Seoul's Traditional Markets: Gwangjang, Namdaemun, Tongin and More (2026)

Which market should you visit?

Seoul has dozens of traditional markets (전통시장, jeontong sijang). Five suit most visitors, and each does a different job:

Market	Best for	Hours (varies by shop)	Closed	Nearest subway
Gwangjang (광장시장)	Street food, bindaetteok, hanbok fabric	Shops 09:00–18:00; food alley 09:00–23:00	Most shops on Sundays (food alley open)	Jongno 5-ga (Line 1) Exit 8
Namdaemun (남대문시장)	Cheap clothes, kitchenware, ginseng, souvenirs	Varies; wholesale sections also trade overnight	Sundays	Hoehyeon (Line 4) Exits 5–7
Tongin (통인시장)	Coin lunchbox, oil tteokbokki	Shops 07:00–21:00; café below	Café: Tuesdays; whole market: third Sunday	Gyeongbokgung (Line 3) Exit 2
Mangwon (망원시장)	Cheap local snacks near Hongdae	10:00–21:00	No market-wide day listed	Mangwon (Line 6) Exit 2
Gyeongdong (경동시장)	Herbal medicine, ginseng, produce	08:00–18:00	Every other Sunday, Chuseok	Jegi-dong (Line 1) Exit 2

Hours come from Visit Seoul, VisitKorea and Seoul city’s news site, and they’re general guides only: every stall sets its own hours, and many close early when they sell out. Use Open or Closed? to check a date against public holidays.

Gwangjang Market: the food market

Gwangjang is one of Seoul’s oldest permanent markets and the one most people mean when they say “Seoul street food”. The food alley sits at the central crossroads: rows of counter stalls with stools, under one roof.

What to eat, according to Visit Seoul’s listing:

• 빈대떡 (bindaetteok): a crisp pancake of ground mung beans, fried in front of you. The market’s signature.
• 마약김밥 (mayak gimbap, “addictive gimbap”): finger-sized rice rolls with a mustard-soy dip.
• 육회 (yukhoe): raw seasoned beef, usually with pear and egg yolk.
• 모둠전 (modumjeon): a plate of mixed pan-fried savoury pancakes.
• Sundae, tteokbokki, dumplings and fish cakes.

Hours: Visit Seoul lists the main market at 09:00–18:00, closed Sundays, the vintage clothing section at 10:00–19:00 (also closed Sundays), and the food alley at 09:00–23:00, open all year. On a Sunday, come for food only. Upstairs you’ll find hanbok tailors and fabric wholesalers.

Getting there: Jongno 5-ga Station (Line 1), Exit 8, about 60 m away, or Euljiro 4-ga Station (Lines 2 and 5), Exit 4, about five minutes on foot.

Namdaemun Market: the shopping market

Named after Namdaemun Gate (Sungnyemun), this is Korea’s largest traditional market, opened in its current form in 1964. VisitKorea describes it as selling about 17,000 kinds of goods: clothes, glasses, kitchenware, toys, outdoor gear, stationery, ginseng and imported snacks. Many shops are also wholesalers, so prices can be low.

Food: Visit Seoul lists a kalguksu alley (칼국수 골목, knife-cut noodle soup) less than a minute from Hoehyeon Station Exit 5, and a galchi-jorim alley (갈치조림, spicy braised hairtail fish).

Hours: VisitKorea says hours vary by store and the market is closed on Sundays; parts of it also trade overnight (about 23:00–04:00) for wholesale buyers. Most retail shops keep daytime hours, so go on a weekday or Saturday morning.

Getting there: Hoehyeon Station (Line 4). Exit 5 leads to the food alleys and the tourist information centre, which Visit Seoul lists as open 10:00–19:00. Visit Seoul gives Exit 7 for the main market.

Tongin Market: the coin lunchbox

A small covered market of about 70 shops in Seochon, west of Gyeongbokgung Palace. It’s famous for its 도시락 카페 (dosirak café, “lunchbox café”), which Seoul’s city news site described as still running in 2025. Here’s how it works:

1. Go to the café building in the middle of the market and buy brass coins, 엽전 (yeopjeon). One coin is ₩500. Seoul city has described the usual purchase as a ₩5,000 bundle of 10 coins.
2. You get a plastic tray. Walk the market and point at what you want at stalls showing the café sign. Side dishes are often one coin; meat and pancakes take more.
3. Eat in the café’s upstairs seating area. Rice and soup are sold there too. Seoul city says unused coins can be refunded.

Don’t miss 기름떡볶이 (gireum tteokbokki), rice cakes stir-fried in oil and chilli powder rather than sauce.

Café hours (Seoul city, 2025): Monday–Friday 11:00–16:00 (coins sold until 15:00); Saturday–Sunday 11:00–17:00 (coins until 16:00). Closed Tuesdays and the third Sunday of each month. Older sources give Monday as the closed day, so check before a special trip. Come before about 13:00, as popular dishes sell out.

Getting there: Gyeongbokgung Station (Line 3), Exit 2, about five minutes on foot. It pairs well with a palace morning (see our Seoul palaces guide).

Mangwon and Gyeongdong: local markets

Mangwon Market (망원시장) is a neighbourhood market near Hongdae, where locals shop for groceries and cheap snacks: chicken gangjeong (sweet fried chicken), croquettes and tteokgalbi. Visit Seoul lists it as open daily 10:00–21:00 (varies by store), 351 m from Mangwon Station (Line 6), Exit 2. An older Visit Seoul feature mentions Tuesday and Sunday closures, which the current listing doesn’t repeat, so individual shops may differ. It combines well with a sunset at Mangwon Hangang Park (see staying in Hongdae).

Gyeongdong Market (경동시장), near Cheongnyangni, has what Visit Seoul calls Korea’s largest ginseng and herbal medicine zone, plus produce and seafood. Visit Seoul lists it as daily 08:00–18:00, closed every other Sunday and at Chuseok, 273 m from Jegi-dong Station (Line 1), Exit 2. It suits anyone curious about ginseng or wanting a less touristy market.

Paying, prices and etiquette

• Carry cash. Many shops take cards (VisitKorea lists cards as accepted at Namdaemun), but small stalls may want cash or offer a bank transfer instead, which is awkward for visitors. Small notes help. See money, cards and cash in Korea.
• Check the price first. Gwangjang has had repeated overcharging stories, including a viral 2025 video and a 2026 TV report of stalls charging tourists more for water. Seoul and Jongno district introduced portion labelling and mystery shoppers, and the district said in August 2026 it was stepping up inspections. Order from a menu board with prices, point to the item, and confirm the total before they cook. Is This Price Normal? compares prices with Seoul averages.
• Haggling: food prices are fixed. At clothing and goods shops, asking for a small discount when buying several items is common, but don’t expect much, and be polite.
• Ask before photographing stallholders and their food up close.
• Don’t touch produce without asking, and don’t sit at a food stall without ordering.
• Allergies or vegetarian? Many pancakes and soups contain seafood, pork or anchovy stock. Show a Food & Allergy Card.

Tips

• Best order for a day: Tongin at lunch, then Gwangjang for dinner. Leave Namdaemun for a weekday morning.
• Avoid Sunday for Namdaemun and Gwangjang shopping, and Tuesday for the Tongin lunchbox.
• Holidays: individual stalls often close on Seollal and Chuseok even when a market lists itself as open.
• Go hungry, share plates. Most portions are made for sharing, and you’ll want to try several stalls.
• Street food: see Korean street food: what to try and where for what each dish is.