Korean Street Food
Quick and tasty bites on the street
Cheap, delicious, eaten standing up โ the soul of Korean street culture.
This is a good choice when mealtime feels awkward in an unfamiliar city, or when you are walking around a market or station area and want something light to eat. Orders come quickly and portions are not too large, making it easy to try a little of several things. Spicy, sweet, and savory flavors gather in one place, so it is easy to understand how Koreans enjoy street food both as snacks and as simple meals.
Tteokbokki makes a strong first impression, even for first-timers, with chewy rice cakes coated in a spicy-sweet Gochujang sauce. Sundae is known for its soft filling and mild flavor, and is eaten dipped in salt or seasoning. Hotteok has hot brown-sugar syrup melting inside the dough, so it is best to be careful when taking the first bite. Easy handheld snacks such as Bungeo-ppang and Egg Bread also suit a walking trip on a cold day.
Sundae (Korean Blood Sausage)
์๋ ยท sundae
A type of sausage made by filling pig intestines with sweet potato noodles and blood, traditionally eaten in Korea, often dipped in salt or seasoning.
Hotteok
ํธ๋ก ยท ho-tteok
A warm street snack made by frying dough filled with brown sugar and nut syrup. It has a crispy exterior and a flowing brown sugar syrup interior, making it a representative winter treat that tastes even better when eaten warm right after it is freshly made.
Egg Bread
๊ณ๋๋นต ยท gye-ran-ppang
A snack made by placing an egg on top of a flour dough and baking it, characterized by its soft and savory flavor.
Honey Thread
๊ฟํ๋ ยท kkul-tarae
A traditional Korean dessert made by coating a block of hardened honey with starch and stretching it repeatedly by hand into thousands of fine threads, which are then filled with nuts. It is characterized by a sweetness that melts in the mouth and a crisp texture.
Dalgona
๋ฌ๊ณ ๋ ยท dalgona
A traditional Korean street snack made by melting sugar, adding baking soda to puff it up, and then letting it harden.
Tteokbokki
๋ก๋ณถ์ด ยท tteok-bokki
This is a spicy and sweet dish made by boiling rice cakes and fish cakes in a gochujang seasoned broth. The chewy rice cakes absorb the spicy and sweet sauce, and fried foods or kimbap are dipped in the broth and enjoyed together. It is a representative snack that is enjoyed cheaply at snack shops and on the streets.
Bungeo-ppang
๋ถ์ด๋นต ยท bungeo-ppang
A Korean street snack made by filling a flour dough with red bean paste and baking it in a fish-shaped mold.
Steamed Dumplings
์ฐ๋ง๋ ยท Jjin-mandu
A dish made by steaming dumplings filled with meat, kimchi, tofu, and other ingredients, characterized by its chewy skin and juicy filling. It tastes even better when dipped in soy sauce.
Roasted Sweet Potato
๊ตฐ๊ณ ๊ตฌ๋ง ยท gun-goguma
Sweet potatoes are roasted with the skin on, creating a snack that combines sweetness and nuttiness. The outside is crispy while the inside is soft and sweet.
Soddeok-Soddeok
์๋ก์๋ก ยท so-tteok-so-tteok
A convenient snack made by alternating skewering sausages and rice cakes and then grilling them with sauce.
Vegetable Tempura
์ผ์ฑํ๊น ยท ya-chae-twi-gim
A dish made by coating various vegetables in batter and deep-frying them until crispy, often enjoyed as a snack or side dish.
