Haebangchon gears up for Fall Festival

The Haebangchon area of Itaewon in Seoul will be celebrating its HBC Fall Festival this weekend, with free live music at six venues as well as sideline events.

Bands will be playing at eight venues, starting at 9 p.m. Friday and then on Saturday from 3 p.m.

While the division is not that strict, some venues are themed by genre, with rock in VFW Bar, acoustic upstairs in Phillies and blues, folk rock and rock in Phillies basement, singer-songwriters in FIX Pub and more relaxed music at Hungry Dog. The other venues are Orange Tree, Camarata and Bonny’s Pizza.

Event organizers DEELEEBOB Music will also be running a raffle with guitars as the main prizes. Tickets are 2,000 won each.

A “Haunted Ghost Tour of HBC” will be provided to festival-goers from 7-9 p.m. on Saturday by Seoul City Improv and the cast of an upcoming stage production of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”

The music and festival performances are free. The ghost walk costs 10,000 won and lasts about 35 minutes.

To get to Haebangchon, leave Noksapyeong Station Exit 2 and walk straight, bearing left up the hill after about 500 meters.

By Paul Kerry (paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)