Street Food at Gwangjang Market

Korean street food. Three words that will always, without a doubt, get my attention. As someone who's constantly hungry, the delicious options at the street food carts in Korea won me over instantly. Imagine my excitement, then, when a friend suggested stopping by Gwangjang Market in Seoul for dinner, telling me it offered basically every kind of street food imaginable...

One of the entrances to the food part of the market.

Gwangjang, (or Kwangjang, as it's sometimes spelled,) is one of Korea's oldest markets, dating back to 1905. Like most markets in the area, it's also an excellent spot for shopping.

However, we approached the market with the express purpose of eating, having spent the day shopping and wandering aroung the new Dongdaemun Design Plaza. As we entered the market, we were immediately overwhelmed with tons of stalls selling every kind of street food.

The little "restaurants" all look about like this -- a tiny kitchen surrounded by a counter with stools.

One of the main aisles of the market.

We walked the length of one of the aisles, taking in all of our options, before we decided to pick a spot with some empty seats and order. While we were walking, I kept noticing these tiny little rolls of gimbap stacked up. That's when I suddenly remembered that I'd read about this market and this particular kind of gimbap: aka drug gimbap. 

Give me all the drug gimbap you have.

Of course, this gimbap doesn't contain any drugs. Its name, mayak gimbap, which means "drug gimbap," refers to the "addictive" quality of these little bite-sized pieces of gimbap and the mustard-soy dipping sauce it's served with. I'd been curious to try it out since reading about it in a blog, and they weren't exaggerating -- it's goooood. Between the sauce and the small bites, it really is easy to just pop one into your mouth after another. 

If you're looking for this gimbap in the market, you can keep an eye out for the gimbap rolls themselves, or any sign that reads "마약 김밥" (mayak gimbap), like the white sign behind her head in the photo.

So many foods to try! I wanted to order everything.

While I ate my gimbap, my friends ordered one of Gwangjang Market's other popular eats: bindaetteok, which is a fried pancake made of ground mung beans. Crispy and hot, everyone happily inhaled these.

The sauce for the gimbap = perfect.

After eating as much as we could, we were shooed along by the women running the stall -- a queue had formed behind us of customers who were waiting to sit down and order food. Definitely approach this market with patience, especially if you go around dinner time as it gets quite busy.

On the way out, I decided I needed something sweet, and immediately began scanning signs for hotteok, which is a simple fried pancake filled with brown sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. As it's cooked, the filling turns into a sweet, syrupy mess and it's absolutely heavenly. 

I will find any possible opportunity to eat hotteok.

Like most street food, grabbing a meal at Gwangjang Market is cheap. Really, really cheap. A serving of the mayak gimbap and one hotteok only set me back 3,500 won. That's less than $3.50 USD. The bindaetteok were 4,000 won each. There's so much more that I didn't get to try, too, so I'm definitely going to be making future trips to this market when I'm back in the area. 

Directions & Information:

• Jongno 5-ga Station, Seoul Metro Line 1, Exit 8 -or- Euljiro 4-ga Station, Seoul Metro Lines 2 and 5, Exit 4. 
• Hours: 10am to 9-10pm. Hours will vary from stall to stall.
• Pro tip: Bring cash. Most of these stalls don't accept cards.
• For more information, check out Trazy's site for the market.

I highly recommend stopping by Gwangjang Market if you're looking for delicious street food (and shopping, too!). Not only is it an experience within itself, it's also just a good spot to grab dinner after you've spent the day wandering around Seoul's markets! 

Crafty DIYer's Paradise: Dongdaemun Fabric & Craft Market

Imagine a warehouse with tiny booths packed so full they look ready to explode. Imagine each booth fill with fabrics and yarn and beads. Imagine narrow little aisles stretching out into an impossible maze. Multiply this by a thousand and put it into one six floor building. Voila, you have Seoul's Dongdaemun Fabric and Craft Market. It's a total sensory overload of colors and textures and people, but for the crafty DIYer, it's basically heaven.

Living in Korea, I often miss the giant craft superstores from home. I've always been artsy, and the latest DIY trend that's been facilitated by the likes of Pinterest has kept me busy with dreaming up all the amazing things I want to make. Unfortunately, supplies are limited in my area -- if craft stores exist, I have yet to find them. Stationery stores abound, so anything paper-craft related isn't hard to track down. Art supplies are also easy, so I haven't had to go without good paints or drawing pencils. One thing that was notably missing, however, was any form of textiles and jewelry-making stuffs. I like to tell myself each winter that this is the year I'm going to finish knitting that scarf and maybe learn a fancy (beginner) pattern. Honestly, the lack of yarn availability was really harming my grand daydreams of starting scarves that I never get around to finishing.

Enter Dongdaemun's fabric and craft market, with both of these things (and many others) aplenty.

I'm not exaggerating when I say Dongdaemun's Fabric and Craft Market has pretty much anything craft-related that you'd be looking for. Any kind of fabric (including a massive section just for hanboks), endless skeins of yarn, giant carts of ribbons, all the pendants and charms and beads you could possibly want... That's just the beginning. In addition to all of that, you can buy things already made. They sell clothes, little decorative lace collars, leather belts, blankets, dishes, embellished hats and jackets... It's insane.

See? I wasn't kidding. They have -everything-.

The last time I went on a craft supply run, we arrived around 11am and the place was already bustling with shoppers and supply deliveries. We had to dodge quite a few delivery men as they plowed down the narrow aisles with giant bolts of fabric on their backs.

Nearly all the stalls are packed full like this.

The prices at Dongdaemun are great -- definitely cheaper than what I would expect to pay back home. I needed fuzzy white fleece for my Halloween costume last year, and when I finally found the right fabric, I was happy to hear that a yard (the smallest amount they would give me) was only ₩7,000 (~$6.60 USD). To make it better, the amount given to me was definitely more than a yard.

Need to replace any buttons? I'm 99% sure you could find any button ever here.

The biggest draw of Dongdaemun for me, however, is all the jewelry-making supplies. I used to have a fierce obsession with seed beads and even had a small bead loom for making bracelets. As I got older, I was way more into buying chains and charms and stringing things together. Not only am I able to make basically the exact same necklaces as I would find at Forever21 or Urban Outfitters, but it's a hell of a lot cheaper.

We spent a really, really long time searching through the little trays of charms and beads, carefully picking out ones we wanted. About ₩15,000 (~$14 USD) later, I had everything to make several pairs of earrings and new charms for some chains I already had at home. Not bad! 

Overwhelming, but awesome.

My jewelry supply haul! 

To get to Dongdaemun:

Dongdaemun Station, Seoul Metro Lines 1 and 4, exit 9. Walk straight out of exit 9, the entrance will be on your left. See the photos below as a reference: 

   

Tips and information:

• Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8:00am-6:00pm, though be aware that many shops start to close by 5pm.
• Bring cash, as most vendors prefer that / don't accept cards.
• Shop around -- a lot of the vendors sell similar products, but some definitely offer lower prices. 
• The building is divided into four sections, lettered A, B, C, and D, so keep an eye on those are you walk around. (It might also help you not get too lost...)

Visiting Osan's 221 Year Old Traditional Market

This blog entry was originally published on the Aclipse Blog, which is produced by current Chungdahm Learning teachers in Korea. The blog features entries on current events around Korea, advice for incoming teachers, and the best spots sightseeing, shopping, and eating. The original entry can be viewed here. It has been edited slightly for content. For more information about Aclipse and Chungdahm Learning, click here. 

The first weekend of every month, Osan hosts their monthly traditional market, so last month, some fellow Chungdahm teachers and I went to check it out. Traditional markets are very common in Korea, and any length of time spent in this country needs to include a visit to a market. So what makes Osan's market so special that we traveled a couple hours to get there? Well, according to the great internet, it's been around for over 200 years. A mention of it exists in a publication from 1792 called Hwasong Kyolriji, proving it's been around for a very, very long time. 

The entrance to the market down an alley.

Osan's huge market is set up next to a large street near Osan Station, and operates the 3rd through the 8th of every month. Countless vendors set up shop under tents and umbrellas, selling literally everything you could imagine. 

After wandering through the crowded maze in the alleyways, we came to the main building. Osan's market is primarily housed in this large open-air building, but on the bigger weekends, vendors and their wares spread out into every available open space inside and outside the building. You'll find actual storefronts inside the building, selling the same variety of products, as well as a number of restaurants. 

It was in here that we found some more interesting items for sale... 

Okay, so this isn't really that unusual...

But... this is something new.

We asked what the little worms were for -- my guess was fishing? Turns out, these are silkworms. The little jar had samples of silk, so customers could see what they would get from raising some of these worms.

For me, the draw of these markets is always the fresh produce. As someone who frequents farmers markets back home, I love being able to support local farmers instead of big grocery superstores. Plus, the produce at the markets is typically cheaper and better quality than in the stores! The best apples I've found in Korea have always been from a local farmer selling them at a market. 

My purchases: apples and raspberries. 

These markets, I've found, are also a great spot to hunt down some plants to decorate your new Korean apartment. A couple of my friends picked up little succulents to add some green life to their homes.

It didn't take long before the smells coming from the food tents were making our stomachs growl, so we set out in search of something to eat. While the street food was tempting, one friend mentioned a local brunch spot, which I immediately agreed with. Street food is delicious, but I needed brunch. 

We stopped into a spot called Homestead Coffee and had what I would call respectable-although-not-entirely-authentic brunch. To explain, the "American Brunch" had an egg on top of the two pancakes, with a slice of cheese melted in the middle... Since that's how they decided it should be eaten, I gave it a go. It was fine, but just not the same. I need my syrupy pancakes. 'E' for effort, Homestead. We tried a couple of their sandwiches as well, which were unexpectedly spicy, but still good. Overall, it still hit the spot.

After our successful trek through the market and a tasty brunch, we wandered around a bit more, checking out the Engrish shirts we could find in different stores. One last stop was necessary, and that was for some dessert, in the form of hotteok. A traditional market is an ideal place to find delicious street food, and even though we did brunch, I was happy to make room for some street food dessert. 

With our plants and fresh fruit in hand, we headed back to Incheon, completely worn out from the long day of walking around. If you're ever looking for a great traditional market experience or just in the mood to pick up some produce/cacti/silkworms, Osan is the place to go! 

Have you been to any traditional markets in Korea? What experiences have you had? Leave a comment below!