🇰🇷 Seoul

Seoul's food

Seoul is a city for walking and eating, where stalls, markets and eateries pile in layers. Running through Korean food is, first, the heat of chili and the deep taste of gochujang and garlic. Onto that cling the sweetness of sugar, the scent of sesame oil, and the sourness of fermentation. Meat and skewers over charcoal, flour snacks on the griddle, tteokbokki and odeng simmered in big pans — much of it comes with heat and smoke, and walking the streets, the smell of grilling and of sweet-hot sauce drifts from somewhere. Eating hot then sweet in turn, a coffee for a breather between — that is the rhythm of a Seoul walk.

Starting from three areas

Here, Seoul starts from three areas of differing character. Myeongdong, the standard of street food, is a quarter where stalls line the middle of the street toward evening and one-handed sweet and savoury crowd together. Gwangjang Market, opened in 1905, is where you taste yukhoe, mayak gimbap and bindaetteok in the heat of the day. And Hongdae, the young quarter grown around an art school, is where stalls, chicken and roast-your-own cafés share the ground. The three are joined by subway, all close to a station. The heat of the stalls, the crush of the market, the quiet of the cafés — you can check Seoul's three faces of food on foot.

How to read Korean food

Korean food turns on heat, fermentation and sharing. The table always sets out free side dishes (banchan), kimchi first among them, refillable. Heat ranges by dish, and stall tteokbokki and chicken skewers are often hard to adjust, so if you are not strong with spice, start with the sweeter things or soups. In the market you sometimes eat raw meat — check freshness and hygiene. To drink, beer and soju are standard, makgeolli in the market. A coffee culture rooted after the meal is a Korean trait too. Sharing, a little of many things — that is the most enjoyable way to eat.

Before you go

Cash (won) is safest at stalls and markets, but Korea's cards and mobile payment are very advanced, and most shops take T-money (a transit-and-shopping IC card) or cards. Many sign in Korean only, so this site lists the Korean for each; showing a photo or the local script makes a shop easier to reach. Seoul is muggy in summer and drops below freezing in winter — the hotteok and odeng of the winter stalls go through you precisely because of that cold. Popular markets and famous shops have queues and closing days, so allow time. For now, take Myeongdong, Gwangjang and Hongdae, and walk Seoul's "hot, sweet and charcoal," each tied to its shop.