10 street food worth the trip across South Korea, editor-ranked by TableJourney. All South Korea guides.
Gwangjang Market Bindaetteok Stalls ★ 4.7 · Seoul
Jongno and Insadong · 88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul
The bindaetteok stalls in Gwangjang Market are Seoul's most legitimate street food: mung-bean pancakes fried on cast-iron griddles alongside mayak gimbap.
Noryangjin Fish Market Pre-Dawn Stalls ★ 4.6 · Seoul
Dongjak-gu · 674 Nodeul-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul
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.
Namdaemun Market Hotteok Stalls ★ 4.4 · Seoul
Jung-gu and Myeongdong · 21 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
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.
Sindang Tteokbokki Town ★ 4.4 · Seoul
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.
Sambodang Hotteok ★ 4.4 · Seoul
Jongno and Insadong · 48-1 Insadong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
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, fried to order in front of the queue.
Tongin Market Coin Lunchbox ★ 4.3 · Seoul
Jongno and Insadong · 18 Jahamun-ro 15-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
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.
Myeongdong Street Food Alley ★ 4.2 · Seoul
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.
Dongdaemun Night Market Food Stalls ★ 4.2 · Seoul
Seongsu and Dongdaemun · 281 Jangchungdan-ro, Jung-gu, Seoul
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.
Hongdae Street Food Strip ★ 4.1 · Seoul
Hongdae and Yeonnam · Yeonhui-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
The Hongdae strip around Hongik University generates dense street food every evening: chimaek, takoyaki, and Korean corn dogs from the university exit.
Itaewon International Market Stalls ★ 4.0 · Seoul
Itaewon and Hannam · Itaewon-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
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.