Street Eats in South Korea

Five of the tastiest must-eats in South Korea

KOREAN PANCAKES

There is no shortage of both sweet and savoury pancakes, often with a hearty filling. Try the simple, flat, pajeon, which is an eggy pancake with scallions, or delicious hotteok, which are small sweet pancakes that come stuffed with various kinds of fillings (peanuts, honey, and cinnamon are just a few) – think of it as a Korean doughnut.

MANDU

Who doesn’t love dumplings? Mandu are a delicious street food all across the country, and can be filled with mixtures of kimchi, meat, and vegetables. Enjoy mandu fried, steamed, or boiled.

GIMBAP OR KIMBAP

Japan isn’t the only culture with a sushi food tradition – Korean sushi, or gimbap, deserves its fair share of the spotlight. In true Korean style, gimbap usually comes with a bit of kimchi and pickled garnishes – there are often meat-free types filled with tofu and veggies. Mayak gimbap is an extra-famous specialty at Seoul’s Gwangjang street market, which translates to 'narcotic gimbap' for its addictively snackable quality – this is a simple three-veggie gimbap served with an irresistible dipping sauce.

BUNGEOPPANG

These golden fish-shaped dessert treats are served with sweet fillings like red bean, custard, choux cream, chocolate, and other experimental flavours. It’s a bit like a stuffed waffle, and despite its shape, contains no fish whatsoever. Flowershaped variations are called gukhwappang

TTEOKBOKKI

These spicy, chewy rice cakes have a royal heritage, but are now enjoyed by all. If you see these tube-shaped cakes speared onto a skewer, they’re called tteokkochi. While you can absolutely snack on tteokbokki on their own, the actual rice cakes can be found in all kinds of Korean soups and stews.