GWANGJANG MARKET: frugal Food-Lover’s Paradise in Seoul

It is challenging to discover “Old Seoul” outside the city’s grand palaces as well as hanok villages. The South Korean funding is quite a metropolis — modern, industrialized, as well as pulsating with a vibe that is undeniably futuristic. Western influences have seeped through its numerous districts: English is becoming progressively common, European-style cafes sprout in numerous corners, as well as worldwide brands have discovered their location in the streets as well as in the consciousness of its younger population. Every now as well as then, you discover something that takes you to its yesteryears. however nothing as strong as Gwangjang Market.

Gwangjang Market
There’s so much about Gwangjang Market that is disorienting however strangely refreshing. The location is a wormhole. From the outside, you won’t discover any type of hint that housed in a plain-looking building is a piece of the city’s past, well-kept as well as thriving. Built in 1905, it is Seoul’s very first conventional everyday marketplace.

It may not be as well-known as its counterparts in Dongdaemun as well as Namdaemun, however it has a few much more charms to the much more curious tourists. Gwangjang is a preferred among locals for stores selling silk as well as tailored hanbok. however among foreign visitors like me, its most significant draw is quite apparent — the food.

I wasn’t even hungry when I visited. however it changed as soon as I stepped into the market. steam filled the air, a welcome modification from the hostile winter. A smorgasbord of Korean signature dishes bombarded my senses, as well as the lunch I just had somewhere else seemed to have vanished magically.

The very first to greet me were two lanes of kimchi variations. I did not even understand it comes in as numerous types — cabbage, radish, to name a few. I followed the scent of something deep-fried as well as discovered several stalls of bindaetteok, a type of crispy pancake made from ground mung beans. Vegetables as well as some meat are added.

Kimchi Overload at Gwangjang Market
Bindaetteok (KRW 4000)
Bindaetteok reminds me so much of Osaka’s okonomiyaki. however instead of cabbage, they use mung beans.
First purchase of business: find an empty seat. as well as at 7pm, it was no simple task. The set up right here is simple. You pick a stall, take a seat, as well as location an order. The vendor then prepares your meal, as well as you wait as you feast your eyes on the dishes as well as ingredients in front of you. For numerous tourists, because numerous stalls serve the same dishes, it’s just a matter of which has ample vacant space.

Bibimbap is one of the most popular. actually implies “mixed rice,” it is served in a bowl as well as is topped with namul (seasoned veggies) as well as gochujang (chili pepper paste).

Mayak kimbap is likewise as ubiquitous. Kimbap (or gimbap) is rice as well as other ingredients rolled in dried laver seaweed, a descendant of the Japanese maki (futomaki). Mayak implies “drugs” in Korean. Who’s concept it is to name such a delicious meal after drugs, I don’t know. however it’s not difficult to see why, it’s addictively good.

Japchae (chapchae), dangmyeon stir-fried in sesame oil,  and tteokboki, chewy rice cakes in sweet as well as spicy sauce, are also present in many kiosks.

Find a seat, location an order, as well as take photos of your food. Hahaha. Pay after you surface your meal.
Bibimbap ingredients occupy many of the space. A serving costs KRW 3000.
Mayak Kimbap (KRW 3000)
Japchae or chapchae
More kimchi?
The calls of friendly hawkers grew louder as I walked deeper into the site. The offerings likewise got much more bizarre. Pig’s ears as well as feet (which are a preferred of mine even right here in the Philippines) became a much more dominant sight. however what really caught my interest was those big, ugly, worm-like sausages. Sundae (or soondae) is blood sausage, made of dangmyeon (cellophane noodles made from sweet potato), barley, as well as pig’s blood, encased in pig or cow intestines. It’s big, bulky, as well as black, impossible to miss.

Pig’s ears (KRW7000)
That strange sausage in the background is , cow intestines stuffed with pig’s blood among others
For over 100 years, Gwangjang Market has kept the conventional marketplace vibe of the city. It has refused to modification with its rapidly establishing surroundings, stuck at a time when eating is a shared experience as well as food is anything however complicated.

Gwangjang Market
88, Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul

Opening Hours:
11am-10pm (Food stalls)
7am -10pm (Other stores)

How to get there: Take the subway to Jongno 5-ga station (Line 1, exit 8) or Euljiro 4-ga station (Lines 2 or 5, exit 4)

More suggestions on YouTube ⬇️⬇️⬇️

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