Korean Expat Community for National Disasters

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Even as someone who grew up in Korea, I can never walk past street food without stopping. Watching foreign friends react to Korean street food for the first time makes it clear why. It is cheap, fast, and genuinely delicious. Here are my five picks for Korean street food you absolutely have to try.

First up is tteokbokki. It is hard to think of anything more representative of Korean street food. Chewy rice cakes cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce, I have been eating this since childhood and have never once gotten tired of it. Add some fish cake or ramen noodles and it becomes a proper meal.

Second is hotteok. In winter especially, the smell of hotteok cooking on the griddle makes it basically impossible to walk by without buying one. The outside is crispy, and inside is a filling of brown sugar and crushed nuts. Just be careful when you bite in because the filling flows out.

Third is sundae, Korean blood sausage. Foreign visitors often find it a bit unfamiliar at first, but most people who try it are surprised by how approachable it actually is. The classic way to eat it is dipped in salt, and it pairs really well with tteokbokki.

Fourth is gyeran-ppang, or egg bread. It is exactly what it sounds like, a small loaf of bread with a whole egg baked right in the middle. Warm, filling, and usually priced between 1,000 and 2,000 won, it is the perfect winter snack.

Fifth is the Korean corn dog. It is a sausage coated in batter and deep-fried, and these days the cheese-filled version is especially popular. The Korean way to eat it is sprinkled with sugar, which sounds strange but is oddly addictive once you try it.