In Seoul : Dining Gwangjang Style

Gwangjang Market in Dongdaemun

I got you into that lassoing-on-a-galloping-horse beat, didn't I? Well, you would have that same high feeling after having a hearty meal in one of Seoul’s most popular markets, Gwangjang Market in Dongdaemun.

Eating at Gwangjang Market, DOngdaemun, Seoul

Daily scene

Before every foodie got to dig into the “house specialties” that made the place a must-eat destination for locals and tourists, did you know it was once called Dongdaemun Market? It was only in 1960 that it was renamed Gwangjang Market, after the corporation that created the first permanent market (meaning, open everyday of the week) in 1905. Gwangjang took its nae after the two bridges the market was built in between: Gwangkyo (wide bridge) and Jangkyo (long bridge).

The market started as a single shopping center in the center of the huge Dongdaemun Market we know today. It only sold seafood and agricultural products then. Then it started expanding with vendors selling clothing, textiles, traditional medicine, handicraft, kitchenware, etc. set up shop. Gwangjang became one of the largest markets in the country. The address is host to more than 5,000 shops with more than 65,000 visitors daily.

Even though Gwangjang Market technically refers to the entire Dongdaemun Market, the locals will point you to the direction of “Gwangjang Market” when you want to try traditional Korean cuisine.

Now, let’s dine the Gwangjang style!

Gwangjang Market is a very busy place. Inside the building are rows of restaurants and in between, where the wide, covered walkway is, are stalls serving a variety of food as well. Maneuvering yourself from one point to another can be challenge, but this is where the charm of the place lies. Isn't it more tempting to eat in a place where all restaurants are filled with diners and people are queueing for a spot in the busy space?

Like any curious tourists, we went around the place to check out what was plastered on each signage. Of course, we can’t figure out what it really says. With the screaming speech balloons that seem to trumpet being the best in the area, and queues by the doorways, it’s harder to choose.

Menus list a good number of offerings. Some are cooked on pots ready for scooping, other entries are cooked by order. There are several restaurants though that almost share the same entries, dishes that the market is famous with, one of which is the mung bean pancakes (or the bindaetteok) and I call it the Jorean version of our “okoy.” It’s made fresh. The process of preparing it is like show-and-tell or an open kitchen minus the glass partition— soaked mung beans are ground into paste, then vegetables and meat are added, and pan-fried into pancake-like servings.

Two other specialties were sold in almost all restos, “hoe” dishes (meaning: “raw”) the yuk-hoe and San-nakji.

Yukhoe, the local version of steak tartare, is the thinly sliced tender cut of beef often mixed with a marinate of condiments. It is served with raw egg on top and thinly sliced pear. San-nakji has long-armed baby octopus (nakji) as its main ingredient. From the aquarium, it is cut into small pieces and served with pieces still moving. That’s how fresh it is.

*Nakji, long arm baby octopus. San-nakji, raw octopus, is a Korean specialty*

Another famous dish is the gimbap, the Korean version of maki.

My group decided to pass on the raw dishes but opted to go for mung bean cakes and a couple of cooked meat dishes. What I love about the meat dishes is it is consistently tender whichever restaurant it is ordered.