Crew Daily For the last few decades, the Dongdaemun Market located in South Korea has been among the top of the list of tourist destinations. The Dongdaemun Market actually has a wide and long history that dates back to as early as 1905.
During the great Korean War, this massive market located in the Seoul city of South Korea was destroyed completely.
After many years following the Korean War’s inconclusive end, the market was rebuilt and appears as what it is today. This bustling market includes about 50000 manufactures, various shopping malls, eateries as well as specialty shops.
If you visit the great nation of South Korea then a visit to the Dongdaemun Market must be on your list of things to do there.
Out of many things one can do at the Dongdaemun Market, trying out the countless delicacies of the South Korean culture is something no one would like to miss out on.
The Dongdaemun Market boasts a wide range of street foods and after trying them once they will surely be on your list of favorites.
The vendors in the Dongdaemun Market might not speak the English language but they do offer free samples for all the foods. So all a person needs to do there is to point with a smile to let them know of your choice.
Today we present a complete guide of everything you need to know about the Dongdaemun Market in Seoul.
What Are the Things to Eat At the Dongdaemun Market?
Out of everything that you need to know about the Dongdaemun Market in Seoul we cannot stress enough on the fact as to how great the street food is in this market. There are countless delicacies, literally! But we have come up with the few that you must give a try once at the Dongdaemun Market.
Hotteok
First up on the list of these delicacies is Hotteok which is basically a pancake-like delicacy. But this pancake is much sweeter than you eat normally.
His sweet version of the Pancake is made with a mix of honey or the brown sugar added with sesame seeds or peanuts. There is also a savory version that might contain vegetables and noodles.
For the tourists visiting the Dongdaemun Market, we recommend you to enjoy the popular recipe named Kimichi pancake.
Although different vendors have their own different recipes but all of them are good in one way or another.
Mandu
Mandu is another one of the popular delicacies to be eaten in the Dongdaemun Market. Actually, this also happens to be the popular street food for the locals of Seoul. This delicacy is the version of the American dumpling but is slightly different in shape and ingredients.
These Mandu dumplings are mostly made by deep-frying, boiling, steaming, or pan-frying.
Tteokbokki
For those who love something spicy as street food, then you must give a shot to the Tteokbokki which is the spicy and cylindrical looking rice cake.
The spiciness of this rice cake makes the tourists visit the vendors many times and not leave until an order of rice cake is finished completely and still leave you wondering, should I go eat more?
No matter where you try this food delicacy at the Dongdaemun Market or any other food street in Seoul, once you eat them, you will be looking for them at every street corner where there are food stalls.
Shopping Places In Dongdaemun Market:
The list of everything you need to know about the Dongdaemun Market is Seoul will remain unfinished if you do not know about its shopping districts.
The Dongdaemun Market comes with two main sections for its shopping districts.
One of these sections is for retail whereas the other one is for wholesale as well as retail. But you must remember that this retail/wholesale section only deals in selling the times in bulk.
Retail section’s operating hours start from 10 AM till 5 AM on the very next day.
As for the other section’s operating hours in Dongdaemun Market, they start from 8 PM till 8 AM of very next day but some might do business until 5 PM of the next day; meaning closing for only 3 hours a day.
This makes the hopping experience in Seoul to be a never-ending experience due to its all night and day operating hours.
Tips for shopping in Dongdaemun Market:
One of the best-known retail/wholesale section’s markets is named Dongdaemun Pyounghwa Clothing market. Due to the wholesale offers items in bulk, single epics can be bought from the retail shops of these wholesale shops but at a little overpriced.
Still, the Dongdaemun Market offers the goods selection which is second to none and the retail prices here are still far much cheaper as compared to other shopping locations in the city.
The market operates at night so you can adjust your shopping time of the trip anytime you feel like it.
Some of the useful tips related to shopping in the Dongdaemun Market are as follows.
- The first tip is that retail shop owners only prefer dealing in cash. If they know that you will be paying cash up-front, they will offer a great room for bargaining the price. Who knows, you might end up with a steal.
- This is the most important thing, if the sellers know you are a foreigner then do not let them con you into buying things at a higher price. If you feel the price for something they offer is high, bargain with them to the least possible price.
- Keep in mind bargaining is good but don’t go too far with it. On average, bargaining can lead to the price of something high to get as low as 20 percent.
Places to visit:-
Last but not least on the list of everything you need to know about the Dongdaemun Market in Seoul are the places worth seeing. After you are done with shopping at the local markets and shopping malls, then you might feel like a place with an exquisite view and offers a dining service. We recommend you to visit the Dongdaemun (Heunginjimun) Gate. This is a monument that gets lit up by hundreds of thousands of lights during the night time and appears ethereally beautiful.
Another great place worth seeing in Dongdaemun Market is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza which is famed for its architectural uniqueness and curving domes. Be sure to add this place to your visit to Dongdaemun Market.
Related Content
