Right now Mangwon Market 망원시장 seems to be one of the ‘hottest’ Seoul food markets popular with locals of all ages, from ummas / emos shopping in the morning to young couples and students eating here at night.
One of the best traditional markets in Seoul day and night, Mangwon Market has been serving the local community for over 40 years and has recently undergone a renaissance with young diners.
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It is often said to be more authentic and less ‘touristy’ than Gwangjang Market – but hey, we like them both!
You will never go hungry with so many good food stalls here and permanent restaurants, all at reasonable prices – and they even have a Mangwon Market anti-price gouging agreement whereby prices must be clearly displayed.
Next door, take time to visit Mangwon-dong World Cup Market, with non-food stalls and interesting finds. We also loved all the dogs in prams / strollers being pampered by loving owners as they strolled the market plus the Korean ‘Yakult ladies’ selling yoghurts and health foods from their electric scooters.
From the best foods to 2026 prices, here is our ultimate guide to Mangwon Market 망원시장 + photos. We last visited Mangwon Market in April 2026.
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How to get to Mangwon Market in Seoul
To get to Mangwon Market in Seoul by public transport, take the Metro line 6 to Mangwon Station and alight at exit 2.
Look for the Olive Young Mangwon branch and turn right along ‘World Cup-ro 13-gil’ – keep walking past the OFF BEAUTY store on the left and about 5 minutes later, you will arrive at Mangwon Market.
We recommend downloading the Korean Naver Maps app to plan your journey to Mangwon Market as Google Maps does not function very well in South Korea.
To get around Seoul easily, read our guide to using a T-Money Card / Climate Card or our guide to the best 40+ Korean apps, from transport to translation.
When to visit Mangwon Market and opening times
Mangwon Market is officially open seven days a week between 9am and 9pm but some stalls open later and some close earlier – plus the permanent restaurants inside may stay open a little later.
Some of the smaller family-run stalls may close on a Sunday or a Monday.
Peak hours are around lunchtimes (noon to 3pm) and also any time at the weekend. Many stalls open from around 10.30am (and may close when sold out) but this is specific for each stall.
We most recently visited Mangwon Market one weekday lunchtime around 1pm to 3pm and it was busy but not heaving – we plan to return at night later this year to try even more food!
Mangwon Market tours
Incidentally, we hope this Mangwon Market guide is sufficient to do your own DIY tour and tastings based on your favourite Korean foods – but if you would rather explore with a local guide, try these Mangwon Food tours (or you can even cook with a Michelin starred chef):
- Mangwon Market local food experience >
- Cooking Class in Mangwon Market with a trained Michelin-starred chef >
- Seongsan & Mangwon Market half-day small group hiking tour >
- Mangwon Market mukbang tour >
- Local home Korean cooking class and Mangwon Market tour >
Plus all these Seoul food tours on Klook >
Why is Mangwon Market so popular?
Likely because it is one of the most authentic markets in Seoul with not so many tourists (although this is changing), Mangwon Market is popular as it has such a wide variety of foods at reasonable prices.
Always full of locals queuing for fresh fruit veg or hot food to serve at home, this is a covered market too so it is perfect for all weathers plus only a 5 minute walk from Mangwon Metro Station.
It is currently serving up some famous foods too like Basak Macha 바삭마차, a famous handmade katsu cutlet shop founded by Yang Suhyun who is a former chef at a 7-star hotel and featured on Culinary Class Wars series 2 – more on this later!
It is also a fine foodie day out as you can combine it with Mangridan-gil Street, plus we also walked to Mangwon Hangang Park Seoul Battleship Park from the market, which we think is one of Seoul’s most under-rated and best kid friendly attractions – it is included as part of the Discover Seoul Pass too.
Popular dishes at Mangwon Market
When we first arrived at Mangwon Market, we walked the length and breadth of all the food stalls to see what took our fancy – we soon realised there was so much good food to try and that one trip just isn’t enough.
Mangwon Market is a foodie’s dream destination and a must visit when in Seoul. There are lots of street food stalls where you can grab takeaway or eat in small seating sections, plus many popular restaurants serving food with beer, soju and makgeolli (especially kalguksu noodles and deep fried stuffed peppers).
One thing to stress about Mangwon Market – there is a lot of deep fried food from Korean fried chicken and katsu cutlets to fried peppers and fried twisted donuts – so try and arrive on an empty stomach and forget about any diets just for your visit!
Some of the most popular dishes at Mangwon Market and their 2026 prices include:
Deep fried Stuffed Peppers 고추튀김
available at several stalls and restaurants and stuffed with fillings like minced pork and tofu – most restaurants charge around 12,000 Won per pepper, best served with makgeolli.
Wooyirak (우이락) sells this and is one of the more popular fried pepper places in Mangwon.
Katsu at Basak Macha 바삭마차
We made a beeline for Basak Macha 바삭마차, a famous handmade katsu cutlet shop founded by Yang Suhyun who is a former chef at a 7-star hotel and featured on Culinary Class Wars series 2!
There were lots of tasty fried items on offer including Whole Pork Loin Tonkatsu (3,500 Won), Quattro Cheese Cutlets (4,900 Won) and Jalapeño Roll Katsu – sauces cost 500 Won each.
Hotteok
For us, this is the most tasty dessert in the whole market – a delicious sweet and sticky Korean dessert pancake. We went for the honey hotteok but there are several flavours to choose from, starting at 1,000 Won.
We went for one for one of the many hotteok stores in the main market but many recommend HoonHoon Hotteok (훈훈호떡).
We sadly missed out as we didn’t realise this is the one shop that is actually in the basement, below Mangwon Market. They sell various hotteok flavors including seeds, cheese and corn.
As hotteoks as often served straight out of boiling fat (you could call it a VERY HOT-teok!), we’d recommend you give it a few minutes to cool down first.
Kalguksu / Sujebi
Witness the home-made knife-cut noodles being rolled, kneaded and cut up close and savour their delicious taste in soupy broths – often with dumplings. A famous kalguksu stall at Mangwon is Hongdukke Son Kalguksu 홍두깨손칼국수.
Similar to Kalguksu, Sujebi is a popular dish that uses dough pulled apart by hand instead, forming chunks of chewy dumpling like pieces.
We ate our Mangwon kaguksu at a branch of Hometown House. Expect to pay around 7,000 Won for a bowl of kalguksu with dumplings for 7,000 Won or 4,500 Won for a massive bowl of just kalguksu noodles (prices correct as of our visit in April 2026).
Mangwon Fried Chicken
Seriously, based on the queue, there is some ‘clucking’ good fried chicken being served up at Mangwon Market.
There are several competing famous fried chicken stalls (Kyodong, QS and Kyuseu) where you can mix and match a variety of flavors like cheese mustard, sweet fruits or teriyaki soy.
1 cup of 1 flavor chicken cost 5,000 Won as of our visit in April 2026.
Dumplings (Mandu)
Mandu are Korean dumplings and there are multiple stalls in Mangwon Market selling them (often referred to as ‘Ugly dumplings’). You can order them in a noodle soup, or served steamed just by themselves.
The two most common versions of mandu sold in Gwangjang Market are either minced pork or kimchi.
Five pork or kimchi dumplings start from 6,000 Won – or they do half and half mandu too!
Mangwon Market Happy’s Peanut Cake
Now this was a tasty discovery – 15 pieces of peanut cake for only 3,000 Won.
There were several peanut cake stalls in Mangwon Market. Served warm, the peanut cakes are bite-sized, very cheap and delicious but also quite dry so you might want to have a drink on standby.
Tteokbokki / Tteokguk rice cakes
Popular as and a very nice rice cake, Tteok-bokki is huge at Mangwon with most hot stalls selling it either as a main or side (and often served with eomuk – like a fishcake).
Served in a sweet syrupy spicy anchovy sauce, tteok-bokki is a must try food (albeit sometimes quite chewy) and retails for around 4,000 Korean Won.
In addition, there are colourful stalls selling rice cakes / Tteokguk from 3,000 Won a packet and up.
Twisted Donuts (Kkwabaegi)
We first discovered twisted doughnuts (donuts) at Gwangjang Market purely by stumbling over the huge queue that went round the block – Mangwon is no different with several donut shops
Cheap as chips (or should that be donuts) starting from 1,000 Won, these deep fried dessert delights are a tad tougher than traditional donuts and very much loved by the locals, particularly the younger generation.
Goroke (고로케) / croquettes and Korean corn dogs
Available in flavors such as cream cheese, red bean, pizza, potato and custard, these are not healthy but damn tasty – we paid 1,000 Won for a kimchi croquette and it was nice. A bit sweet for our taste but OK.
Basic Korean corn dogs start from 3,000 Won or upgrade to a potato and mozzarella Korean hotdog for 5,000 Won.
Tteokgalbi
AKA Rice cake ribs, These are large pork rib or minced beef Korean meatballs (a bit like burgers) that smell absolutely incredible – and free samples are available too and they tasted sooo good.
Korean Toast
Popular with locals (especially students on a budget) and tourists, no trip to Mangwon is complete without trying at least one toasted sandwich – and yes, they do have a Mangwon Market branch of Isaac Toast 이삭토스트!
Other foods / products available at Mangwon Market
- Fresh fruit and vegetables
- Dried herbs and spices
- Kimbap stalls
- Hot pork knuckle
- Fish cakes / eomuk
- Sikhye sweet rice drink for 3,500 Won
- Prawn crackers
- Socks and hats
- Butchers / fishmongers
- Sweet potato bungeoppang (kind of like waffles) for 1,000 Won each
- Kimchi stalls
- Sushi and sashimi
- Grocery stalls selling Korean banana milk, makgeolli and HBAF
And many many more fine foods to try and buy at Mangwon Market!
World Cup Market / Non Food Stalls
Finally, just to say that Mangwon Market isn’t just about food – here (and at the neighboring Mangwon-dong World Cup Market), you will also find lots of Korean fashion and hardware stalls, selling all manner of goods.
Mangwon-dong World Cup Market is part of Mangwon Market and much quieter than the food market – it is easy to spot as there are huge soccer / footballs painted on the ground.
Some of the non-food stalls here include:
- Shoe and trainer stalls
- Socks and hats
- Fashion chains like ALLFORYOU
Address
Mangwon Market 망원시장, 27 Poeun-ro 6-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
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