Seoul Gwangjang Market Food Tour: Bindaetteok, Yukhoe & Mayak Gimbap
Day tour
Food tour
Standard
Departure point
→
Destination
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul
1N (Participation Duration)
Walking (Transportation)
English (Language)
Number of participants 0/8
0 booked
Tour description
Gwangjang opened in 1905 and is the oldest permanent market in Korea. Its food alley is a few hundred metres of stalls with counters on all four sides, where you sit on a stool with strangers, and it is the single most concentrated place to eat Korean street food anywhere.
Your guide orders for you in Korean, which matters more here than almost anywhere. We eat bindaetteok, a mung-bean pancake ground on a stone mill and fried in a shallow pool of pork fat until the edges shatter. Yukhoe, raw beef tartare with pear, sesame oil and a raw egg yolk, from a Michelin Bib Gourmand stall that has been on the corner for decades. Kalguksu, wheat noodles cut by hand and dropped into anchovy broth. Mayak gimbap, tiny seaweed rolls with mustard sauce whose nickname translates as drug gimbap because of how many you eat.
We finish with a glass of makgeolli, the cloudy unfiltered rice wine, and sundae or tteokbokki depending on how much room is left. Your guide explains the market's history, the Japanese occupation it was built to resist, and how to order.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
Your guide orders for you in Korean, which matters more here than almost anywhere. We eat bindaetteok, a mung-bean pancake ground on a stone mill and fried in a shallow pool of pork fat until the edges shatter. Yukhoe, raw beef tartare with pear, sesame oil and a raw egg yolk, from a Michelin Bib Gourmand stall that has been on the corner for decades. Kalguksu, wheat noodles cut by hand and dropped into anchovy broth. Mayak gimbap, tiny seaweed rolls with mustard sauce whose nickname translates as drug gimbap because of how many you eat.
We finish with a glass of makgeolli, the cloudy unfiltered rice wine, and sundae or tteokbokki depending on how much room is left. Your guide explains the market's history, the Japanese occupation it was built to resist, and how to order.
Small group, maximum 8 guests.
Meeting point:
View on map
Gwangjang Market, Jongno 5-ga station exit 8, Seoul
We meet outside exit 8 of Jongno 5-ga station on Line 1, one minute from the Gwangjang Market north gate. Your guide will have a small sign with your name.
Detailed itinerary
Stop 1 - Gwangjang north gate: Your guide's briefing on the market's 1905 origins, how the counters work, and how to order and pay.
Stop 2 - Bindaetteok: Mung beans ground on a stone mill, mixed with pork and kimchi and fried in a shallow pool of fat until the edge shatters, with raw onion in soy vinegar.
Stop 3 - Yukhoe: Raw beef tartare with julienned pear, sesame oil, pine nuts and a raw egg yolk, at a Michelin Bib Gourmand stall.
Stop 4 - Kalguksu: Wheat noodles rolled and cut by hand, dropped into an anchovy and kelp broth with courgette and a spoonful of chilli.
Stop 5 - Mayak gimbap: Tiny seaweed rolls dipped in mustard-soy sauce. The nickname means drug gimbap, and after four of them you will understand.
Stop 6 - Sundae and tteokbokki: Korean blood sausage with steamed offal, and rice cakes in chilli sauce - the pair that define Korean market food.
Stop 7 - Makgeolli: A brass bowl of cloudy unfiltered rice wine, poured the way it is meant to be, with your guide's notes on Seoul's other markets.
Stop 2 - Bindaetteok: Mung beans ground on a stone mill, mixed with pork and kimchi and fried in a shallow pool of fat until the edge shatters, with raw onion in soy vinegar.
Stop 3 - Yukhoe: Raw beef tartare with julienned pear, sesame oil, pine nuts and a raw egg yolk, at a Michelin Bib Gourmand stall.
Stop 4 - Kalguksu: Wheat noodles rolled and cut by hand, dropped into an anchovy and kelp broth with courgette and a spoonful of chilli.
Stop 5 - Mayak gimbap: Tiny seaweed rolls dipped in mustard-soy sauce. The nickname means drug gimbap, and after four of them you will understand.
Stop 6 - Sundae and tteokbokki: Korean blood sausage with steamed offal, and rice cakes in chilli sauce - the pair that define Korean market food.
Stop 7 - Makgeolli: A brass bowl of cloudy unfiltered rice wine, poured the way it is meant to be, with your guide's notes on Seoul's other markets.
Tour price includes
• Small-group English-speaking local food guide (maximum 8 guests)
• All food tastings listed in the itinerary
• One bowl of makgeolli or a soft drink
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
• All food tastings listed in the itinerary
• One bowl of makgeolli or a soft drink
• Bottled water and wet wipes throughout
• All taxes and service fees
Tour price excludes
• Hotel pick-up and drop-off (the meeting point is at a subway exit)
• Subway fares
• Additional alcohol
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (not customary in Korea)
• Subway fares
• Additional alcohol
• Personal travel insurance
• Tips for your guide (not customary in Korea)
Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the tour start time for a full refund. Cancellations within 24 hours are non-refundable. Tours run rain or shine - the food alley is covered.
Other notes
Runs daily at 11:00 and 17:00. The evening departure is livelier; the late-morning one is far more comfortable and better if you want to talk to your guide.
On pricing: Seoul ran a public crackdown on price-gouging at Gwangjang in 2026, with mystery shoppers, mandatory posted prices and a demerit system for vendors. Your guide only uses stalls with posted prices and confirms the bill before ordering, which is a large part of why this tour exists.
Most stalls are cash only, and your guide handles all payment on the tour.
Seating is shoulder-to-shoulder with about fifteen minutes' turnover. A group of more than eight cannot sit together, which is why we cap at eight.
Raw beef tartare is optional and nobody is pressured; we substitute a cooked dish on request.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is workable via bindaetteok made without pork, kalguksu and gimbap, with notice.
Entirely on foot, about 800 m.
On pricing: Seoul ran a public crackdown on price-gouging at Gwangjang in 2026, with mystery shoppers, mandatory posted prices and a demerit system for vendors. Your guide only uses stalls with posted prices and confirms the bill before ordering, which is a large part of why this tour exists.
Most stalls are cash only, and your guide handles all payment on the tour.
Seating is shoulder-to-shoulder with about fifteen minutes' turnover. A group of more than eight cannot sit together, which is why we cap at eight.
Raw beef tartare is optional and nobody is pressured; we substitute a cooked dish on request.
Dietary needs: tell us at least 48 hours ahead. Vegetarian is workable via bindaetteok made without pork, kalguksu and gimbap, with notice.
Entirely on foot, about 800 m.
Detailed price list
| Guest type | Price |
|---|---|
| Adults | $75 |
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Weekly on CN,T2,T3,T4,T5,T6,T7
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Month12,2026
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T6
T7
CN
Month01,2027
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T3
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T6
T7
CN
Month02,2027
T2
T3
T4
T5
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CN
Month03,2027
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
CN
Month04,2027
T2
T3
T4
T5
T6
T7
CN
18
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20
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22
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