Gwangjang Market

Gwangjang opened in 1905 as a permanent covered market and still works as one, with fabric, bedding and second-hand clothes upstairs and a hall of food stalls at ground level. The food is why most people come. Bindaetteok, a thick mung bean pancake, is ground on stone mills at the front of the stalls and fried in a shallow pool of oil. Mayak gimbap are thumb-sized rice rolls dipped in mustard sauce. There is a lane of raw seasoned beef, another of blood sausage and knife-cut noodles, and stools jammed along both sides of each aisle. You sit at the counter, order by pointing, and drink makgeolli out of a steel bowl.

What you actually see

• Bindaetteok - mung beans ground on a stone mill and fried thick in oil.
• Mayak gimbap - small rice rolls with a mustard and soy dip.
• The yukhoe lane - raw seasoned beef, usually with pear and egg yolk.
• The fabric floors - bolts of cloth and second-hand hanbok upstairs.

When to go

Stalls open through the day and the hall is busiest from early evening until late, which is when it is at its best for atmosphere and worst for finding a seat. Weekday lunchtime is the easiest time to actually sit down. Many stalls close on Sundays, and the upper fabric floors keep shorter, more traditional hours.

Honest expectations

It is hot, tight and loud, and you eat elbow to elbow with strangers over an open griddle. Since it became a television fixture, prices at the best-known stalls have climbed and portions have shrunk, and there have been repeated complaints about visitors being overcharged, so check the posted price before ordering. Cash still moves faster than cards.

Nearby

Dongdaemun and the Cheonggyecheon stream are a short walk, with Jongno's side lanes running west.