Don’t Visit Seoul Without Trying The Most Popular Foods In South Korea
The most popular foods in South Korea are a must-try when you visit Seoul. I ended up spending a month in Seoul when I was working and traveling. I originally wanted to go for 2 weeks then hop over to Japan because I was craving sushi. However after spending time in Seoul and realizing how amazing it was, I chose to skip Japan and spend the entire time in South Korea instead. I don’t regret it one bit.
When I tell you that the food here is good, it really is. To be honest at first I thought I wasn’t the biggest fan. I’m quite used to the type of food in Southeast Asia like Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia & Vietnam. I had never really eaten Korean food before aside from kimchi and I believe I went to Korean BBQ once with my brother.
Yet after a month of trying everything I could, the flavors grew on me and now I’m a big fan. In fact, when writing this and looking through all of the photos, I seriously cannot wait to go back just for the food!!
South Korea is also an amazing place to visit during the fall because the leaves changing colors here was just chefs kiss. Being that I’m from Florida, I’m not used to seeing such vibrant colors when the leaves start to change. I visited in October which was the perfect time to see the bright yellows, deep oranges, and even rich pinks and reds.
If you’re heading to Seoul for the first time, I’ve put together an entire guide on everything you need to know for your trip. From how to get there from the airport, what apps you’ll need, which neighborhoods to stay in, recommendations on places to stay, things to do, and more.
Now let’s dive in to all of the most popular foods in South Korea so you can start making a list!
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Most Popular Foods In South Korea
Eating Kimchi In Seoul Is A Must
Asian food in general is delicious. Each country has their own flavor making their culinary creations truly unique. It’s also no secret that Asians live long lives and somehow remain looking young as hell as well. If your lucky enough to have Asian genetics or you have an Asian friend, then you know.
I think with South Koreans specifically, a lot of their health can be attributed to eating kimchi. Kimchi is fermented vegetables. The most popular ones you’ll come across are either raddishes or nappa cabbage. It’s a side dish that will be served with every meal and boy is it delicious!
If the idea of fermented vegetables turns you off, I highly recommend you give it a try. The taste will grow on you and it has a plethora of health benefits like being good for your gut, reduce inflammation and slow aging. Make sure you try it when available and pair it with the most popular foods in South Korea. Bon appetit!
Most Popular Foods In South Korea
Try The Must-Eat Famous Food Of Seoul:
Korean BBQ
Did you even go to South Korea if you didn’t have Korean BBQ? If you haven’t done this before, you basically have a table with a big hot plate and you cook your own meat. It’s served with rice, vegetables and kimchi. The server will come over and ask what meat you’d like, I recommend getting a variety! It’s fun to go with a group as you can all cook together and share a lot of food.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
I’d imagine you can’t really go wrong with where you try Korean BBQ at here as it is their specialty. However when I kept exploring the Ikseon-dong Hanok village and it smelled amazing and was always packed. So I decided to get a group together and we went to Jongsamyook which was highly rated and so delicious. I’d definitely recommend coming here and getting there early as you’ll see it’s always packed.
Korean Fried Chicken
This is a popular favorite amongst foodies. Korean fried chicken and beer is a must! The popular flavor is Gochujang but there are so many that you can choose from. I went with a group of girls to this place and we had one with I want to say it was garlic or sweet onions and it was so damn good. Definitely recommend you trying out different kinds! It’s known for being super crispy and extra flavorful.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
I went with a group of girls I met at my hostel to eat my first korean fried chicken at a place they heard about on Tiktok. It felt super local, was packed, and was absolutely delicious. I recommend getting a few flavors and an ice cold beer and sharing it. The wings come out super fast and you can cram many into a table. I’d get here early as the place was packed, for good reason!
The second place I tried it at was Noonaholdak Hongdae. They had sooo many flavors to choose from and were super crispy. These are also perfect for anyone who might be averse to eating fried food because they are oven baked. Don’t forget to order a cold beer!
Mandu
These are Korean dumplings. If you love dumplings, this is your place. You can get the fried or steamed with various fillings. The main ones are pork, vegetables, shrimp or kimchi. I am telling you try the kimchi ones, they’re PHENOMENAL! I was eating mandu almost daily.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
You can find mandu almost anywhere! There are street food stalls all along the roads selling this popular dish. The places I recommend to try if you’re staying in Jongo is at the corner stall on the main road: Ildeung Wangmandu. So good and you can get them to-go and enjoy them in the lovely park across the street in front of the Jongmyo Shrine.
Another place I highly recommend is trying them at the Gwangjang Market. This market has a bunch of different foods you can try and the dumplings here were fat and delicious. Don’t sleep on the kimchi ones, I’m telling you!!
After doing a walking tour, the tourguide told us about this place in Insadong that is famous for their North Korean style dumplings. The restaurant is Gaeseong Mandu Koong. Apparently the family who runs this restaurant, one of them escaped from North Korea. They’ve made therr dumplings with a traditional family recipe for the last 3 generations. This is one of the few places to get a taste of what North Korean food tastes like. It’s a michelin rated restaurant as well. To be honest, I couldn’t taste the difference but I just had to come check out the hype was. There is a line always out the door but it moves fast.
Hidden Gem To Try
Right next door to the first place I mentioned, Ildeung Wangmandu, is a fast food type of place called Isaac Toast. These are SO yummy and I highly recommend you try them. They make the most delicious toastie sandwiches with different toppings to choose from: eggs, bacon, cheese, thick bread, etc. And they top if off with their special toppings which make it just taste incredible. A snack worth snacking. I actually would come eat these for breakfast since it was in walking distance of my hostel.
Hotteok
These are a popular pancake that can be filled with various fillings. The most common is a cinnamon or brown sugar filling with nuts. It’s so good! I was walking once and saw a huge queue. I decided to stand in it too even though I dind’t know what we were waiting for. Turns out it was for this street food stall who specializes in these. Once I tasted one, I was so happy I decided to join that queue. Soo worth it!
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
When I was out exploring, I came across a huge line. The line was full of only locals. This led me to believe that whatever they were queing for, must be worth it. So I decided to join the line as well and wait. What were we waiting for? I had no idea. But once this little street food stall started pumping out these delicious hot cakes and the smell wafting in the air, I started to get excited. They had a few flavors to choose from but I went with the classic one which is like a sweet cinnamon one. It was so damn good!
The place for this one you can find: In Namdaemun area next to the market. Here’s the address: 12 Namdaemun-ro, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea.
I don’t know if this place has a name but just route yourself here and look for the line of people.
Bindaetteok
This is a mung bean pancake that is famously served at the Gwangjang market. As soon as you arrive you’ll see a lot of stalls selling it. It’s fried and has a savory taste. Me and a friend each got one but it was quite large and filling. I ended up not eating it all just so I could make room for more mandu.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
Head over to the Gwangjang market to try this famous snack. When you arrive you’ll see a bunch of stalls in the center of the food area. Try and get a hot fresh one. They are quite big and filling. I only ate half so that I could keep eating other things at the market.
Soondae
If you’ve had black pudding, apparently this is similar. Soondae is a blood sausage that has some glass noodles in it. It’s a popular street food snack you’ll find at almost all of the food stalls. I actually didn’t try it because the idea of blood put me off, however a lot of people love it including my cousin so maybe I should have tried it afterall. If you end up trying it let me know if you liked it!!
Odeng or Eomuk
These are fishcakes on a stick cooked in a hot broth. Also another popular street food snack you’ll find at almost every stall. You can also drink the broth, which is nice to do when it’s cold out.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
I was staying in Jongo which is a short walk across the river to Myeongdong. I went to this lady’s stall almost everyday to grab myself some of her fried dumplings. She sold all of the traditional street food snacks. I didn’t try these, aside from drinking the Odeng broth which was tasty. I was a bit too chicken but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try it!
Tteokbokki
Another popular streetfood snack that kind of reminds me of pasta. It is little rice cakes that are cooked in a spicy red sauce. They are very chewy and personally I didn’t care for it, and I tried it twice. Maybe it’s just not for me but it’s definitely a must-try as it’s very popular.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
The lady’s street food stall above is the same place I tried tteokbokki. Personally it’s not for me as it’s just way too chewy. But people do like it! I also tried making it from 7-11 in one of those instant noodle flavors but it was also a no-go. Let me know if you end up liking it!
Bimibap
This is a Korean rice bowl with bulgogi. Filled with rice, meat, vegetables, a fried egg, sesame seeds and a special sauce. Definitely yummy, I had one where I had to construct it myself.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
Grandma Yu’s is probably the most famous place to get an authentic bimibap bowl. You can also try all of the side dishes. The restaurant has been around for 40 years.
Gyerann – ppang
If you’re on the go, this is a nice quick snack to get some carbs and protein in. It’s essentially an egg bread. And it looks exactly how it sounds. Egg on bread lol. It is actually very sweet tasting though which took me by surprise. The bread tasted more like cake.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
This snack can be found along the streets in the mornings at food stalls. It’s a quick little breakfast on the go. You’ll also be able to find this at the Myeongdong street food market that happens in the evenings.
Kal-guksu
This is handmade, knife-cut noodles. So delicious. I tried two different kinds while there and both were good. I highly recommend going to the Netflix famous lady’s stall at the Gwangjang Market. She is known for her dumplings and knife cut noodles. Hers were soo tasty and flavorful. The line is always long but don’t worry it moves fast.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
The first place you absolutely have to try these at are in the Gwangjang Market at the famous Netflix stall. So freaking good. The next place I had it at that was yummy was in Itaewon. The place is called Yetnal Guksi, a noodle shop.
Naengmyeo or Bibim Gusku
These are both cold buckwheat noodle dishes. I don’t know which one I tried so I’m listing them both but they are very good. I don’t know about you but I personally don’t like cold food but this didn’t disappoint. I went with these group of girls to this very popular Michelin-rated restaurant and we ordered the whole menu to share (don’t worry it was small lol) and this was one of the dishes. Very flavorful and refreshing.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
This entire photo is from a Michelin rated restaurant in Myeongdong. It’s super popular and for good reason. The dishes here are incredibly made and full of flavor. There is always a line out the door, but it moves fast. I recommend you come with someone and order the whole menu to try. The food here was divine. It’s called Myeongdong Kyoja.
Donkkaseu
A Korean version of the Japanese tonkatsu. It’s. abreaded, deep-fried pork cutlet. I loved this when I was there and ate it as often as I could. Especially ones with delicious sauces to choose from to pair with it.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
I ate this a bunch of times whenever I saw it on the menu. The best place I think I had it was at Millefeuille in Myeongdong. Definitely get the one with the cheese. They were so good. I can’t wait to go back and try more flavors.
Bingsu
This is a shaved ice dessert. Comes in many different flavors like green tea, red beans, mango, cheesecake and cookies. Beware of the size when ordering. Me and a friend both ordered our own and we should have known by the $20 price tag it was going to be big…and it was. We couldn’t eat it all lol.
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
Bukchon Bingsu is a cute place to go and try this dessert. There are many flavors so perhaps you’d want to go with somone and share. Like I mentioned it’s a pretty big dessert so you’ll want to share regardless!
Tanghulu
I saw this online and just knew I had to try it. It’s basically fruit on a stick, typically strawberries and grapes, that are covered in a rock hard clear sugar coating. Careful biting into it as it’s like a hard candy but they are so yummy!
Where To Try This Popular Food In South Korea
You’ll find these yummy sweet snacks at the food markets. I got this one at the street food stalls that are near Insadong. You can also find them in Myeongdong too.
The Infamous 7-11
Okay yall so I had to give this it’s own section. If you’ve been to Southeast Asia you know how it slaps. 7-11 has some of the most popular foods in South Korea to try if you like a bargain.
Of course it’s popular back at home for it’s slurpees but in Asia people actually eat out of it. And for good reason. It’s got the goods. Now I hear that the ones in Japan are top notch but I haven’t been there yet. I do know though that in South Korea, it’s my jam.
When I was working in Seoul, I often worked late until 3 or 4am. This meant on working nights I was eating a lot out of the 7-11 because it was downstairs. They have so many yummy things but I’m going to list my favorites.
They have these perfectly cooked soy hardboil eggs. I was eating these for breakfast often. The instant noodle game here is wild. SO many flavors to choose from – even ones with cheese! Beware though the spice is next level. These triange shaped rice snacks filled with meat wrapped in seaweed. Learning how to open these is a skill. They come in a bunch of different flavors but my most favorite ones were the spicy egg, spicy tuna and spicy chicken. YUM!
For drinks they have this banana milk that is so good. And this soda called Milkis. Guys I don’t even drink soda but when I had this the first time, I had bought two because they were on sale. As soon as I tasted it, I chugged the whole thing and opend the second one. It was that good. The flavor tastes like if sprite and yogurt had a baby. That might sound gross but I promise you it’s soo good. Apparently people mix Milkis with Soju – which is a local rice liquor similar to vodka.
xx, christine
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