Celine was a great guide, very friendly and knowledgeable. We tried lots of delicious and traditional Korean dishes which was exactly what we wanted from the tour
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- Cultural insights and stories about Korean food and local traditions
- Local English-speaking guide
- Traditional Korean dishes and street food specialties
- Traditional Festive Drink: Optional tasting of warming makgeolli (Korean rice wine)
- 8+ generous Korean food and drink tastings—enough for a full meal.
- Guided street food tour inside Gwangjang Market
Excludes
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Additional food or drinks not listed
- Gratuities (optional)
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- Meet your guide at Exit 8. After a short welcome and introduction to the market’s history and layout, the tour begins inside.
Itinerary
Mayak Kimbap Kick off your street food crawl inside historic Gwangjang Market with one of Seoul’s most addictive snacks. Taste bite-sized Mayak Kimbap—mini seaweeds rolls packed with seasoned rice, pickled radish, and carrots, brushed with fragrant sesame oil and served with a signature sharp mustard dipping sauce that gives them their legendary "narcotic" nickname.
Oden (Fish Cake Stall) Warm up at a classic alleyway food cart for an essential winter and autumn market ritual. Enjoy skewers of tender Eomuk (Korean fish cake) folded on wooden sticks, simmered in a piping hot, savory kelp and radish broth. Sip the comforting, steaming broth directly from a paper cup as you soak in the bustling market energy.
Tteokbokki Step up to a glowing food stall to sample Korea’s ultimate spicy comfort food. Savor thick, chewy cylinder rice cakes (Tteokbokki) simmered in a rich, glossy gochujang chili sauce that balances sweet, savory, and fiery flavors. Your guide will share how this humble street bite evolved into a nationwide culinary passion.
Kalguksu Take a seat at an open stall counter to watch market aunties (ajummas) roll, slice, and boil fresh dough by hand. Savor a comforting bowl of Kalguksu—hand-cut wheat noodles served in a hot, deeply flavorful anchovy and vegetable broth, topped with zucchini, scallions, and a dash of toasted sesame.
Mandu Sample plump, hand-wrapped Mandu (Korean dumplings) steamed hot right before your eyes. Bite through the delicate dough skin into a savory, juicy filling of minced pork, tofu, glass noodles, and fresh leeks, paired with spicy cabbage kimchi on the side.
Bindaetteok Head to the bustling center of the market where heavy stone mills grind soaked mung beans into fresh batter. Feast on golden, crispy Bindaetteok—thick mung bean pancakes fried on flat-top griddles with bean sprouts, scallions, and pork, served piping hot with pickled onion soy sauce.
Makgeolli Pair your crispy mung bean pancake with a bowl of traditional Makgeolli—Korea's oldest alcoholic beverage. Sip this naturally fermented, milky rice wine, served chilled in traditional brass bowls, and learn about the long-standing cultural pairing between rain, crisp autumn days, savory pancakes, and rustic rice wine.
Honey Hotteok Transition to sweet market treats at a hot griddle stand. Indulge in a freshly pressed Honey Hotteok—a warm, chewy yeast-dough pancake stuffed with dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped peanuts that melt into a hot, gooey syrup as it cooks.
Doughnut Twist (Kkwabaegi) Conclude your street food tour at the market's famous bakery stall for a legendary dessert finish. Enjoy a fresh, pillowy-soft Kkwabaegi—a twisted doughnut fried to golden perfection, tossed in sugar and cinnamon while still hot and crisp on the outside.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
This was a super nice and DELICIOUS tour. I’ve been to this market twice before, but never with a guide that stayed with us the whole time. She picked all the foods for us and it was VERY good! Celine was a fantastic guide and I’d highly recommend both the tour and her. She was also very open to changing our options if we specifically wanted you to try things.
This was a super nice and DELICIOUS tour. I’ve been to this market twice before, but never with a guide that stayed with us the whole time. She picked all the foods for us and it was VERY good! Celine was a fantastic guide and I’d highly recommend both the tour and her. She was also very open to changing our options if we specifically wanted you to try things.
We had a wonderful experience. Our guide was very friendly and fun to hang out with. We got to try and enjoy food we never would have tried on our own. I would definitely recommend this to anyone in Seoul for the first time!
We had a lovely tour and found Nizz to be a very friendly guide. She kindly agreed to wait when some friends were late and in general was flexible in her schedule. The tour was expensive but we enjoyed it a lot.
Our guide, Nizz, did a great job explaining the food market and giving us a unique experience. She catered everything to our needs, and we were so grateful we had her. Definitely recommend!
Celine was a very fun and knowledgeable guide. We had a wonderful evening and learned a lot about korean food and table manners. Very tasty and diverse food 😋
We did this tour recently with Celine. We had a wonderful afternoon and loved the market. Celine was great in explaining the food, selecting exciting things to try (and giving us options). We were so stuffed at the end that we skipped dinner! As an added bonus, after going through the market with Celine, we feel comfortable returning on our own to sample our favorites again. Thus is a wonderful food tour (we have done them around the globe) and we definitely recommend this one!
We had an amazing food tour of Gwangjang Market with Celine! She was incredibly knowledgeable and shared fascinating history about the food and Korean culture, while choosing delicious dishes we never would have ordered on our own. Celine was also super friendly and welcoming, with such a warm energy that made the entire experience unforgettable.
Jiselle did an excellent job guiding thru the market. We sampled a variety of interesting dishes and drinks. The cold noodles were a highlight. The market certainly has a local vibe and we enjoyed the tour. Jiselle has a lively and bubbly personality and took the time to explain each dish.
Jiselle was a lovely host! She showed us her favorite spots in the market so that we could try different bites - we left very full 😋
Fantastic tour with Nizz, a super-friendly guide, and yummy food. Come with an empty stomach!
What a wonderful experience touring Gwangjang Market with Celine! This was not my first visit to this market but it was definitely my favorite and the most memorable. Celine is the perfect combination of warm, personable, knowledgeable and professional. She was an expert on all the different stalls and selected the best ones for us to sample -- everything we tried was absolutely delicious! Thank you Celine for a great start to my stay in Seoul! To say I enjoyed our time together would be an understatement!
Our Gwangjang Market tour with Celine was one of the highlights of our Seoul trip! 🇰🇷❤️ My husband and I had such a fantastic time tasting an amazing selection of Korean food while learning about the food culture, history and traditions behind it. Celine was so knowledgeable, warm and genuinely fun to spend time with — we had heaps of laughs throughout the tour! She made us feel like we were exploring the market with a local friend rather than just doing a tour, and introduced us to so many delicious foods we probably wouldn’t have tried on our own. The food was fantastic, the experience was so much fun, and we learnt so much along the way. If you’re visiting Seoul, we highly recommend booking this tour with Celine. It’s an experience you won’t want to miss!
We had our food tour with Celine and it was great. We tried many more types of food than I expected and Celine was excellent at explaining what we were trying and the history behind the dishes. I wish Celine all the best as she finishes her degree at graduate school! Thank you for the hospitality and great conversation!
Our evening with Jiselle was a fun outing full of interesting food and good conversation. Jiselle has a great personality which came in handy in securing us precious seats to eat at in the busy market. There is an interesting variety of tastings - really too much food on offer.
We met at a big food market with many traditional Korean foods. Our guide Celine explained local customs, history of some of the foods, food’s place in the traditional feasts or meals and presented us an array of different food to try at different stalls. It was great!
Vibrant market with multiple stalls. Very busy but not much walking. Tour guide knowledgeable and helped a lot
My son and I had a wonderful food tour at Gwangjang market. Our tour guide, Celine, was excellent! She took us to the best stalls and was so knowledgeable about the food, culture and history of the market. We tried so many delicious Korean dishes and were extremely full before the end of the tour!
My son and I just did an excellent food tour through Gwangjang market. Celine was an amazing tour guide, taking us to the best food stalls. We tried so many different types of Korean food, all of which were very delicious. She was very knowledgeable about Korean food, culture and market history. We are planning on going back to try things we were too full to eat by the end of 2 hours. Thank you Celine for a great start to our Korean vacation and an introduction to your fabulous cuisine.
I had a wonderful time with Celine exploring the vast delights at Gwangjang Market and learning about each dish and the culture behind it. This market can be intimidating if you don’t know where to go or what to try, but Celine was a great guide and offered flexibility for what we tasted. The food was very plentiful and the experience was quite unforgettable.
Had a great time exploring the food market with Celine! The tour was very flexible, we could decide what kinds of food we wanted to try. Celine was an excellent guide sharing lots of facts about Korean food and culture.
Thanks Celine for your guidance on the market, restaurant recommendations and beauty treatments! We loved it.
My friends and I really enjoyed our food tour. Celine was a great tour guide. She was very knowledgeable and friendly. I would highly recommend this tour.
The meet up was clear and easy. My guide was friendly and very helpful. The food i was served was very plentiful and delicious. She took me to many different stalls and ended with yummy desserts. I would recommend this tour.
The food tour was fabulous. I have been on many food tours in many countries and this was one of the best. Our guide Celine knew all the best stalls to try. Very generous portions so bring your appetite!
The tour did not meet the criteria offered in the itinerary. Very expensive for just over an hour. Not offered all the tastings. No background history given about the market.
We had a great time and our tour guide Celine was amazing. She was super sweet and taught is fun facts about the food and culture. She was very helpful and flexible with all we wanted to do and explore.
We had a very pleasant time with our guide Celine. She showed us all the main dishes we needed to try-out in the market, but also gave good advice for other food related questions. Very kind guide and good english.
Celine was a wonderful guide and introduced us to many delicious foods. She did a great job tailoring the tour to include our children too. There was heaps to eat!!
So much fun! Virginia was amazing as a guide and was able to give so much detail in the food we were provided. Some of the spots she wanted to have us try were closed due to the holiday but she pivoted quickly and made it a memorable experience! If you’re lucky enough to get her, you’ll be happy you took this tour.
If you are intimidated by the hectic Seoul street food scene, fear not and take a tour with Zenobia. She will guide you through the must eat food items and explain the history behind the area and food items ( it’s her study major!). Beware, come hungry because there is a lot of great food and great conversation and history to eat up. You eat communal style and have a great opportunity to meet locals. This is not just a tasty bite. This is full on Korean street food experience!
Great tour of all the essential local street food started and the history behind the place and food. Come hungry for food and knowledge. Host was friendly and knowledgeable and made navigating the experience fun and easy. Highly recommend touring with Zenobia
Zeni was a great guide, she provided great overview of the markets histort. She had great knowledge of the food and good relationship with each vendor we visited which meant we were able to get the food quickly. We were provided a good variety of food, even our toddler enjoyed it. She even assisted us with getting our taxi home.
We had such a great time on our food tour with Virginia. She was friendly, fun, and made the whole experience really enjoyable. She took us around to try so much delicious food, and it was such a lovely way to explore. Definitely recommend!
This tour is a fabulous way to taste several types of traditional Korean food in a fun setting. Be aware - yhe market is crowded with tourists and Koreans (all vying for bench seats at one of the food stalls), but that adds to the high energy atmosphere. I appreciated that the tour was 1 stop and not an off-and-on bus experience. Virginia, our guide, was fantastic - knowledgeable about Korea (and Japan; she has a Masters in Asian Studies) and comes from the heel of Italy. She was very kind and patient with us and the stall owners, who can get feisty if you want to order a dish to share. Great way to experience the market!
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