Seoul: Small-Group Night Food Tour in Seoul with Korean BBQ
Join the Seoul Night Food Tour for a unique culinary adventure, exploring street food and traditional dishes under the city's vibrant nightscape. An unforgettable even...
Tteokbokki are chewy rice cake tubes cooked in a gochujang-based sauce: sweet, spicy and sticky. Seoul's most eaten street food since the 1950s.
The modern spicy tteokbokki (gochujang-sauced rice cakes) was invented by Ma Bok-rim in Sindang-dong, Seoul, in 1953 after the Korean War. The original Joseon dish was entirely different: a non-spicy preparation using soy sauce, beef and vegetables, eaten by the royal court. Ma Bok-rim's gochujang version was a post-war reinvention that spread from Sindang-dong across the city and then the country. Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town still operates today, a cluster of restaurants each claiming the original recipe. Variations now include rabokki (with ramen), cheese tteokbokki, and cream-based versions.
3 editor picks for Tteokbokki in Seoul, ranked by editorial score. All Seoul signature dishes · Tteokbokki across every city.
Sindang Tteokbokki Town ★ 4.4
Jung-gu and Myeongdong · 7 Dasan-ro 33-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town is the origin neighbourhood of the modern spicy tteokbokki -- Ma Bok-rim developed gochujang-seasoned rice cakes here in 1953.
Myeongdong Street Food Alley ★ 4.2
Jung-gu and Myeongdong · Myeongdong-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
The Myeongdong pedestrian strip turns into one of the densest street food corridors in Asia after 16:00, with stalls selling tteokbokki (spicy rice.
Jongno 3-ga Pojangmacha Street ★ 4.2
Jongno-gu · Jongno 3-ga, Jongno-gu, Seoul
The 200-metre stretch in front of Ikseon-dong from Exit 5 to Exit 6 at Jongno 3-ga Station is Seoul's most concentrated pojangmacha (street food tent).
Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide
Tteokbokki 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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