Are you planning a trip to Seoul? Or, have you always wanted to visit the sprawling capital city of South Korea? Don’t know where to start? Welcome to our short series on Seoul’s districts and its notable landmarks worth visiting. Whether you want to learn about the country's history, experience its culture, find your food mecca, or jam out to K-pop...stay with us as we compile your handy travel guide to Seoul!
HISTORY | CULTURE | SHOPPING | FOOD | GOOGLE MAPS
Street food cart in Myeongdong
STREET FOOD
Walk through any of Seoul’s busy districts like Myeongdong or Hongdae and you’re sure to find carts packed with delicious food. The street food is often small-portioned, easy to eat on the go or standing right there at the stall. If you want to enjoy a lot of street food, it’s best to go out in the late afternoon when most of the carts are set up. If you’re a foodie and love snacking, you’ll have plenty to experience as you make your way around Seoul.
There are many street food carts, so when you decide on one, take a moment to see what the set-up is. Most of the time, you can order from the cart owner, and they’ll be happy to serve you. Sometimes there’s not enough space to eat standing at the cart, so you have to eat it while walking. There are also cases where the cart is self-service, and the owner will instruct you to help yourself. If you're unsure, just ask and the owner will help you dig in!
Gimbap
GIMBAP (김밥)
Korea’s most popular picnic food can be found in both restaurants and street carts. Gimbap might look a lot like Japanese sushi, but the taste is very different! The ingredients vary depending on if you’re eating on the street or at a restaurant, but gimbap typically begins with a sheet of gim (seaweed) that’s filled with rice, pickled veggies, and a slice of egg. Vendors will slice up larger rolls, or you can find smaller, bite-sized rolls for easy snacking on the go.
Twigim (deep fried snacks) & tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes)
TTEOKBOKKI (떡볶이)
One of my favorite snacks, I always find myself ordering some version of tteokbokki whenever I’m at a Korean restaurant. These rice cakes swimming in a hot and spicy sauce are sometimes tossed with slices of eomuk (fish cakes), cabbage, and scallions. At street carts, they are served either in a bowl or a plastic baggie, and you can eat them with toothpicks.
TWIGIM (튀김)
Every culture has their version of deep-fried goodness, and Korea has plenty of it. Literally meaning “deep fried,” you can find an assortment of vegetable and seafood twigim at almost every street cart that has tteokbokki. There are plain ones, or you can find some with sauce on it. I actually love twigim with tteokbokki sauce, so ask for a side of the tteokbooki sauce if you want to dip your twigim in it!
Eomuk / odeng (fish cake) in broth
EOMUK-TANG (어묵탕)
Also called odeng (오뎅), eomuk on the street is often served skewered on long sticks and kept warm in broth to become a winter comfort food called eomuk-tang. Depending on the owner, they’ll either serve you a complimentary cup of the amazing broth to go with your eomuk or tteokbokki, or... if you see a little paper cup dispenser or soup ladle, it means you can help yourself to the broth.
Hatba
HATBA (핫바)
Adopted from the English words "hot bar," hatba (핫바) refers really to anything on a stick, from hot dogs on a stick... to crab meat wrapped in fish cake... to rice cakes smothered in sauce... and on and on and on. There are so many variations and they're often combined to make delicious snacks to take as you're walking around and exploring.
Bungeoppang (sweet fish-shaped pastry)
BUNGEOPPANG (붕어빵)
These fish-shaped pastries are traditionally crispy on the outside with sweet red bean filling on in the inside. "Bungeo" means carp fish while "ppang" is the Korean word for bread. Nowadays, you'll find all kinds of sweet-filled bungeoppang on the street carts, from nutella chocolate to sweet creams. You can even find bungeoppang "cones" filled with ice cream and topped with whipped cream and sweet toppings.
Hotteok
HOTTEOK (호떡)
My absolute favorite Korean snack is this popular sweet pancake called hotteok. A simple yeast dough is filled with brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, and walnuts and cooked in hot oil. The dough balls are pressed until they become a golden pancake and usually served in a little paper cup. You're going to be very tempted to bite into these treats right away, but be very, very careful as the filling is piping hot! Definitely speaking from about a half a dozen experiences of burning my mouth because I just couldn't wait.
Street Food Restaurant at Gwangjang Market
GWANGJANG MARKET
If you want to sit down and enjoy street food, I recommend going to Gwangjang Market where you can experience authentic Korean street food in the overwhelming chaos of one of the oldest markets in Korea. It's open most days from 8am to 6pm, and some stalls are closed Sundays. Some restaurants are also open longer to catch the workers coming after work to eat and drink with their co-workers. You can also shop for local produce, prepared side dishes, house wares and more in this packed market.
JOKBAL (족발)
A traditional snack that goes best with soju, jokbal is seasoned and braised pig trotters sliced thin and eaten dipped in a salty sauce, or wrapped in lettuce as a ssam with vegetables. Almost every vendor in Gwangjang market sells this alongside sundae (blood sausage).
Restaurant at Gwangjang Market serving jokbal, sundae, eomuk, tteokbokki, and gimbap.
SOONDAE (순대)
Feeling a bit adventurous? Soondae (Korean blood sausage) is a popular dish at Gwangjang Market. This dish might look intimidating from the outside, but it actually has a milder taste than you would think. Casings are filled with a mixture of pork blood, rice, and glass noodles and steamed until fully cooked through. It's usually served with a couple slices of cooked liver and goes really great dipped in the hot and spicy tteokbokki sauce.
Check out our interactive map categorized by history, culture, shopping, & more to come. Keep checking in as we update our map, and use it to help plan your Seoul itinerary!