Gwangjang Market
Restaurants · Bukchon & Palaces
Eat mung bean pancakes or hand-cut noodles at a busy market counter, then browse vintage clothing and textiles.
What vloggers filmed
Good to know
Why visit
- Gwangjang Market is best approached as a tasting walk: choose a crisp mung-bean pancake, a small rice roll, a noodle bowl or a sweet fried doughnut according to your appetite. The fun is comparing stall foods, with room to skip dishes whose textures or ingredients do not appeal to you.hungryonion
Start savoury, leave room for more
- Bindaetteok is a thick mung-bean pancake cooked on a griddle. In a December 24, 2024 report, Mr_Happy enjoyed a vegetable version with a crisp crust, tender centre and soy-vinegar dip. Mayak gimbap—small seaweed rice rolls—offered pickled radish and vegetables with much less rice. Share a pancake to save space for another stall.hungryonion
- For a sit-down bowl, the same traveller's December 28 post described Gohyang Kalguksu's noodles as chewy, with a simple, light broth and seaweed. Kalguksu means knife-cut noodles. This is a different experience from grazing on fried snacks, and a useful choice if warm soup is what you want.hungryonion
Consider the textures
- Consider whether raw seafood’s textures appeal to you. Mr_Happy’s mixed plate was uneven: the whelk was pleasantly chewy, but some fish was gristly and an item they thought was sea squirt tasted bitter and slimy. Buchon’s yukhoe-and-octopus dish combines seasoned raw beef with chopped octopus; cooked pancakes and noodles offer other ways to explore the market.hungryonion
Finish sweet
- Kkwabaegi is a twisted fried doughnut. The December 24 visitor found theirs warm, lightly chewy and sugar-dusted after a queue that moved quickly. Stall experiences vary, so look at the displayed menu and price before ordering and choose a few contrasting foods instead of committing your whole appetite at the first counter.hungryonion
