Why Seoul's Hongdae District Is Becoming a Global Hub for Anime Fans

On a recent afternoon near Mangwon Station in western Seoul, a small cafe was packed wall to wall with figurines from the Japanese manga series "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure." Order a cocktail, and a character figure comes with it. A 13,000-won drink called "ink" arrived at the table alongside a figure of the series' protagonist, Kujo Jotaro. The seats were filled with Korean fans, Japanese and Chinese visitors, and Western tourists who had traveled to find the place.

A short walk toward Hongik University Station, another bar has built its reputation by covering every surface, from the stairwell to the bathroom, in merchandise from the anime "Evangelion." Its hook is custom cocktails. Guests name a favorite character, and the bartender mixes a drink to match. Social media is full of photos of cocktails inspired by Reze from "Chainsaw Man" or Rei from "Evangelion."

What used to be a niche hobby has taken over the side streets of Hongdae, Hapjeong and Mangwon, turning the area into a Korean version of Tokyo's Akihabara and a gathering point for global fandom.

That spending power is now reshaping major retailers, too. AK Plaza Hongdae, one of the most prominent shopping destinations in the district, is a clear example. On a recent weekday visit, the fifth-floor branch of the anime specialty chain Animate was crowded with shoppers picking through manga, acrylic stands and character goods. Many had character keyrings clipped to their bags as they pushed carts down the aisles.

AK Plaza Hongdae fully renovated the building in 2021 to focus on anime and character merchandise, betting on the neighborhood's identity. The numbers have been striking. Annual revenue jumped from about 27.7 billion won in 2021 to about 98.2 billion won last year, a compound annual growth rate of 38.5 percent over five years. Last year's revenue alone rose 17.3 percent from the previous year.

Movie theaters have followed the data. Megabox recently relaunched its Hongdae location as the country's first multiplex specializing in anime. The theater devotes a far larger share of its schedule to animated films than other branches and runs a permanent merchandise shop, with the goal of becoming a fandom-driven cultural space.

A recent online webinar from the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield Korea, titled "2026 Key Commercial District Shifts," pointed to the same trend. Social data analysis found that among Seoul's major commercial districts, Hongdae's growth is being led by a clear fandom built around anime, character goods and figures. As of March of this year, monthly sales in the Hongdae district were up 19 percent year over year, the second-strongest growth among major Seoul districts after Myeongdong at 33 percent.

Industry observers see anime and character IP spending as a durable habit rather than a passing trend. The term used in Korea is "digging," meaning diving deep into a single hobby that matches your taste. Because these shoppers are not very price-sensitive and tend to buy repeatedly, a single well-built IP can carry an entire commercial district. The pattern is spreading to other parts of Seoul. HDC I'Park Mall remade the sixth floor of its Yongsan Station location into a fandom-focused space, and total sales last year rose about 20 percent from the previous year to 650 billion won.

The wave is reaching beyond retail. Day1 Company, which runs the study guide brand MyLight, has released foreign-language workbooks tied to anime IPs including "Demon Slayer" and "Detective Conan," packaged with limited-edition diaries and stickers. That lineup has sold roughly three times more on average than the brand's standard language workbooks.

"Hongdae is now being called 'Hongkihabara,' a mash-up of Hongdae and Akihabara, because a lifestyle of spending on what you love is completely changing the commercial landscape," one retail industry official said. "Even in a slow economy, fandom-driven districts have structurally strong buying power. Going beyond one-off collaborations and building detailed IP worlds that fans can lose themselves in will become a survival strategy for retailers."