Seoul hair salon in Hongdae: ash brown dye and layered cut, Obeumua

It had been a while since my last all-over color, and after repeating root touch-ups over and over, my hair was starting to bug me. Time to fix it up nicely for fall 🍂 so I went hunting for a salon. While searching hard for a Hongdae hair salon good at layered cuts, one caught my eye: 'Obeumua Hongdae Branch.'

Obeumua Hongdae Branch hours and how to book

Obeumua Hongdae Branch is a salon I found known for great color and layered cuts around Hongdae and Yeonnam-dong. Hours are weekdays 10:30–19:00, weekends 10:00–19:00 (perms bookable until 6pm / cuts, treatments, color until 6:30pm), closed every Tuesday.

• ✅ Naver Reservations
• 📍 Closed every Tuesday
• 🚖 Parking available (nearby paid lot if full)

I booked with designer Hyunkyung through Naver Reservations and headed over!

Where to park at Obeumua Hongdae Branch

Located near Exit 1 of Hongik University Station, Obeumua has on-site building parking. If it's full, you'll need a nearby paid lot!

🅿️ There's a mechanical paid parking lot right nearby, but since I'm not a fan of mechanical parking, I used the app Modu's Parking to buy a parking ticket at the L7 Hongdae hotel instead, so I could park comfortably for as long as I wanted. •• The L7 Hongdae Lotte Hotel and 🚶🏻 Obeumua Hongdae Branch •• are close by on foot, so the distance to the parking lot was just right.

Inside the 2nd-floor salon in Hongdae

Took the elevator up to the 2nd floor and arrived at 'Obeumua Hongdae Branch.' Inside was a clean, bright ivory-toned space. From the designers to the other customers, everyone inside was a woman, so the place felt calm and quiet rather than crowded — a really relaxed atmosphere 😌

Booking the color + design cut set

After confirming my reservation, I was quickly shown to a locker to leave my things, changed into a gown, and was led to my seat 💇🏼‍♀️ There was a < Designer Hyunkyung Special Event > running, and the 🏷️ hair consulting color + design cut set package was on discount! Since I needed both an all-over color and a trim anyway, I said let's do both together and started the consultation! haha

Color chart: choosing level 9 ash brown tone-down

After a short survey and consultation on what style of color and cut to go with, I talked it over with designer Hyunkyung at Obeumua Hongdae Branch, and we settled on a color chart level of about 9 — just a slight tone-down — going with an 🤎 ash brown all-over color for a clean, tidy look.

L'Oréal and Milbon color, done in 1 hour 30 minutes

This salon uses L'Oréal and Milbon, which happen to be the products I'm most familiar with since I color regularly, and brands I prefer because the color always turns out pretty — so that was a nice bonus too haha.

Designer Hyunkyung works fast! Thanks to her, I got the all-over color plus layered cut done in under 1 hour 30 minutes. No waiting around — she moved straight to the next step every time, so there was zero delay and it wrapped up quickly 🤍

Layered cut with a C-curl blow-dry finish

Turns out this place might be a layered perm favorite too — every other customer there was getting a perm! After the color finished and a nice cooling shampoo session, the final step was the layered cut, then a C-curl blow-dry to add just a hint of natural curl to finish. She really nailed that natural, pretty look 🫶🏻

Final look and verdict on Obeumua Hongdae Branch

At the end, she gave me her business card along with home-care shampoo and treatment samples ✨ I love the color so much~ For the cut, she kept the length but trimmed it tastefully — she just knew exactly what would look good, and I'm super, super satisfied.

If you're looking for a Hongdae salon great at color and layered cuts, go see 'Designer Hyunkyung at Obeumua Hongdae Branch' — highly, highly recommend ♥