Namdaemun Market
42-1 Namdaemunsijang 4-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
For updated store hours and other transportation methods, check out VisitKorea website for more information!
Namdaemun Street Market is the largest traditional market in Korea. It’s rich history dates back to the Joseon Dynasty days! While there are other more famous places like Gwangjang Market, this is a place that is often slept on but has a lot of really good finds.
At Namdaemun Street Market, you can literally shop for anything; clothes, accessories, housewares, electronics, equipment, toys, and so much more! My wife really loves to shop here, especially for baby clothes and socks! Yes, socks, kakaka~ Most of the shops distribute goods themselves at wholesale prices so it’s very cheap and great quality!
Pro-tip: Bring a suitcase, so you don’t have to carry everything by hand. Trust me!!
My wife comes here for the shopping, and I come here for the food!!
In Namdaemun Market, there are three places you must visit: Kalguksu Alley, Streetfood Alley, and Galchi Jorim Alley. I wasn’t able to visit Galchi Jorim Alley, but I’ll still share information about it so you can try it out for yourself when you visit Korea~
Kalguksu Alley
Kalguksu Alley is literal an alley. It’s a narrow path enclosed by a plastic door on both ends. When you get inside, there are about 10-15 vendors selling the same menu. They all sell kalguksu (handcut noodles), bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles), and bibimbap with barley rice.
Once you enter the alley, you will instantly get wooed to sit and eat in their stall. There, you simply order what you want and they prepare it in front of you. It’s so interesting to me that this “alley” sells all the same foods. One thing is for sure though, it’s the most authentic handcut noodles you will ever have.
To quote one ahjumma selling kalguksu,“All the food you eat here we make it authentic. Just like how your parents ate growing up.” It’s years old of simmering seafood broth, freshly made chewy noodles, and seasoned vegetables – all cut julienne so you get everything in one bite.
I had a great conversation with the stall owner we ate in, and she said that while it’s hard to make the dough day to day, they take pride in the food that they serve. I love learning from locals because even if they only serve several dishes, they know how to make them the best!
For 8,000W, you’ll get a set meal. Whether you choose the noodles, you’ll get complimentary cold noodles, or you get the rice, you’ll get a side dish and soup. But ya’ll know we just had to order everything. Seriously, it’s so good that in every bite, we were nodding our heads in approval! And no hate, but we honestly think the kalguksu here is better than the Netflix kalguksu lady’s. Just being honest!
Kalguksu Alley in Namdaemun is open as early as 5 AM and closes at 9 PM. The peak hours are usually from 11 AM to 2 PM when it’s lunchtime. If you don’t want hangry people waiting for you to finish and you want to savor the soup, make sure to avoid that time! My wife and I used to always eat here, and I loved coming back because now we are here with our baby boy.
Galchi Jorim Alley
Galchi Jorim Alley is very similar to Kalguksu Alley, but they sell different fish-based dishes. One of the famous dishes they sell is the braised hairtail where the fish is braised for a long time in spiced radish broth. They also sell fried, grilled, and stewed variants of the fish!
Unfortunately, I was not able to try any of these but if you get a chance to visit, go ahead and try this out too!
Streetfood Alley
The Street Food Alley was a little bit different because it is outdoors. A variety of foods such as fishcake, tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), kimbap (seaweed rice roll), dumplings, jokbal (pig trotters), soups, hotteok (sweet pancakes), etc. is all available here! There are three things I specifically tried out which are: Kimbap, Tteokbokki, and Hotteok.
#1 Namdaemun Vegetable Hotteok
When my mom and wifey went here without me, they tried out this hotteok from Namdaemun Vegetable Hotteok. Its long line was wrapped around the street because it was recently featured in a TV show. Honestly, I didn’t want to wait that long, but I couldn’t ignore the line to see what the hype was about.
I tried out their regular hotteok (with sugar-cinnamon filling) and their japchae hotteok (vermicelli with mixed vegetables). The regular hotteok was 6.5/10, but the japchae hotteok was 7.5/10! If it didn’t have to wait for 20 minutes, then it would have been a 10/10.
#2 담소분식
You know how when you’re in New York, you gotta go and get pizza? That’s what tteokbokki is like here! For this food trip, I wasn’t intentionally finding the best spot but I ended up getting really good tteokbokki. 담소분식’s rice cakes were chewy and the sauce was spicy and savory. Just the way I like it, a solid 8/10! Don’t forget to ask for a free yuksu (complimentary soup) after you have your tteokbokki!
For about 10,000W, my wifey and I had a very filling meal! Super cheap yet good! I love that I was able to come out here with my wife. We enjoy Korean food a lot so when we eat away, we’re just at our happy place.
#3 Tong Tong Kimbap
Tongtong Kimbap is a spot that was also recently featured in a variety show with the comedian Lee Young-ja. It opened at 3 PM and already had about 4 people waiting so I tried it out! I got the brown rice Kimbap, and honestly it was a 7/10. Wifey loved it though! She said you know kimbap is good by the ratio of rice and its filling. This was great because there was less rice and a ton of filling which she really enjoyed. It pairs perfectly with tteokbokki.
The street market and food stall/alley culture are what give life to Korea. The loud noise of friends chatting and vendors wooing, shoulder-to-shoulder seating of locals and tourists, and the random conversations with ahjummas and strangers – it’s chaos and beautiful at the same time. During the pandemic, many had to close down, but it is amazing to see them coming back to life!
Namdaemun Street Market is a place that has a lot to offer. I’ve gone around and checked out the food spots, but there’s so much more to see, try out, and shop! I honestly think this should be on your list when you come to Korea! I’m sure you’ll discover much more when you explore for yourself~
Other places you might enjoy in Korea:
- A Night in Han River with a Bowl of Ramen
- My Top Three Recommended Places to Try & Eat in Korea
- A Seafood Feast in Noryangjing Fish Market
Hi happy new year to you and your family
Happy New Year to you too, Roseann!
Good tips Chris! I went to Kalguksu alley last night after reading your article. Initially walked straight past it without even noticing. Got pulled up at the first stall by the friendly old lady and told to sit down now because all the stalls were exactly the same 😆 8,000W for an impressive sized meal set.
Kakaka~ Forreals!! It’s super easy to miss the alley because it’s barely noticeable, but I’m so happy you got to try it out!! Missing the meal I had there!!