Gyeongdong Market
경동시장
It closes at 18:00 and most stores are shut on Sundays, so it suits a morning visit rather than an evening one. People come here for ginseng, medicinal herbs and ingredients more than for food.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 경동시장
- Address
- 3 Gosanja-ro 36-gil, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul
- Nearest station
- Jegi-dong Station (제기동역, Seoul Subway Line 1) (Exit 2)
- Opening hours
- 09:00–18:00 varies by shop
- Hours notes
- On Sundays and public holidays only some stores open — the market itself does not close.
- Admission
- No entry fee — you pay each vendor
History
1960
The market began trading
1985
Gyeongdong Building completed
The market expanded into a dedicated medicinal-herb quarter and became Korea's largest ginseng and herbal-medicine trade area.
What to see
Ginseng and herbal-medicine arcades
Dongdaemun-gu's archive traces the market to the years after the Korean War, when produce grown and gathered by farmers in northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon poured in through the old Seongdong and Cheongnyangni stations and street stalls grew up nearby. In the 1970s it established itself as the place for seasonings, ancestral-rite foods and medicinal herbs, and a dried-seafood arcade settled in; from 1983 it began handling ginseng, fresh ginseng and honey, with some 60 shops opening around the second floor of the old building.
The new building — youth mall and rooftop night market
Dongdaemun-gu describes a market long known for its ginseng arcade that has turned into a mixed cultural space. The new building has restaurants, cafés and places to rest, a youth mall of small restaurants and cafés, and the Gyeongdong 1960 Night Market, which the district calls Korea's first rooftop food-truck night market; it lists the night market as open Friday to Sunday, 18:00 to 23:00. A café in a converted former theatre is also part of the market.
Ginseng and herbal-medicine arcades selected
Nearby
Frequently asked questions
What is Gyeongdong Market known for?
Ginseng and medicinal herbs. Since the Gyeongdong Building opened in 1985 it has been Korea's largest ginseng and herbal-medicine district, alongside produce and seafood.
Is there food to eat there?
The market is mainly for buying ingredients. The new building's youth mall has restaurants and cafés, and a rooftop night market opens on Friday to Sunday evenings, but for street food Gwangjang Market is the better fit.
Stories about this place
- Six Seoul Traditional Markets, Compared: Food, Opening Days and Tips
Gwangjang, Noryangjin, Namdaemun, Tongin, Gyeongdong and Mangwon compared on what to eat and buy, who each suits, Sunday opening, opening hours and which station to use. The six do not stand in for one another, so choose by day and hour rather than by what they sell.
