Amazing Tour through Hongdae’s Indie Music Scene – by Zozno

Zozno is an accomplished indie musician based in Hongdae. Hongdae is not only the hip place to be in Seoul – the café scene alone is amazing – but also home to a cluster of indie musicians and their support networks. Tourists pulling their suitcases through Hongdae don’t have a clue about this fantastic music scene. Zozno took me on an amazing journey: How indie musicians in Hongdae connect, support each other, carve out a living, and who supports them. He introduced me to Unplugged Acoustic Café (UAC) that hosts concerts of indie musicians and open mics.

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UAC is also home to UNDORI, a golden retriever who’s always snoozing on the sofa at the café’s entrance (he sports his own facebook page at unpluggeddog). That little poodle was a nasty little bugger – growled at me. 

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Then we stopped at Magic Strawberry Sound, an upcoming agency for indie musicians. Last but not least we went to Zozno’s studio, where he introduced me to his three-piece band’s story, his challenging path as a musician, and to the five albums they have recorded so far. It’s noteworthy that Zozno is also one of those artists who is very organized and professional. We did a little jam, he on the ukulele, I on percussion. 

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As a finale, he performed three of his original songs. What made this experience so vibrant and inspiring was that he told the human story behind each song, bringing the context to life. Not only do I have a thorough understanding of the Hongdae music scene now, but I was very moved by Zozno’s authentic way, his stories and his music. I never new that this experience was on my bucket list. Thank you Zozno! Listen to Zozno on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeUsrrLZAhphJT6o6-nGLc2iARp4XPeZj

PS: This was an experience I booked through airbnb. Glad I did!