Are you curious as to what Korea was like during the 70s and 80s?
If so, then I'm excited to share with you this popular bar in Hongdae called Adult Grand Park!
So, let's hop on our time machine together and check out Adult Grand Park.
Located in Hongdae, Adult Grand Park is a bar that provides a snapshot of what Korea was like in the 70s and 80s.
It is very popular among people in their 20s and 30s who are obsessed with anything Newtro.
Newtro is a popular youth culture trend in Korea that is known for its modern reinterpretation of retro and vintage design styles.
The name of this bar is a play on the name of an amusement park in Seoul for children called Children's Grand Park.
Therefore, if Children's Grand Park is for children, then Adult Grand Park is a place exclusively for adults!
Don't you think that the exterior of Adult Grand Park has a retro feel to it?
The colors green, red, and yellow were used to make this place stand out among the bustle of Hongdae's streets.
I loved the different twinkle lights that were used to decorate the exterior.
I bet this place is really pretty at night with all of the lights lit up.
When I went inside, I saw that there was a promotional event going on featuring Terra, which is a Korean beer.
For the event, if you ordered a Terra, then you could get a bunch of free Terra gear like stickers, a bottle opener, and even a camping set!
Behind the display for the Terra event, there was a statue of Atom, an animation character from back in the day.
I used to watch this cartoon as a child, so I was so excited when I saw him!
The interior of Adult Grand Park was much more spacious than I thought.
When I saw it from the outside, I thought that it would be your typical bar with just a long counter.
But there were actually a lot of seats.
Even if you were to come here on a weekend, I don't think you'd have to wait that long for a table.
I was so impressed with how the interior was decorated.
Adult Grand Park really captures what the vibe of the 70s and 80s was like in Korea.
I could see why this place is so popular with people who love all things retro.
The combination of the white columns and ceiling and dark wood furniture made me feel like I was in an old western movie.
The interior, just like the exterior, was decorated with twinkle lights.
There were yellow, red, blue, and green lights, and they added a soft brightness to this space.
I was amazed by all of the vintage signs and posters hanging on the walls.
What is really amazing about these props is that they are the originals from the 70s and 80s, not ones that were reprinted.
The owner of Adult Grand Park has been collecting these items for the past 20 years!
The owner started collecting these items since he was in high school.
As a student, he frequently visited Pungmul Shopping Center located on the Cheonggye Stream and hunted for all sorts of treasures from the past.
From old Coca-Cola bottles to cute dolls to even coin-operated public telephones used in the 70s, there are about 20,000 items in his collection now, and they fill Adult Grand Park.
There are these huge displays in the back of Adult Grand Park, and they are full of retro props!
Looking at old vinyl records, vintage Coca-Cola bottles, and toys from decades ago, I felt like I had stepped into a time machine.
Looking at all of these props made me think about how time flies!
It's really cool how the owner has continued to collect all of these things over the years.
On the other wall, there was another display full of props from the past.
While the display I showed you earlier was more cute, this one felt more grown-up with props more related to alcohol.
It was fun to see all of the old cassette tapes and small bottles of beer and liquor.
This was my favorite area of Adult Grand Park.
This is Music Box!
On nights when the bar is packed full of people, this is where you can request the DJ to play your favorite songs.
Source: pet paper
The inspiration for Music Box comes from music cafe culture that was popular during the 1980s in Korea.
Nowadays, anyone can easily listen to music via their personal devices.
But back in the day though before cellphones and the Internet were invented, many people went to music cafes to listen to music.
How it worked was you would write your song request on a piece of paper and hand it to the DJ.
The DJ would then look for your song among their many LPs and play it for the entire cafe to hear.
If you'd like to learn more about this music cafe culture in Korea, then click here.
To keep with the retro concept of Adult Grand Park, the DJs play songs that were popular from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
According to my friend who recently went, when a popular song from this era came on, everyone would start singing along to the track!
Doesn't that sound like so much fun?
I was a little disappointed that Music Box wasn't open on the day that we visited, but after I sat down, my disappointment quickly melted away.
The reason being that I sat at the exact table next to the window where Vincenzo and Hong Cha-Young from the drama Vincenzo sat!
As you can imagine, this table is the place to sit here, so we were lucky to be able to grab it.
Adult Grand Park was one of the filming locations in Seoul for Vincenzo.
If you want to check out other filming locations in Seoul for this drama, then click here.
When I saw the menu at Adult Grand Park, I laughed out loud!
It looked exactly like the board for Blue Marble, a board game that I played with my younger brother when we were kids.
Drinks are listed in the middle of the board while the food items are listed along the borders.
If you couldn't decide on what to eat, wouldn't it be fun to roll some dice to see what you should order?
I ordered the most popular menu items at Adult Grand Park, the Rosé Chicken and an Adult Draft Beer.
Rosé Chicken
19,500 won
When I ordered this dish, I thought it was just going to be chicken with rosé sauce, but there was also pasta in it.
It was like eating rosé tteokbokki with rigatoni noodles instead.
I picked up a piece of chicken, dipped it in the rosé sauce, and ate it!
The crispiness and saltiness of the Korean-style fried chicken with the thick and creamy rosé sauce was really delicious!
I've tried a lot of fusion dishes with rosé sauce such as rosé tteokbokki and rosé jjimdak.
This was definitely in the top three rosé dishes that I've tried!
I couldn't stop eating it.
Adult Draft Beer
4,000 won
We were really surprised when we got our draft beers.
I thought that it would come in a regular beer mug, but instead, it came out like this!
This bottle is the glass bottle that Korea's most famous brand of milk, Seoul Milk, used before the 1980s.
Seoul Milk now sells these bottles for those who enjoy collecting vintage items, but before they started doing this, one original bottle would sell for 100,000 won!
I had heard stories from my parents and seen pictures of this bottle, but this is the first time I had seen one in person.
If you're looking to experience something different in Hongdae, then visit Adult Grand Park in Hongdae.
Hop on this fun time machine back to the 70s and 80s!
Information
Address: 서울특별시 마포구 합정동 410-31
410-31 Hapjeong-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul
Transportation: Sangsu Station (Line 6) Exit 1
Hours:
Weekdays: 15:00-05:00
Weekends: 14:00-05:00
How To Get There
Take Line 6 to Sangsu Station.
Come out of exit 1, and go straight.
You'll come to this crosswalk.
Turn right after crossing the street.
After turning right, you'll see a side street on your left.
Turn left on this side street.
If you keep walking down this street, you'll see the green exterior of Adult Grand Park.
We hope you have fun like we did at Adult Grand Park!
