Top 10 Irresistible Street Foods in South Korea You Must Try

Hotteok is a beloved street pancake found all over South Korea, especially popular during the chilly autumn and winter months. As the weather cools down, you'll find Hotteok stands in every corner, from alleyways to street food stalls, markets, and even high-end restaurants. However, enjoying this humble treat at a street vendor will likely give you a more authentic experience.

The pancake consists of a dough made from various flours and yeast, with a filling that varies but traditionally includes brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped nuts such as walnuts, peanuts, almonds, and chestnuts. Some modern variations now feature honey, butter, cheese, or even vegetables as filling.

If you're visiting South Korea in cooler weather, make sure not to miss this warm, sweet delight. If you're not sure where to find it, simply ask a local, and you'll surely be directed to a nearby Hotteok vendor.

Beondegi was originally prepared for Korean soldiers during the Korean War when protein sources were scarce. Since then, it has become a widely enjoyed snack across South Korea.

This dish may seem intimidating at first, as it is made from silkworm larvae, but it’s actually a beloved and common street food. Beondegi is so popular that you’ll find many street vendors selling it in food districts throughout Korea. It’s a snack that has captured the hearts of many locals.

To make Beondegi, silkworms are either boiled or smoked. Depending on personal taste, they can be cooked with a variety of seasonings, such as stewing with vegetables, stir-frying with spices, or skewered on sticks. One of the most common and unique preparations is stir-frying the larvae with spices, which gives them a savory and slightly sweet flavor. Once the outer skin becomes crispy, the snack is ready to eat, and it’s served hot on the street corners.

South Korea is not only a place where people fall in love with the stunning natural beauty and charming idols, but it’s also a paradise for food lovers, especially those who crave street food. For food enthusiasts, South Korea is a true culinary heaven. If you ever visit, don't miss out on trying Hotbar!

Hotbar is a unique variation of fish cake. To prepare this dish, fish cakes are rolled with batter and combined with ingredients like carrots and perilla leaves, depending on the vendor's special recipe. The fish cake roll is then skewered and deep-fried until crispy. Sometimes, vendors substitute the fish cake with sausage or imitation crab meat, and add a generous layer of mustard or ketchup. Hotbar is often served with chili sauce, mustard, or ketchup, creating a flavor that’s both savory and irresistible.

The saying ‘First comes kimchi, second comes kimbap’ perfectly sums up the importance of kimbap in Korean cuisine. It's a dish so beloved that it’s often introduced to international visitors by North Koreans when they visit or live abroad. These days, you can easily find kimbap in Korean restaurants across the world.

Kimbap (also spelled gimbap) is a popular snack made by rolling rice in seaweed (where ‘kim’ means seaweed and ‘bap’ means rice). Koreans often prepare kimbap for picnics, outdoor events, or light lunches. It’s typically served with pickled radish or kimchi.

Although kimbap may resemble Japanese maki rolls (both are seaweed-wrapped rice rolls), kimbap tends to be slightly larger and filled with a variety of ingredients. While a single sheet of nori can make about six pieces of maki, kimbap usually yields 12 pieces or more from the same size sheet of seaweed.

In the streets of Seoul, there’s a popular snack that’s particularly loved by women, as it’s low in calories yet incredibly tasty. This snack is called ppeongtwigi, a puffed rice treat similar to Western popcorn. You’ll find various types of ppeongtwigi, including tuibap, made from rice, gangnaengi, made from corn, and tteok ppeongtwigi, which is rice-based and formed into cake-like shapes.

Ppeongtwigi cakes are light, crispy snacks made from rice, ideal for a quick bite. If you’re craving something less greasy than fried foods, grilled meats, or sweets, give these puffed rice cakes a try—you might just find yourself enjoying them. A pack of ppeongtwigi usually costs around 2,000 won, roughly equivalent to 44,000 VND.

After a day of sightseeing in South Korea, visitors should take time to relax at unique spots like ice cream parlors or cafes. These places offer mouthwatering ice cream flavors to enjoy, especially during the hot summer months. While Vietnam is famous for Tràng Tiền ice cream, South Korea has its own beloved varieties, including soft serve ice cream.

When you visit the popular Myeongdong Market in Seoul, don’t miss out on trying the unique soft serve ice cream. This special treat is famous for its impressive length, reaching up to 32cm—three times the size of a regular cone. As a result, even in winter, these giant ice creams continue to draw crowds. A soft serve ice cream typically costs around 2,000 to 3,000 won, which is roughly 44,000 to 66,000 VND.

South Korea is not only known for its romantic dramas and breathtaking natural landscapes, but also for its rich culinary culture, especially street food, with an array of irresistible dishes like Bungeoppang, the famous fish-shaped pastry.

Bungeoppang, or fish-shaped bread, is a quintessential Korean street snack. The word 'bungeo' refers to a type of fish in Korean, and 'ppang' means bread, so Bungeoppang literally translates to 'fish bread.' This delightful treat is shaped like a fish, often resembling a carp.

The dough for Bungeoppang is made from a simple mix of flour, baking soda, and sugar. The filling inside is typically a sweet, rich red bean paste. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold and baked for about 3 minutes on each side until golden and crisp.

Once cooked, the crispy outer shell of the bread turns a lovely golden brown, and the aroma is irresistibly enticing. Bungeoppang is best enjoyed fresh out of the mold, warm and filled with sweet red bean paste. It’s not only a popular street snack but also served as a dessert in many restaurants after a meal.

Tteokbokki is a beloved traditional Korean dish made from chewy rice cakes, often served as a popular street snack at food stalls (pojangmacha). The dish originated from the royal court, where it was known as 'tteok jjim,' a dish made with thinly sliced rice cakes, meat, eggs, and spices, all baked together.

Today, Tteokbokki is made by stir-frying the rice cakes called garaetteok with various ingredients such as beef, bean sprouts, onions, mushrooms, carrots, and fish cakes, all bathed in spicy gochujang sauce. This combination creates a dish that's fiery, flavorful, and especially comforting when enjoyed hot, making it the perfect treat during the cold winter months in Korea.

The rice cakes are made from rice flour mixed with water and traditional seasonings, shaped into long sticks, then sliced or cut into small pieces. These small, chewy rice cakes are a favorite among young people. Although many may know it as a simple street food, Tteokbokki actually has its roots in royal cuisine, with countless variations that make it an endlessly exciting dish to try.

Sundae, also known as Korean sausage, is a popular street food in both Korea and North Korea. It's made by steaming or boiling pig or cow intestines stuffed with a variety of ingredients. While it might seem unusual to many visitors, for Koreans, sundae is a beloved snack often eaten between meals.

The origin of Sundae dates back to the Goryeo Dynasty, and it is even mentioned in 19th-century cookbooks like the Siuijeonseo from the Joseon era. The most common way to prepare it is by stuffing pig intestines with barley, dangmyeon (glass noodles), and pig's blood. Other variations may include rice, bean sprouts, perilla leaves, greens, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. Some versions also add doenjang or ganjang for extra flavor. Sundae has several regional variations, such as ojingeo-sundae (stuffed with squid) and myeongtae-sundae (stuffed with dried pollock).

The stuffing creates a chewy, dense texture that's distinctive from other sausages. Sundae is similar to Vietnam's dồi trường but offers a very different taste. Nutritionally, it’s a high-calorie dish, making it a favorite for those trying to gain weight.

In Korea, sundae can be found in street food stalls all over, often served hot alongside tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and odeng (fish cakes) for an affordable and satisfying meal.

Odeng, or fish cake skewers, may often be underrated but is undeniably delicious, affordable, and quick. It excels in three key areas: great taste, low cost, and generous portions. It's a common street food found in many places, from shopping malls and supermarkets to convenience stores and even high-end hotels.

At its core, odeng is seasoned fish cake, shaped into either small pieces or strips, then boiled. These pieces are usually threaded onto wooden skewers for serving. The fish cakes are made by mixing minced fish with starch, rice flour or regular wheat flour, sugar, salt, and rice wine.

While you're in Korea, you'll encounter three main types of odeng. The simplest form is served on skewers, soaked in a broth made with radish, green onions, and sometimes crab or dried seaweed to enhance the flavor. Street vendors offer unlimited refills of broth, and the number of skewers you eat is counted. The broth is free, and its taste may vary depending on where you are. If you spot shrimp shells, pumpkin, or green onions floating in the broth, it's likely going to be delicious. Soy sauce is often provided as a dip for the fish cakes. A fun twist I tried was odeng red, where the fish cakes are paired with a spicy sauce made from gochujang – not for the faint-hearted.

The second type of odeng involves fish cakes skewered and deep-fried, then served with mustard and ketchup. The variety of odeng available is impressive, with different stalls competing by creating their own unique versions.

Lastly, there’s odeng tang (also known as eomuk guk or fish cake soup). In this version, fish cakes are served in a hot bowl of broth with a dash of chili, chopped green onions, and soybeans. This hearty dish is perfect for cold weather and pairs wonderfully with soju or jeongjong (a Korean version of sake). The colors, flavors, and shapes of odeng vary greatly depending on where you try it, so take your time to find your favorite version.