Most travellers associate Gwangjang Market with just food but that barely scratches the surface – a lot has changed in and around Gwangjang Market over the last few years, attracting a whole new generation of shoppers and foodies.
From new K-Beauty shops like a retro Olive Young and bright purple OFF BEAUTY, to cool coffee-shops like Cafe Onion and the three storey Starbucks community store, Gwangjang Market is changing.
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Featuring brands like Pop Mart, Hirono, Kodak and HBAF, you will also find lots of decadent desserts and bakeries like Abebe and Miik Flo Kaymak – afterwards, walk it all off with a stroll along Cheonggyecheon stream.
From foodie finds to new stores, here is our guide to Gwangjang Market and things to do nearby.
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Gwangjang Market
Obviously we must start the list with the market itself! Gwangjang Market is Seoulโs most famous food market, a myriad of market street food stalls selling some of the best food youโll taste in Seoul (or anywhere in South Korea).
Gwangjang Market has bags of character, from the numerous (and competitive) stallholders who beckon you over (โSit. SITโ!) to the huge array of awesome and authentic street food available.
Boiling hot in the summer and bitterly cold in the winter, Gwangjang Market is a foodieโs dream and a must visit when in the Jongno District.
Everytime we talk about Gwangjang Market in our South Korea Facebook group, someone says this is for tourists only but that isnโt true โ it is just quite popular with tourists but for good reason!
And yes, as this best Seoul markets guide shows, there are many other markets to try like Mangwon, Namdaemun, Tongin etc โ but this is also good. A few tourists have reported slightly being overcharged too but it has never happened to us.
Check out our full guide to what to eat at Gwangjang Market in Seoul >
OFF BEAUTY
On our latest Seoul Gwangjang Market trip, we noticed a new branch of the K-Beauty discount shop brand called OFF BEAUTY (์คํ๋ทฐํฐ) – it is located in one of the market side alleys.
Promising low low prices and big discounts on K-Beauty products, it has been getting a lot of social media attention. Kind of like a discount warehouse, most OFF BEAUTY seem to pile cosmetics high (often on palettes or on shelves) and sell them cheap.
Kind of like an Olive Young outlet store but with brands you probably havenโt heard of, weโve seen discounts at OFF BEAUTY as high as 80% off. Apparently they achieve lower prices by purchasing excess stock directly from K-Beauty brands.
As of summer 2026, there are a handful of Seoul OFF BEAUTY branches including Mangwon, Gwangjang Market, Insadong and Myeongdong. In total, there are around 40 OFF BEAUTY branches across South Korea.
Cheonggyecheon River Walk
One of the best free walks in Seoul any time of day, the Cheonggyecheon is a downtown public park and river walk that is lit up and open 24 hours and passes right next to Gwangjang Market.
Cheonggyecheon is an example of urban regeneration whereby this formerly neglected and run down riverside area was transformed in the early 2000s into a wonderful walk along a river, complete with benches, stepping stone bridges and a long concrete walkway (also ideal for jogging).
Bangsan Market
Very much a localโs market selling cheap as chips goods and wholesale items, Bangsan Market ๋ฐฉ์ฐ์์ฅ is across the road from Gwangjang and has over 200 stalls and used to be famous as a place to buy pretty packaging and boxes.
When we visited Dongdaemunโs Bangsan Market, we found it to be mainly hardware and home interiors plus the stench of fake perfume lingers; there were lots of labels that said things like โsmells like Chanelโ.
Other random items to buy at Bangsan market included rose ice cube trays, astroturf and lots of fabrics and gaudy decorations. Bangsan Market is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm.
Hosunseng โ Maekgolli and Japchae Roll
On our latest visit to Gwangjang Market, we spotted this tiny bar/restaurant called Hosunseng ํธ์ ์์ ๊ด์ฅ์์ฅ which caught our attention as it had been on the Netflix show โSoju Rhapsodyโ.
We ordered some japchae rolls to share which was sooooo good! It is spicy japchae noodles wrapped in pork and seaweed, then deep fried!
But one of the biggest highlights of this place was the walk-in refrigerator which was packed with bottles of Maekgolli (Korean rice wine) and other alcoholic beverages such as soju.
You can just walk in and help yourself to whichever bottle you want to purchase. They all had English language labels telling you how sweet, sour or fizzy each of them were.
We were overwhelmed with choices, so we just picked a random bottle that wasnโt too expensive and it turned out to be rather nice! Weโd definitely recommend a visit to Hosunseng.
Cho Yonsoonโs Kalguksu knife-cut noodle stall
Enjoyed the Netflix series Street Food: Asia? Next time you visit Seoul, make sure you take time to visit Cho Yonsoonโs Kalguksu knife-cut noodle stall (but be prepared to sometimes queue to savour this delicious โSeoul foodโโฆ)
Famous for her appearance on the Netflix show and her handcut noodles, we just had to try the signature dish – it is also fascinating to see Cho Yoonsun and her team up closed at work.
We ordered two bowls of knife-cut noodles and dumpling soup which are 8000 Won a bowl plus a separate dish of Choโs dumplings alone โ 3 kimchi dumplings, 3 pork and chive dumplings for 7000 Won.
The Netflix ladyโs noodle stall isnโt the only hand-cut noodle stall in Gwangjang Market โ there are several noodle and dumpling stalls all within close proximity to Cho Yonsoonโs stall.
Find out more in our Netflix noodle lady guide >
Olive Young Gwangjang Market Store
Perhaps the most famous Korean beauty brand, CJ Olive Young has over 1,400 stores across South Korea and it was only a matter of time before they opened in Gwangjang but this store is special!
Opened in May 2026, we were lucky enough to discover this Olive Young literally the day after it first opened, so it was shiny and new!
The Olive Young Gwangjang Market Store is a unique, retro-themed K-beauty experience located on the second floor of Seoul’s historic Gwangjang Market.
This store is really beautiful with 1960s retro style interiors, plus free stations where you can do personal colour tests and skin/scalp analysis, try on hanbok and create postcards using ink stamps.
Starbucks Gwangjang Market
Opened in May 2025, have you โbeanโ to Seoulโs beautiful new three storey Starbucks Community cafe above Gwangjang Market?
With big windows looking out directly over the market as well as small snugs and redbrick walls, Starbucks Gwangjang Market is adorned with retro Korean signage, hand-drawn illustrations of the market and fantastic fabric style art installations marking Gwangjangโs rich textile history.
The main Starbucks to sit in is on the second floor, with a small roof terrace on the third floor and takeaway coffee kiosk on the ground floor.
From a floating Seoul Starbucks on the River Han to a Starbucks in an old Seoul theater, here is our guide to the 5 best Seoul Starbucks.
HBAF almonds
Koreaโs favourite souvenir snack now has a branch at Gwangjang Market!
HBAF almonds ๋ฐํ are a popular tourist treat that come in dozens of different flavours.
From the original honey butter almond flavour to more interesting flavours like injeolmi and wasabi, weโve visited numerous HBAF stores in Seoul to give you the lowdown on all the HBAF flavors.
Plus did you know you can get Korean HBAF merchandise and even HBAF Makgeolli rice wine? Read our guide to Korean HBAF flavours and stalls here >
Check out the HBAF store on Amazon >
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Hirono
Pop Mart has recently opened a permanent Hirono store at Gwangjang Market, the first solus Pop Mart character store in South Korea and one of only four worldwide (the other Hirono stores are in Bangkok, Shanghai and London).
It is also themed like a Korean subway station, named Gwangjang Passing Station.
Hirono is one of the most well known Pop Mart figures created by Chinese designer Lang and is meant to display a whole range of emotions.
The new Gwangjang Market Hirono store sells Hirono figures and themed merchandise, including collectibles in blind boxes.
Abebe Bakery
South Koreaโs Abebe Bakery cream filled donuts (cream bread) is Seoulโs hottest dessert right now, with a new bakery location near the famous Gwangjang Market.
With over 40 different flavors of cream filled donut from Jeju Orange and Matcha, join the BIG queue outside Abebe Bakery for one of Seoul tastiest sweet treats.
Cream bread in South Korea is very popular, and widely available in convenience stores like CU โ but why try convenience store junk when you can try these for almost the same price!
Hailing from Jeju Island and now with branches in Seoul and Tokyo, Japan, find out why Abebe Bakery is the sweetest spot in Seoul in our Abebe guide >
Kodak Gwangjang Market
A semi-permanent pop-up shop that has been around a few months (it was still there on our last visit in May 2026), Kodak Gwangjang Market is a photography-themed shop selling Kodak branded clothes, tote bags, shoes and various vintage merchandise.
We really liked the Kodak Gwangjang Market in-store theming which features old black and white TVs and old school electrical and photography equipment plus old photos of the 100 year old market itself on the walls, from Kodakโs archives.
lho Coffee
Many rate Ihlo Coffee as not only the best coffee in Gwangjang Market but also as the best coffee in Seoul. The queue outside Ihlo Coffee tends to agree โ be prepared to wait in line for a while.
A 3 Michelin rated coffee and pastry shop, Ihlo Coffee apparently inhabits the oldest market stall in Gwangjang โ although this is its newest incarnation complete with gaudy neon light.
Ilho Coffeeโs Signature Drink is their โNoir Blancโ, which is a thick black coffee and cream combo for 5,000 Won. Filtered coffees costs around 6,500 Won or try something n-โiceโ like their honeycomb milk ice-cream for 6,000 Won.
ZZANG GAMES Jongno
A very โamusingโ thing to do in Gwangjang, Zzang Games Jongno Arcade is a palace of new and retro games, from electronic darts machines to dance mats, claw machines to driving simulators โ we would say this is more suitable for teenagers more than smaller children.
The arcade also has a great variety of machines including carnival style stalls where you throw or shoot to win prizes.
The claw machines are 3,000 Won for several goes and there are free bags to carry your prizes should you get lucky.
Pizza Pie at Onion Cafe Gwangjang
Another Gwangjang Market street food we discovered by chance (and partly because of the small queue we saw), Onion Cafe specialises in โpizza pieโ.
This is essentially layers of flaky sweet puff pastry served with a side of sticky strawberry jam to spread all over plus a syrup glaze on top.
Delicious (sweet baby jesus!) but messy as โ Onion Cafeโs Pizza Pie costs 4,000 Korean Won a slice plus you can take home a huge whole round pie in a pizza box!
Also check out the industrial chic of the Onion Cafe in Seongsu-dong โ literally a cafe in an old warehouse.
You might like our favourite Seoul cafes guide >
Miik Flo Kaymak Dessert Cafe
On the outer edges of Gwangjang Market (on the street facing towards Cheonggyecheon stream and a few doors down from Cafe Onion), Miik Flo Kaymak Dessert Cafe is a pastel coloured decadent dessert and coffee shop that offers a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of the market.
Kaymak is a rich cream made of milk fat which is often served with pastries or bread dipped in with honey. Basic kaymak starts at 3,900 Won.
Garlic baked bread at Garlic Boy
Have your heard of Garlic Boy ๊ฐ๋ฆญ๋ณด์ด? If not follow your nose at Gwangjang Market.
Right now, this is one of the latest food crazes in Korea and Seoulโs Garlic Boy has bigger lines than most. This street food stall is a hit with both locals and tourists and sells soft freshly baked bread with a sweet garlic-butter glaze.
There are usually half a dozen different Garlic Boy bread options you can choose from including original, truffle cream cheese garlic bread, spicy ham and cheese garlic bread or one with a sweet soboro crumble on top.
There is always a line whenever we have visited, but it does move very quickly. Weekday mornings are apparently less crowded. We bought the original for 3,900 Won and the truffle cream for 5,100 Won in April 2026. We thought they were ok, but we prefer our garlic bread to be much less sweet!
Dongdaemun
From Gwangjang, you can easily walk to Dongdaemun, a large commercial district and popular Seoul neighbourhood to stay in with plenty of affordable hotels.
The area has many historical and cultural attractions, but is best known for its massive shopping malls and traditional markets that sell clothing, accessories and electronics.
Culture fans will enjoy visiting this Seoul neighbourhood as the epic Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) is located here which holds regular art exhibitions.
More things to do in Dongdaemun >
Gwangjang Market tours
Incidentally, we hope this Gwangjang guide is sufficient to do your own DIY tours based on your own โtastesโ โ but if you would rather try tasty Korean foods with a local guide, try these Gwangjang Market tours:
- Moonlight Seoul night tour (including Cheonggyecheon Stream, Gwangjang Market, Changgyeong Royal Palace and Naksan Park) >
- Gwangjang Market food tour >
- Gwangjang Market vegan and vegetarian food tour >
- Drinking and eating through the alleys of Seoul >
- Small-group night dining tour: 10 tastings with authentic KBBQ and Gwangjang visit >
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