Tongin Market
Tongin Market (통인시장) is famous for its Dosirak (Lunchbox) Cafe. I saw it for the first time on C-Clown KAN-ON Show. It also has appeared on some other shows and dramas such as Running Man and 1 Night 2 Days. The most recent one is in drama Plus Nine Boys.
You can taste various korean traditional foods with relatively cheap price here. Just go to the Dosirak Cafe on the second floor, pay 5000 KRW, and you’ll get a string of old coins and an empty lunchbox. Go back to the market area, find sellers with Dosirak Cafe sign. You can buy food with your coin there. Most of the foods will cost 1-2 coins.
I recommend you the old style ddeokbokki. You won’t find the usual ddeokbokki with gochujang sauce here. The ddeokbokki will be fried in a wok with some red pepper. The seller put so many pictures of Kang Hodong and Lee Seunggi from 1N2D when they visited the shop.
There are a lot of food choices there. There are mandu (dumpling), meat, kimbab, jeon, pickled vegetables, etc. If you don’t have any dietary restrictions, this place will be a heaven. But for me who can’t eat meat, it’s kinda difficult. But, I was lucky that I met a very kind seller. When I told her that I don’t eat meat, she helped me choosing the food. I bought small crab in pepper paste, vegetables salad, and egg from her. And she gave me tofu as service (bonus). I think I’ll buy from her again when I visit Tongin Market next time. 😛 Her shop is not far from the Customer Center where the Dosirak Cafe located. Just go straight around 2-3 shops, it’s located on the left side (Dosirak Cafe is on the right side).
Most of the sellers here don’t speak english. But at least they can tell you how many coin you need to pay. After you fill up your lunch box, you can go back to the Dosirak Cafe. There are rice, spoon, chopstick, and water available. Just take them, choose your seat, and enjoy your meal. 😀
Here’s what I bought there:
There are ddeokbokki – tofu – i don’t know what but i guess it’s made from rice flour nokdumuk or cheongpomuk (mung bean jelly) – small crabs – eomuk (fish cake) – egg – sugar glazed sweet potato – vegetable salad. I like ddeokbokki and small crabs the most.
Tongin Market
3, Pirundae-ro 6-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
서울특별시 종로구 필운대로6길 3 (통인동)
