If you want to eat your way through old Seoul, there's one place to start: Gwangjang Market (광장시장). Opened in 1905, it's one of Korea's oldest permanent markets — and today it's the country's most famous street-food destination, a roaring, steaming maze of food stalls where grandmothers have been frying the same dishes for decades.
It's been featured on Netflix and drawn food lovers from all over the world, but at heart it's still a working Seoul market. Here's what to eat, and how to do it right.
Where: Jongno, central Seoul — Jongno 5-ga Station (Line 1) is right at the market. Admission: free to enter; you just pay for what you eat. Best time: late morning to early evening for the food stalls. Bring some cash — many stalls take cards now, but cash is still smoothest. It gets busy and crowded; lunch and dinner are liveliest.
What Gwangjang is
Gwangjang was Korea's first permanent daily market, and it still has two sides. Upstairs and around the edges it sells textiles, hanbok and vintage clothing — it's a well-known spot for second-hand and traditional dress. But what made it famous is the food alley down the middle: rows of stalls with stools crammed around hot griddles, where you sit elbow-to-elbow with locals and eat freshly made Korean classics.
What to eat — the must-tries
This is the reason to come. The signatures:
1. Bindaetteok (빈대떡) — mung-bean pancake
Gwangjang's most iconic dish: a thick, crispy pancake of ground mung beans, fried golden on huge griddles right in front of you. Hot, savoury and best torn apart and dipped in soy sauce with raw onion. This is the smell that defines the market.
2. Mayak gimbap (마약김밥) — the "addictive" mini rolls
Tiny seaweed-rice rolls, no bigger than a finger, served with a mustard-soy dipping sauce. They're nicknamed mayak ("drug") gimbap because people can't stop eating them. Cheap, moreish, and a Gwangjang signature.
3. Yukhoe (육회) — Korean beef tartare
Seasoned raw beef, sliced thin and often topped with a raw egg yolk and pear. Gwangjang has a little cluster of yukhoe restaurants and it's one of the best places in the city to try this Korean delicacy.
4. Sundae & jeon
You'll also find sundae (Korean blood sausage), platters of jeon (savoury fried fritters), spicy tteokbokki, hand-cut kalguksu noodles, and steaming kkori gomtang oxtail soup — proper, hearty Korean market food.
How to do the market right
- Go hungry and graze — the whole point is to bounce from stall to stall trying small things, not to sit down for one big meal.
- Sit at the counters — pull up a stool at a griddle stall; it's normal to share tables and eat shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers.
- Watch what's popular — the stalls with the longest local queues are usually the safest bet.
- Mind the prices — it's cheap, but confirm prices for things like yukhoe or seafood before ordering, especially at the busiest tourist stalls.
- Pair it with a drink — a bowl of makgeolli (rice wine) alongside bindaetteok is the classic Gwangjang combo.
If you love food and atmosphere, Gwangjang is unmissable — loud, smoky, delicious and very alive. If you want a quiet sit-down meal, it might feel overwhelming; go at an off-peak hour, or treat it as a snack stop between sights. Either way, it's one of the most fun and authentic eating experiences in Seoul.
What's nearby
Gwangjang sits right in the historic heart of Seoul:
- Jongmyo Shrine — the UNESCO royal ancestral shrine, a short walk west; perfect to pair with a market lunch.
- Insadong & Ikseon-dong — the traditional craft street and trendy hanok cafés, just nearby.
- Euljiro & Dongdaemun — the retro-cool backstreet bars of Euljiro and the giant Dongdaemun shopping district are within walking distance.
- Cheonggyecheon stream — the restored downtown stream runs right by the market for a post-meal stroll.
Hungry for more? See our Korean street food guide and 10 Korean foods every fan must try.
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👉 Exploring old Seoul? Pair this with Jongmyo Shrine and the 5 Grand Palaces for a perfect downtown day.
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