First visit to Gwangjang Market: bindaetteok, gimbap and a look around
Choose a first dish, leave room for another, and decide whether to browse the clothing shops. This guide separates food-alley hours from individual shop hours.
Start a visit to Gwangjang Market with a mung bean pancake or a serving of small gimbap rolls. Look around the food alley first, then choose the one thing you most want to eat. That leaves room to decide on something else before you are full. It also helps to decide whether this is a meal stop or a chance to taste a little food and browse the fabric and clothing shops.
Food stalls and visitors in a covered aisle at Gwangjang Market, September 2022.
Begin with the food alley
Gwangjang Market has shops selling fabric, bedding, hanbok and household goods as well as food. The Korea Tourism Organization describes the food street linking the East Gate, North Gate 2 and South Gate 1 as a main area of interest. Start by looking at the dishes and how they are prepared. Comparing a few menus before ordering makes it easier to choose between a pancake and something like gimbap with tteokbokki.[1][2]
For browsing beyond food, consider the hanbok shops and second-floor vintage clothing shops. An evening visit focused on eating may miss the general shops, so daytime makes more sense if you want to look at clothes or fabric. Choose your arrival time according to which part of the market you want to spend time in.[1][2]
The Gwangjang Market exterior with its name above the entrance, September 2022.
Mung bean pancake or small gimbap first?
Bindaetteok is a pancake made by mixing ingredients into ground mung bean batter and frying it in oil. It is a good starting point if you want to watch pancakes being cooked and eat something warm. The Korea Tourism Organization describes Soonheenae Bindaetteok as using stone-ground mung beans, with kimchi, bracken and minced pork mixed into the pancake. A mung bean base does not make it a vegetarian dish. Check the accompanying sauce separately at the shop you choose.[3]
Small gimbap rolls are rice and fillings wrapped in seaweed, a useful choice if you want something bite-sized. They are also known as mayak gimbap. “Mayak” literally means drugs, but here it is a nickname suggesting that people keep reaching for more; it does not mean the rolls contain drugs. The Seoul Tourism Organization highlights the miniature size in its description of Mother and Daughter’s Gimbap. Even if each roll is small, look at the menu to see how much comes in a serving.[2][4][5]
If the pancake is what you most want, start there and add gimbap only if you still have room. If you would rather try a little gimbap, begin with that instead. Choose according to your appetite rather than making both dishes compulsory stops.
Bindaetteok on a griddle and in stacks at Gwangjang Market; archival photograph, April 2014.
On your own, start with one dish; as a pair, choose what to share
If you are visiting alone, starting with one type of food makes it easier to manage the quantity. Eat a serving of gimbap or a pancake, then decide what comes next. Rather than ordering assorted pancakes, gimbap and tteokbokki all at once, add food after you know how hungry you still are. Not every stall sells individual pieces or half portions, so choose from the quantities actually offered.
For two people, a plate of bindaetteok and a serving of gimbap can be a starting combination to consider if sharing is allowed. This is a suggestion, not a standard market set or a fixed amount for two. Check the shop’s minimum order and seating arrangements first. Eating at one stall also does not automatically mean you can bring food over from another.
Tteokbokki and eomuk are other choices found in the market. Choose tteokbokki for rice cakes in sauce, or eomuk for processed fish cakes. Even if sundae sausage or an assorted pancake platter catches your eye, finish the first dish before deciding whether to add it. If you are here for lunch or dinner, build the visit around one meal instead of several snacks. Yukhoe is raw beef, so decide first whether you want to eat it. For a restaurant option, see the Gwangjang Market section of the existing Seoul restaurant guide.[2]
After eating, decide whether to keep browsing
Keep a first visit loose: look around the food stalls, eat at one place, then browse a little more or finish. Afterwards, you might look at fabric and hanbok or turn your attention to vintage clothing. This lets you see a side of the market beyond a succession of food orders. If shopping does not interest you, choose one more dish or leave when you have had enough.[1][2]
If you want to sit down, look for the stall’s seating before ordering. If the arrangement does not suit you or waiting in the passage feels uncomfortable, choose another dish or place. A long queue need not become the focus of your visit. When taking photos, keep walkways and cooking areas clear, and ask permission before photographing sellers or other customers at close range.
Hands making mandu at a Gwangjang Market work surface; archival photograph, April 2014.
Plan daytime shopping and evening food differently
• The address is 88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Search for “광장시장” or Gwangjang Market in your map app.[1]
• The Seoul Tourism Organization lists Jongno 5-ga Station, Subway Line 1, Exit 8 as nearby access. Check the exit and the market area you want to visit together on the map.[2]
• Official tourism listings give general shop hours as 09:00–18:00, closed on Sundays. They list the food alley separately as 09:00–23:00, operating year-round.[1][2]
Do not treat 23:00 as every food stall’s closing time. For example, the Korea Tourism Organization lists Soonheenae Bindaetteok as 09:00–21:00, with last orders at 20:30. If you are coming late for a particular dish, check that shop’s hours and last-order time for your visit date. The individual shop’s notices also take priority for holiday or temporary closures.[3]
For clothes and fabric, come during the day on a day when general shops operate. For a food-only visit, use the food area’s listing as your starting point. The food alley being open on Sundays does not mean that every shop in the market opens that day.[1][2]
Keep only the dishes that fit your diet
Raw-meat dishes such as yukhoe carry different risks from cooked food. Raw or undercooked meat and raw eggs are classified as riskier choices for foodborne illness. If you need or prefer to avoid raw food, choose food that is thoroughly cooked. A famous name or a crowd of customers cannot establish that a dish is safe.[6]
If you have an allergy or strict dietary requirements, tell the kitchen about ingredients, sauces and shared utensils. Do not decide that a dish suits you simply because it is called bindaetteok or gimbap. The allergy and vegetarian request guide explains how to communicate specific needs. For short Korean questions about quantities and prices, use the market food ordering guide.
If you are full after the first plate, finish there. Choosing one dish you want to eat and one part of the market you want to explore gives a first visit enough direction without trying to collect every food on the list.
Official information
• 1. Korea Tourism Organization: market areas, address and hours
• 2. Seoul Tourism Organization: food, clothing and transport at Gwangjang Market
• 3. Korea Tourism Organization: Soonheenae Bindaetteok
• 4. Korea.net: Gwangjang Market food feature (2014)
• 5. Seoul Tourism Organization: Mother and Daughter’s Gimbap
Photo credits
Each photograph and its edited version are provided under the terms linked below.
• Cover: Bgag · File:Gwangjang Market, Seoul 02.jpg · CC0 · Resized and re-encoded as JPEG without cropping; metadata not copied.
• Photo 1: Bgag · File:Gwangjang Market, Seoul 01.jpg · CC0 · Resized and re-encoded as JPEG without cropping; metadata not copied.
• Photo 2: Jeon Han / Korea.net (Republic of Korea) · File:Korea GwangjangMarket Eats 02 (13885109655).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cropped, resized and re-encoded as JPEG; metadata not copied.
• Photo 3: Jeon Han / Korea.net (Republic of Korea) · File:Korea GwangjangMarket Eats 06 (13885109175).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cropped, resized and re-encoded as JPEG; metadata not copied.