A Guide to Korean Street Food: Names, Serving Units and Prices

The first difficulty at a street stall is not working out what is for sale. You can generally see that. The difficulty is the unit it is counted in — one skewer, one plate, one cup. This guide covers those units and how to check them on the spot.

At a glance

Fish cake is often counted by the skewer
The official name is Eomukkkochi. Broth service and pricing can vary by stall.
Hotteok by the piece, tteokbokki by the plate
Units differ item by item at the same stall.
If no price is shown, ask
The duty to post a price list applies to premises of a certain size.
Payment differs by market
Traditional markets run a member-shop gift certificate scheme.

What you will meet, and its official name

Pointing works, but knowing the name makes searching and checking much easier. The notation below is the Korean Food Promotion Institute's official list.

Korean	Romanised	Official English	Usual unit
떡볶이	Tteokbokki	Stir-fried Rice Cake	serving · plate · cup
어묵꼬치	Eomukkkochi	Skewered Fishcake Soup	skewer
순대	Sundae	Blood Sausage	serving · plate · skewer
호떡	Hotteok	Syrup-filled Pancake	piece
씨앗호떡	Ssiathotteok	Korean Pancake with Seed and Brown Sugar Filling	piece
김말이튀김	Gimmaritwigim	Deep-fried Laver Roll	piece
붕어빵	Bungeoppang	Fish-shaped Bread	piece
김밥	Gimbap	Gimbap	roll

One line in that table is worth reading twice. The official English for skewered fish cake contains the word "Soup". Many stalls offer broth alongside the skewers, often in a paper cup, but the serving method and whether there is a separate charge can vary. Check before helping yourself.

Tteokbokki does not name its ingredient. The official rendering is Stir-fried Rice Cake. But the same list also carries Gungjungtteokbokki, "Royal Stir-fried Rice Cake", as a separate entry — so the one word covers two different dishes.

Sundae is Blood Sausage. The list also carries Sundaegukbap, "Blood Sausage and Rice Soup", separately — the sundae sold at a stall and the sundae soup at a gukbap house are different menu items.

Sundae threaded onto skewers — where the skewer is the unit

Popo le Chien (Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0)

Hotteok on a griddle — where the piece is the unit

Sandra Vallaure (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0)

A bunsik stall selling fritters and tteokbokki together

Jens Ohlig (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)

The unit changes item by item

Even at one stall, the counting differs by what you take.

By the skewer — fish cake is often counted this way. Some stalls let you take a skewer and count the used sticks at the end; at others, order first.
By the piece — hotteok and bungeoppang are commonly sold one at a time. Fritters may be priced by piece or grouped into a serving.
By the plate or the cup — tteokbokki and sundae may be portioned this way. The container and serving size depend on the stall.
By the roll — gimbap is commonly priced by the roll, though smaller portions may also be available.

Some markets also use their own ordering system. At Tongin Market's Dosirak Cafe, visitors exchange money for brass tokens and use a tray to choose food from participating shops. Check the current operating instructions before visiting.

A snack or a meal

This is where the choice actually gets made.

Enough for a meal — a larger order such as tteokbokki with sundae and fritters, or gimbap. Food alleys with seats make it easier to stop for a fuller meal, but individual stalls may keep different hours from the surrounding market.

Snack territory — one hotteok, bungeoppang or a small fish-cake order can fit between other stops. Portions vary, so look at what the stall serves before deciding.

If you cannot decide, look at the portion and seating together. Seating can make a fuller order more comfortable, but it does not by itself determine whether the food is a snack or a meal.

Checking the price and the payment on the spot

Some stalls do not display a price. The duty to post a price list inside and outside applies to rest restaurants and general restaurants with premises of 150 square metres or more. Whether a small market stall meets that condition is not something this article can determine, and in practice you will meet stalls with nothing written up. Ask before you buy — it is not rude.

Payment differs too. Traditional markets run the Onnuri gift certificate scheme: issued since 2009 under the Special Act on the Development of Traditional Markets and Shopping Districts, and spendable like cash at registered member shops. Paper certificates are bought at 16 financial institutions; digital ones are bought in a dedicated app and paid by QR or card.

For a visitor the useful part is less the certificate than the habit of checking what a given market accepts. For how to check card payment before ordering and what to do if your card is declined, see Using a foreign credit card in Korea.

Season and location change what is there

Street-food availability can change within the same market. A food alley may keep different hours from the general market, while a night market operates on its own schedule. Bupyeong Kkangtong Market in Busan runs a permanent night market, and the hours Visit Busan publishes for it are the night market's — none are given for the daytime market.

Weather, season and special market events can also affect which stalls open and what they sell. If you are travelling for one specific item, check the market schedule and confirm that the stall is selling it now.

For a broader comparison, Six traditional markets in Seoul compared covers opening days and payment considerations.

Markets to compare

What this guide does not generalise

One stall's payment methods, hours or prices do not apply to the whole market. Check the specific stall as well as the market schedule.

The list is not a popularity ranking. It introduces commonly encountered items and their official notation, without claiming which food visitors prefer most.

If you have a dietary restriction, this guide is not enough on its own. What goes into fish cake, fritters and tteokbokki sauce differs by stall. Start with Vegetarian and vegan food in Korea or Finding halal food in Korea, then check again at the stall itself.

Frequently asked questions

How do I order fish cake?

Fish cake is often counted by the skewer. Some stalls let you take a skewer yourself and count the spent sticks at the end; others want you to order first. Many stalls serve broth in a paper cup alongside — the official English, Skewered Fishcake Soup, includes it — but how it is served and whether it costs extra vary, so check first.

What if there is no price shown?

Ask before you buy. The duty to post a price list applies to rest restaurants and general restaurants with premises of 150 square metres or more, so small stalls sometimes have nothing written up. Asking the price is not rude.

Will they take a card?

It varies by stall. Traditional markets have an Onnuri certificate scheme for registered member shops, but foreign-card acceptance still needs to be checked at the specific stall. The linked payment guides explain how to check before ordering.

Is all tteokbokki the same dish?

No. The Korean Food Promotion Institute's list carries Tteokbokki (Stir-fried Rice Cake) alongside Gungjungtteokbokki (Royal Stir-fried Rice Cake), and separately gukmul, jeukseok and haemul versions. The same two syllables can mean different dishes.

Are sundae and sundae-gukbap the same thing?

They are different menu items. The official notation lists Sundae as Blood Sausage and Sundaegukbap as Blood Sausage and Rice Soup. The first is sold at stalls by the plate or the skewer; the second is a bowl at a gukbap house.

Can street food be a full meal?

It can. A larger order of tteokbokki, sundae and fritters, or a roll of gimbap, may work as a meal. One hotteok, bungeoppang or a small fish-cake order is usually lighter, but portions vary by stall.

How do the brass tokens at Tongin Market work?

At Tongin Market's Dosirak Cafe, visitors exchange money for brass tokens, take a tray and choose food from participating shops. Check the current operating hours and instructions before visiting.