Street Food in the Cold Weather

As the weather gets colder and colder this time of year, you’ll begin seeing the city (or countryside) change over time. People wearing padded coats and hoodies, indoor temperatures cranked up high, but most importantly, the smell of food coming from street vendors.

At a lot of these food stalls, sprouted up everywhere in Seoul, you’ll find a lot of foods that are meant to warm you up: foods like tteokbokki (rice cake in a gochujang sauce), odeng (fish cake), or hotteok, which can be described as a small, flat pancake with filling. The places with the most traffic that you can find these foods at are tourist attractions like Namdaemun Market or Myeongdong. However, according to locals, it’s easier to find tastier or cheaper variants around in the city.

My personal favorite is a food called bungeoppang. A pastry in the shape of a carp, it has a variety of fillings, like red bean paste, custard, chocolate, and more. During my time as a student, I would buy one outside my university for about 1000 won. Bungeoppang is one of the most popular foods to get in the winter, especially when it’s still piping hot.

If you’re here in South Korea during the winter, try out the street vendors! You might find a new favorite food.