Korean Traditional Markets: What to Eat, How to Pay, Manners

• Go in daytime. Most shops are open on weekday mornings and early afternoons. Evening is for the few markets with food alleys or night markets.
• Check Sundays. Several markets close on Sundays or on certain Sundays or Tuesdays (details below). Food areas are often the exception.
• Bring cash. The sources used here do not describe payment methods market by market. In practice, small stalls often prefer cash, so carry small notes. See cash and cards in Korea.
• Eat where you buy. Many food stalls have a counter or a few stools. Sit, eat, and hand back plates and cups.

Gwangjang Market

광장시장Gwangjang SijangGwangjang Market is known for its food alley, 먹자골목meokjagolmokFood alley. The Seoul city media hub names the mung bean pancake, 빈대떡bindaetteokMung bean pancake, as the signature dish and also mentions raw marinated beef, 육회yukhoeRaw seasoned beef, with long queues at popular stalls. Seoul's media hub also covers 마약김밥mayak gimbapMini gimbap rolls, small seaweed rolls eaten with dipping sauce.

Getting there. The city page gives Jongno 5-ga Station (Line 1), Exit 8, or Euljiro 4-ga Station (Lines 2 and 5), Exit 4, about 100 m away. Another source mentions Exit 7 of Jongno 5-ga; use a map app to confirm.

Hours (as published in February 2025). The market runs Monday to Saturday 9:00-18:00 and is closed Sundays. The food alley is open daily 9:00-23:00. A 2019 city article lists the food alley as open year-round and also notes a secondhand section closed on Sundays.

Food stalls here sit side by side along narrow aisles. Say 하나 주세요hana juseyoOne, please and point at what you want.

Namdaemun Market

남대문시장Namdaemun SijangNamdaemun Market is one of Seoul's largest markets. A city article from 2019 says it has more than 1,700 kinds of goods, and a 2021 city article describes an alley of braised cutlassfish, 갈치조림골목galchi jorim golmokBraised cutlassfish alley. The address is Namdaemun Market 4-gil 21, Jung-gu.

Hours. The city pages say weekdays 00:00-23:00, with hours varying by type of goods, and closed on Sundays. Exits: one blog names Exit 5 of Hoehyeon Station (Line 4) and another Exit 6, so confirm on a map.

Tongin Market

통인시장Tongin SijangTongin Market is in Jongno-gu (address: Jahamun-ro 15-gil 18). It is known for a lunch-box café, 도시락 카페dosirak kapeLunch-box café, where you pay with coins instead of cash at each stall.

How it works (as described in 2025). You buy coins, 엽전yeopjeonOld-style coin, at the café. Each coin is worth 500 won. You take an empty lunch box, visit the market shops that accept the coins, and fill the box. The author of the city article paid 10,000 won per person for coins, and says unused coins can be refunded.

Hours. The city article says the café is open weekdays 11:00-16:00 (coin sales until 15:00) and weekends 11:00-17:00 (coin sales until 16:00). It lists closing every Tuesday and the third Sunday of each month. A 2019 article instead says the café is closed on Mondays, so call or check before you go. As of October 2026 no newer official statement was found, so the coin system is confirmed only as of that 2025 article.

Mangwon Market

망원시장Mangwon SijangMangwon Market is in Mapo-gu and is a neighbourhood market where shops set their own hours. Tour operators meet at Mangwon Station (Line 6), Exit 2. No official hours were found, so check on arrival.

Jagalchi Market

자갈치시장Jagalchi SijangJagalchi Market is Busan's best-known fish market, at Jagalchihaean-ro 52, Jung-gu. Fresh fish, shellfish and octopus are sold from stalls on the ground floor, and a raw-fish centre is upstairs.

A listing updated in October 2026 gives hours of 5:00-22:00 and closing on the first, third and fifth Tuesday of each month. Other sites list only the first and third Tuesday. Check before a Tuesday visit. A travel site gives Jagalchi Station (Line 1), Exit 10, about 5 minutes on foot.

You can often buy fish at a stall and have it prepared at a restaurant upstairs. Ask the price first with 얼마예요?eolmayeyo?How much is it?, and confirm the total before you sit down.

The Gukje Market and BIFF Square area in Nampo-dong is nearby. No official hours page was found for it, so this guide lists no times.

Dongmun Market and night market

동문시장Dongmun SijangDongmun Market in Jeju City is a daytime market for fruit, fish and local goods. A food-stall night market, 야시장yasijangNight market, opened in 2018. A 2018 report on the city's announcement says it runs from 6 pm to midnight. Blogs in 2026 give the same start time but differ on the end, and put the night stalls at Gate 8. Treat both as unconfirmed and check on the day.

Nambu Market night market

전주 남부시장 야시장Jeonju Nambu Sijang yasijangJeonju Nambu Market night market runs on Friday and Saturday nights. The Jeonju Hanok Village page says it opens from 6:30 to 11:00 pm. The address is Jeondong 3-ga 2-198, Wansan-gu, and the phone number is 063-284-1344. See also the Jeonju guide.

• Ask before photographing a vendor. Photos of food are fine; ask with a smile and a nod when a person is in the frame.
• Do not touch produce or fish unless the seller invites you. Point, then ask.
• Eat at the stall. Finish your food where you bought it and hand back plates and cups.
• Ask the price first. Say 얼마예요?eolmayeyo?How much is it? before you order, especially for fish sold by weight.
• Keep to the walkway. Aisles are narrow. Step aside to eat or take photos.

Onnuri gift certificates are vouchers meant for use in traditional markets. No official statement was found on whether visitors can buy or use them, so this guide does not cover them.

For more phrases see food phrases and how to order at a restaurant.