Fun Korean

Gwangjang Market

광장시장

One of Korea's oldest markets, founded in 1905. In the food alley at its center, stalls fry bindaetteok (crispy mung bean pancakes) to order. Also try mayak gimbap (small gimbap rolls) and yukhoe (seasoned raw beef). Sit at a counter, point and order.

Busiest in the evening and on weekends. Jongno 5-ga Station (Line 1).

Jagalchi Fish Market

자갈치시장

Korea's best-known seafood market, on the harbor in Nampo-dong. Choose live fish, octopus or shellfish at the ground-floor stalls. The restaurants upstairs serve it as hoe (sliced raw fish) or cook it into a spicy stew. BIFF Square and Gukje Market are a short walk away.

Upstairs restaurants usually charge a small table and service fee per person. Jagalchi Station (Line 1).

Unconfirmed: The table fee varies by restaurant. Check before you sit down.

Mangwon Market

망원시장

A busy neighborhood market near the Han River, loved for cheap, tasty snacks: crispy dakgangjeong (sweet fried chicken), croquettes, fried peppers and fresh fruit. Fill a bag and walk to Mangwon Hangang Park for a riverside picnic.

Mangwon Station, Line 6.

Tongin Market (Coin Lunchbox)

통인시장

A small market near Gyeongbokgung, open since 1941 and famous for its Dosirak Café. Swap cash for old-style brass coins (yeopjeon), pick up a lunchbox tray and fill it with dishes from the stalls. Don't miss gireum tteokbokki: rice cakes stir-fried in oil and chili.

Gyeongbokgung Station, Line 3. Pair it with the palace or Seochon's cafés.

BIFF Square Ssiat Hotteok

BIFF광장 씨앗호떡

BIFF Square in Nampo-dong is where the Busan International Film Festival began in 1996, with film stars' handprints set into the pavement. Its street stalls are famous for ssiat hotteok: a fried sweet pancake split open and stuffed with sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and nuts.

Jagalchi Market and Gukje Market are next door. Nampo Station, Line 1.

Jeonju Nambu Market Night Market

전주 남부시장 야시장

Jeonju's main market, open since 1905, a short walk from the hanok village. On Friday and Saturday evenings the night market fills the aisles with food stalls, from mung bean pancakes to fusion snacks. Upstairs, the Youth Market has small shops and cafés run by young owners.

Jeonju is famous for kongnamul gukbap (bean sprout soup with rice), a classic market breakfast.

Unconfirmed: The night market runs on Fridays and Saturdays; hours change by season.

Jeju Dongmun Market

제주 동문시장

Jeju's biggest traditional market, trading since 1945. Shop for tangerines, hallabong, black pork and fresh cutlassfish, and come back in the evening when the night market's food stalls open.

About 15 minutes from Jeju Airport by car. Many fruit stalls can ship boxes within Korea.

Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market

속초관광수산시장

Sokcho's big market, formerly called Jungang Market. Its chicken alley is famous for dakgangjeong, crispy fried chicken in a sweet and spicy glaze, sold by the box to take away. The raw fish center sells the day's catch, and you'll also find squid sundae (stuffed squid) and dried seafood.

Easy to pair with Seoraksan: local buses run between Sokcho and the park.

Daegu Seomun Market Night Market

대구 서문시장 야시장

One of the three great markets of the Joseon era and still Daegu's largest, known for fabrics and everyday goods. After dark, a long row of food stalls opens for the night market. In the market alleys, try Daegu's flat dumplings (napjak mandu) and kalguksu noodle soup.

Unconfirmed: Night market days and hours change by season. Check before you go.

Chuncheon Dakgalbi Street

춘천 명동 닭갈비골목

A 150 m alley off Chuncheon's Myeong-dong shopping street, lined on both sides with dakgalbi restaurants. Spicy marinated chicken is stir-fried with cabbage, sweet potato and rice cakes on a big iron pan at your table. Finish with fried rice made in the same pan, or cold makguksu buckwheat noodles.

Most places serve dakgalbi for two or more. ITX-Cheongchun trains run from Seoul to Chuncheon.

Gukje Market Food Street

국제시장 먹자골목

A food street with more than 60 years of history in one of Busan's traditional markets. Sit on a small stool by the stalls and try Chungmu gimbap with spicy squid, tteokbokki, milmyeon (wheat noodles), dwaeji gukbap (pork and rice soup) or Busan's bibim dangmyeon (spicy glass noodles). Finish with patbingsu.

Closed on the first and third Sundays of every month. Opening hours vary by stall.

Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town

신당동 떡볶이골목

An alley of tteokbokki restaurants that took off in the late 1970s and became famous in the 1980s, when shops had their own DJ booths. Some owners say tteokbokki was sold here as early as 1953.

Parking is available at each restaurant.

Seoul Gyeongdong Market

서울 경동시장

A large traditional market near Cheongnyangni Station that grew after the Korean War and officially opened in June 1960. It is known for food ingredients and medicinal herbs. The old Gyeongdong Theater inside was renovated into a cultural space that draws a younger crowd.

Busy on weekdays as well as weekends. Hours and closed days vary by store; no parking.

Sinpo International Market

신포국제시장

A market in Incheon's Sinpo-dong said to date to the late 19th century, when it sold vegetables to Japanese, Chinese and Western residents. Close to the International Passenger Terminal, it has grown into a market of many cultures, with an information center that offers shopping and tourism help and interpretation.

Hours and closed days vary by store. Parking and restrooms are available.

Sorae Fish Market

소래포구 종합어시장

A fish market by Sorae Port that sells fresh seafood all year. Crabs come fresh off the boats in spring, and in kimchi-making season many Koreans come for salted seafood (jeotgal). The market was renovated with heating and cooling, a large parking area and quick delivery.

Open every day 07:00-01:00.

Jukdo Market

죽도시장

The largest traditional market on Korea's east coast, with about 1,500 stores, officially set up in 1969. Inside the seafood auction area, more than 200 hoe (raw fish) restaurants will prepare the seafood you buy for a small fee. Try Pohang's mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), abalone porridge, or gwamegi in winter.

Open all year, 08:00-22:00.

Andong Market Jjimdak Alley

안동시장 찜닭골목

A chicken alley in Andong's old market where Andong jjimdak was born: chicken braised in a galbi-style sauce, then cooked down with glass noodles and vegetables. Sweet, spicy, cheap and generous, it became a hit around the country. Some 30 restaurants line the alley today.

Weekends are busy: the alley draws more than 20,000 visitors on a weekend.

Anjirang Gopchang Alley

안지랑 곱창골목

An alley at Daegu's Anjirang Market packed with restaurants grilling marinated gopchang (intestines). It began with one restaurant in 1979 and kept growing; locals love it for the low prices. In 2012 it was picked as one of Korea's top five food-themed streets by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Parking is available.

Songjeong-dong Tteokgalbi Street

광주 송정동 떡갈비 골목

A street of around 20 restaurants serving tteokgalbi, grilled patties of minced galbi. Unlike most places that use only beef, Songjeong-dong mixes beef and pork, a change made in the 1990s to keep prices the same in hard times. Meals come with a bone broth slow-cooked from pork bones, kelp and radish.

Hours and closed days vary by restaurant.

Gyeongju Jungang Market

경주 중앙시장

Gyeongju's main market since 1983, with nearly 700 stores selling rice cakes, vegetables, meat, oils and more. It is busiest on days ending in 2 or 7, the traditional five-day market days. The night market, open Thursday to Sunday, is popular with visitors and locals alike.

Open 05:00-22:30 (varies by store). Closed on the 1st and 15th of each month.

Uijeongbu Budae-jjigae Street

의정부 부대찌개거리

Budae-jjigae means "army base stew": after the Korean War, processed meat from US Army bases was boiled into a stew with vegetables, glass noodles and ramyeon. Uijeongbu, close to the bases, built a strong tradition of this sausage stew, and the restaurants that serve it gathered on this street, now a landmark of the city.

Opening hours and days off vary by restaurant.

Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market

서귀포매일올레시장

The largest market in Seogwipo, a traditional market that took shape in the early 1960s. Since a renewal that began in 2001 it stretches about 620 m and is easy to walk through. It sells local farm produce and seafood, offers free delivery, and holds cultural programs and outdoor shows.

Open 07:00-21:00 in summer and 07:00-20:00 in winter, all year.

Tongyeong Jungang Market

통영 중앙시장

A market with almost 400 years of history, next to Dongpirang Village and facing Gangguan Port, where replicas of the turtle ship are moored in honor of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Being right by the sea, it is full of fresh and dried fish, and you can also find rice cakes, quilted goods and mother-of-pearl crafts.

Opening hours and days off vary by store.

Gwangju Yangdong Market

광주 양동시장

It began in the 1910s as a market held on days ending in 2 and 7, on the sandy riverbank under Gwangjugyo Bridge. During the May 18 Democratic Uprising, its merchants gave food, drinks and medicine to the citizens and joined the movement. Today it is one of Korea's best-known traditional markets, selling fruit, vegetables, skate, chicken and much more.

Open 07:00-21:00 (varies by store). Closed on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month.

Masan Odong-dong Agujjim Street

마산 오동동 아구찜거리

Masan is famous for agujjim, steamed monkfish: sweet, mild fish in a strong, spicy sauce with bean sprouts and greens. The street began in the 1960s, when a restaurant started steaming freshly caught monkfish with doenjang, gochujang and bean sprouts. Local fishermen loved it, more restaurants followed, and the street was born.

Opening hours vary by restaurant.

Gijang Market

부산 기장시장

An outdoor market selling seafood, dried fish and farm produce. Seaweed and anchovies are the stars in spring, and cutlass fish in autumn: the cutlass fish sold in the two months around Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) is known across the country for its taste and fair prices.

Open 07:00-22:00, all year.

Daejeon Jungang Market

대전 중앙시장

One of Daejeon's best-known traditional markets, made up of several smaller markets in downtown Dong-gu. Each street has its own theme, such as dried seafood, fish, herbal medicine, hanbok and local treats, and together they run all the way from Daejeon Station to the banks of the Daejeoncheon Stream.

Opening hours and days off vary by store.

Suwon Chicken Street

수원 통닭거리

A 100 m alley off Paldal-ro where about 11 shops, from the first one, opened in 1970, to newer ones, fry whole chickens. The street's tradition is to fry the chicken in big cauldrons of oil. The menu is simple, fried or seasoned fried chicken, but generous portions and low prices bring in customers from all over the country.

The street is open 24 hours, all year; each shop keeps its own hours.

Chodang Tofu Village

강릉 초당두부마을

Just south of Gyeongpo Beach, this village is famous for Chodang tofu, made from ground soybeans and seawater from the East Sea, which makes it soft and light. The name comes from Chodang Heo Yeop, father of the Joseon writers Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon; a traditional house has been rebuilt where their family home once stood.

Each restaurant keeps its own hours. Parking is available.

Haeundae Market

부산 해운대시장

A lively market a short walk from Haeundae Beach, busiest in the holiday seasons. Fresh vegetables, meat and seafood sell at low prices and there is plenty to eat. It is also known as "Sea Eel Alley", because the smell of grilled sea eel fills every corner.

Open 09:00-22:00 (varies by store).