Seoul Street Food, A to Z

You can eat very well in Seoul without ever sitting down. Street food stalls cluster around markets, subway exits and busy shopping streets, and most snacks cost just a few thousand won. This is the list we'd hand to a friend on their first night.

The classics

Tteokbokki (떡볶이) — chewy rice cakes simmered in a sweet, spicy red sauce, often with fish cakes and a boiled egg. The single most iconic Korean street food. Spice levels vary; ask for a taste if you're unsure.

Eomuk / odeng (어묵) — fish cake skewers simmering in a light broth. Grab a skewer, eat it standing, and sip the broth from a paper cup — it's usually free. You pay for the number of skewers you take, so keep the sticks.

Sundae (순대) — Korean blood sausage stuffed with glass noodles, served sliced with salt and sometimes liver and lung. More adventurous, and very popular.

Twigim (튀김) — tempura-style fried vegetables, seaweed rolls, squid and dumplings. Dip them in tteokbokki sauce.

Sweet things

Hotteok (호떡) — a pan-fried pancake filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. The filling is molten — let it cool for a minute. A winter favourite.

Bungeoppang (붕어빵) — fish-shaped waffle-like bread filled with sweet red bean paste (or custard). Sold from small carts in the colder months.

Gyeran-ppang (계란빵) — a soft, slightly sweet bread with a whole egg baked on top.

Dalgona / ppopgi (달고나) — thin honeycomb toffee with a shape pressed into it. Famous worldwide after a certain TV show; try to break the shape out without cracking it.

Roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes — sold from carts in winter, often in a paper bag you can use to warm your hands.

The newer favourites

• Korean corn dog (핫도그) — a hot dog or mozzarella stick in a thick batter, sometimes rolled in diced potato, fried and dusted with sugar. Add ketchup and mustard
• Tornado potato — a whole potato spiral-cut onto a stick and fried
• Dakkochi (닭꼬치) — grilled chicken skewers with a sticky sweet-spicy glaze
• Grilled lobster and cheese — the flashy, pricier option at tourist streets like Myeongdong
• Fruit skewers and strawberry candy — fresh fruit coated in a thin sugar shell

Where to find the best street food

• Myeongdong — the main street fills with stalls from late afternoon. Huge choice, a little more expensive, very lively (guide)
• Gwangjang Market — traditional market food: bindaetteok, mayak gimbap and more (guide)
• Namdaemun Market — food alleys and snack stalls near Myeongdong, with famous hotteok and noodle stalls
• Tongin Market — the coin-lunch-box market near Gyeongbokgung
• Near any busy subway exit — the everyday tteokbokki and fish cake stalls where locals actually eat

Pojangmacha: street tent bars

A pojangmacha is an orange-tented street bar serving food and soju late into the night. They're a classic of Korean dramas and still found in areas like Jongno and some nightlife districts. Sit down, order a few dishes and a drink, and stay a while. Prices are usually on a board — check before you order.

How to order and eat

1. Point at what you want — or use the menu board
2. Pay at the stall, usually right away. Cash is easiest; many stalls take cards now
3. Eat standing at the stall, or walk a few steps to the side
4. Return skewers and cups to the containers at the stall
5. Take rubbish with you — public bins are rare, so carry a small bag

Street food and dietary needs

Many snacks contain fish, meat or seafood-based broth, even when they look vegetarian. Hotteok, bungeoppang, gyeran-ppang (if you eat eggs), chestnuts and sweet potatoes are usually safe for vegetarians. For allergies, show a card in Korean — see our phrases guide.

A street-food calendar

What you'll find changes with the seasons:

• Spring: strawberry candy skewers, fresh fruit cups and lighter snacks as the weather warms
• Summer: shaved-ice desserts (bingsu) in cafés, cold drinks and fruit — hot stalls are quieter in the heat
• Autumn: roasted chestnuts appear, and the first hotteok carts start up on cool evenings
• Winter: peak street-food season — hotteok, bungeoppang, roasted sweet potatoes, fish cake broth and steaming dumplings

A three-stop street-food crawl

1. Start savoury: tteokbokki and a couple of fish cake skewers — share a portion
2. Something fried: a Korean corn dog or a plate of twigim dipped in tteokbokki sauce
3. Finish sweet: hotteok in winter, or gyeran-ppang and a fruit skewer the rest of the year

It's cheap, filling and a great way to try several things in one evening. Myeongdong and the markets are the easiest places to do it.

Frequently asked questions