🎧 Yul's Korea Audio Guide
Gwangjang Market
Narrated in English with Korean phrases by YUL of KVIBE IDOLS.
🎵 Background music: Letter on the Wind (바람의 편지) — KVIBE IDOLS · Listen to the full song →
Full transcript
Annyeong, yeoreobun! Yul here, and I hope you're hungry, because welcome to Gwangjang Market! Smell that? That's the sizzle of mung bean pancakes. Your diet ends here.
Let's start with the history. In 1905, Korea was losing its power to Japan, and more and more business was falling under Japanese control. So Korean merchants pooled their money, and on July 5, 1905, they formed their own company to run a market that Koreans would control. It was first called Dongdaemun Market, and it became the first permanent market in Korea open every single day. A market by Koreans, for Koreans. Daebak!
Today there are more than five thousand shops here, selling fabric, hanbok, vintage clothes and, of course, food. The superstar is bindaetteok, a thick, crispy pancake made from ground mung beans and fried until golden. Then there's mayak gimbap, little bite-size rice rolls with a dipping sauce. Mayak means drug, as in, so addictive you can't stop.
Plot twist: in 2019, the Netflix series Street Food: Asia featured Gwangjang Market in its Seoul episode, including the handmade knife-cut noodle stall of a vendor named Cho Yonsoon. After that, food lovers from all over the world started lining up here.
Yul's tip! Grab a seat at a food stall counter and share plates with friends so you can try more dishes. Bring some cash. The food alleys stay lively into the evening, but many fabric shops close earlier.
Next, let's visit Seoul's most famous gate, which burned down and rose again. Kaja!
