Name: Mandu (Korean Dumplings) (Seoul style)
Prep time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 40
Cuisine: Korean
Ingredients: For the dough: 400g all-purpose flour; 1 tsp salt; 220ml warm water (or use ready-made round mandu wrappers); For the filling: 400g ground pork (20 percent fat), 200g firm tofu (squeezed dry and crumbled), 150g well-fermented kimchi (drained and finely chopped), 80g Korean chives or chopped scallions, 1 small bundle dangmyeon (sweet potato glass noodles), softened and chopped; 2 garlic cloves, finely grated; 1 thumb fresh ginger, finely grated; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil; 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds; 1 tsp sugar; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 1 large egg, beaten; For pan-frying (gun-mandu): 3 tbsp neutral oil, 100ml water for steaming; Dipping sauce: 4 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp rice vinegar; 1 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes); 1 tsp sesame oil; 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds; 1 chopped scallion

Hand-folded Korean dumplings filled with pork, kimchi, tofu, and Korean chive, then steamed, boiled, or pan-fried (gun-mandu). Bukchon Son Mandu is Seoul's reference dumpling shop, still hand-folding every mandu.

Mandu arrived in Korea via Mongol military traders in the 14th century and naturalised across royal court and peasant kitchens. Bukchon Son Mandu traces back to 1953, when the Lee family brought their Hamheung dumpling recipes south to Seoul during the postwar resettlement; the original Insadong shop still hand-folds every dumpling, and the third generation now runs it with additional branches in Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, and Seongsu. Gwangjang Market dumpling stalls and Tongin Market are the cheaper street references.

4 editor picks for Mandu (Korean Dumplings) in Seoul, ranked by editorial score. All Seoul signature dishes · Mandu (Korean Dumplings) across every city.

Gwangjang Market ★ 4.8

Market

Jongno and Insadong · 88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Gwangjang Market, established in 1905, is the oldest continuous daily market in Korea and the city's most essential food destination for visitors.

Namdaemun Market ★ 4.5

Market

Jung-gu and Myeongdong · 21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Namdaemun is the largest traditional market in Korea, adjacent to Sungnyemun Gate, with hotteok stalls, kalguksu counters and 24-hour food lanes.

Tongin Market ★ 4.4

Market

Jongno and Insadong · 18 Jahamun-ro 15-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Tongin Market: buy a dosirak tray and brass yeopjeon coins, fill the tray from banchan stalls across the market, then eat in the communal hall at the back.

Bukchon Son Mandu ★ 4.2

Korean

Bukchon and Samcheong · 84-1 Gyedong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul

A hanok courtyard dumpling kitchen in Bukchon, selling hand-formed mandu (dumplings) by the basket to a patient queue of Seoulites who find the 20-minute.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Mandu (Korean Dumplings) makes more sense with someone from Seoul explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

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