong
Sindang
Or check out our best neighbourhoods in Seoul Guide >
Myungin Alley
A tiny one lane street so small that you have to squeeze in if others are coming, Myungin Alley used to be a bustling business place full of Seoul’s specialist craftspeople like metal-workers, woodworkers and blacksmiths.
An interesting thing to do in Sindang and like taking a step back in time, Myungin Alley is a hark back to Seoul of yesteryear and an interesting place to walk around (in between all the cafe hopping that Sindang is becoming famous for).
You might like – Our guide to the best Korean SIMs and eSIMs plus prices >
Nyunyu / Mimiline
Towards Dongdaemun and the DDP, join the bargain hunters at wholesale fashion and jewellery stores Mimiline and Nyunyu – these are popular chain shops with branches all over Seoul usually in high footfall areas like Hongdae and Gangnam.
Here you can buy everything from embroidery patches to LEGO keyrings, tote bags to miniature charms and mobile cases.
Often you get a discount if you buy more than one of something and both stores have several storeys of souvenirs, clothes and keepsakes – we found them REALLY busy at the weekends so if you don’t like queuing, go on a weekday.
You might like – Things to do in Seoul with kids including a Korean baseball game
Sindang Photo booths
One of the most fun things to do in Sindang at night (or any time of day really), Korean photo booth stores are dotted all around the local area, including Picdot and Sindangisnap.
Selfie kiosks in Sindang are neon-infused photo shops (usually unmanned) where you can borrow clothes and fun props (like vegetable hats, big sunglasses, animal paw gloves etc) and then pose for selfies or take photos in booths for a small fee.
You might like our guide to using a Korean photo booth >
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