15 editor picks in Seoul.
Street food is Seoul's most direct cuisine, eaten standing at stalls, carts and covered markets. Gwangjang Market is the famous heart of it, known for its bindaetteok stalls, while Sindang Tteokbokki Town, the Namdaemun Market hotteok stalls and the Tongin Market coin lunchbox each have their own ritual. Myeongdong's street food alley and the Jongno 3-ga pojangmacha tents extend the city's appetite into the night.
15 street food places in Seoul we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Seoul · Street Food across every city.
Try Bindaetteok (mung bean pancakes) and mayak gimbap
The bindaetteok stalls in Gwangjang Market are Seoul's most legitimate street food: mung-bean pancakes fried on cast-iron griddles alongside mayak gimbap.
Try Tteokbokki, corn dogs, egg bread (gyeran-ppang)
The Myeongdong pedestrian strip turns into one of the densest street food corridors in Asia after 16:00, with stalls selling tteokbokki (spicy rice.
Try Hotteok (sugar-filled fried pancakes) and kalguksu
Namdaemun Market hotteok stalls fry thick dough discs filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and crushed peanuts on flat irons in the market's main food lane.
Try Tteokbokki (various styles: original, cheese, rabokki)
Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town is the origin neighbourhood of the modern spicy tteokbokki -- Ma Bok-rim developed gochujang-seasoned rice cakes here in 1953.
Try DIY coin-currency lunchbox: banchan selections from market stalls
Tongin Market coin lunchbox: buy a tray and brass yeopjeon coins, fill the tray from banchan stalls, then eat in the communal hall at the market back.
Try Soondae (Korean blood sausage), eomuk (fish cake), gimbap
The night stalls around Dongdaemun Design Plaza serve the garment workers who sew through the night, with soondae, eomuk and gimbap until 05:00 every day.
Try Chimaek (Korean fried chicken and beer), takoyaki, crepes
The Hongdae strip around Hongik University generates dense street food every evening: chimaek, takoyaki, and Korean corn dogs from the university exit.
Try Hotteok (brown sugar and nut filled pan-fried pancake)
Sambodang sells only one item from a maroon-awning stall halfway down Insadong-gil: a fist-sized hotteok stuffed with brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts.
Try Halal kebabs, falafel, Thai street food, South Asian snacks
The Itaewon strip around the main road and the side streets toward the Hamilton Hotel is home to Seoul's most international street food scene: halal kebab.
Try Live seafood: raw abalone, sea cucumber, crab; sashimi sets
Noryangjin Fish Market operates 24 hours but the pre-dawn hours -- from 01:00 when the auction floor runs -- are when the market is most viscerally alive.
Try Somaek (soju-beer bomb), tteokbokki, dried squid
The pojangmacha (street tent) strip behind Jongno 3-ga station operates until 02:00-03:00 on weekend nights and until dawn on certain nights during warm.
Try Soondae (blood sausage), eomuk (fish cake skewers), gimbap
The night stalls around Dongdaemun Design Plaza serve the garment-district workers who sew through the night, and they remain open until 05:00.
Try Bindaetteok (mung bean pancake), mayak gimbap, soondae
Gwangjang Market is the best place in Seoul to eat for very little: bindaetteok for 4,000 won, mayak gimbap for 3,000 and soondae blood sausage for 5,000.
Try Build-your-own dosirak with Korean banchan
Tongin Market's coin lunchbox is one of Seoul's best budget eating experiences: trade traditional brass coins for banchan at stalls across the covered market.
Try Tteokbokki, fish cake skewers, gyeran-ppang
Myeongdong pedestrian strip has dense street food carts: tteokbokki, gyeran-ppang (egg bread), and fish cake skewers from 2,000 won in central Seoul.
