Gugyeong Traditional Market: Fill Up Your Stomach At The Largest Market In Danyang, Korea

Which attractions do you make sure to add to your list when traveling outside of Seoul to the rural areas of Korea? 

I think that visiting traditional markets and experiencing its unique culture with various street food is an absolute must!

So come with us today as we travel to Danyang Gugyeong Traditional Market, the largest market in Danyang.

Gugyeong Traditional Market is located at the center of Danyang.

Why is it called "Gugyeong Market"? 

Well, there are 8 beautiful natural scenic views in Danyang, also known as Palgyeong (팔경 · 八景) meaning "8 views".

The name "Gugyeong" (구경 · 九景), meaning "9 views", means that it's the 9th destination you should visit after the 8 must-visit destinations of Danyang.

We visited the market around lunchtime and I was very excited because I heard that there were many delicious street foods there.

Even though it was lunchtime on a weekday, there were a lot of people walking around.

It seemed that the visitors were a mix of tourists and locals. 

There were a lot of different things being sold at the market.

Since it's a place that's also visited by many of its local residents, there were a lot of necessities that were being sold as well.

There were a lot of various fruits and vegetables being sold as well. 

And of course, there were various street foods that welcomed us.

They all looked so delicious that I wanted to try them all!

The owners seemed very busy as more people started to gather during lunchtime. 

It was fun to look at all the different types of food, such as meat being grilled, and freshly baked pastries. 

It's truly a unique experience that you can't find anywhere else. 

Black Garlic Bread
찰보리 흑마늘빵

Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전5길 30
30, Dojeon 5-gil, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do

First, we decided to try the famous black garlic bread.

Danyang is famous for its garlic, especially black garlic.

So many street foods here are made with black garlic.

How cute does the bread in the shape of black garlic look!

It's small enough to have in one bite.

You're probably curious about the price. The snack option (12 pieces) is 5,000 won and the gift option (24 pieces) is 10,000 won. 

We bought the 12-piece pack to try on the spot.

You can choose to take some home as a souvenir or buy it as a gift for others.

Black Garlic Bread (찰보리 흑마늘빵)
5,000 won (12 pieces)

In this small paper bag, there are 12 pieces of black garlic bread. 

I was really excited to try these because it's the only garlic bread made of barley and black garlic in the country.

Usually, when you buy bread from the streets it's not freshly baked so it's not warm. 

But it was made in front of us so we could enjoy it while it's still warm.

After blowing on it, we had a bite. The texture was amazing. 

It was really soft and fluffy. It was filled with red beans and black garlic that was made at the store. 

I was surprised by the smell of black garlic at first. I knew right away that it was going to have the unique bitterness and strong taste of black garlic. 

I think older adults will really enjoy its taste but I personally didn't like it. 

Black Garlic Scorched Rice Sweet & Sour Chicken
흑마늘 누룽지 닭강정

Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전4길 31-1
31-1, Dojeon 4-gil, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do

The second place we visited is Danyang's most famous black garlic scorched rice sweet and sour chicken.

Of all the stores in the market, this one was the busiest. 

It seemed that tourists also buy a few boxes here and take them home.  

This store was also featured on famous Korean variety shows such as 2 Days & 1 Night, Amazing Saturday, and Battle Trip.

Source: tvN D ENT

Maybe it's because I'm a fan of Amazing Saturday, but I recalled seeing this food on the show.

So I began to look forward to it even more.

In front of the store, you can even try the food.

The owner lets you try any food you want even before placing your order!

On the left is the original flavor, black garlic. You can enjoy the sweetness of the black garlic.

The one on the right has double the flavor of black garlic which is made by grinding real black garlic. 

As you can see from the picture, it's a little darker than the original which means that there is more black garlic. 

Since we came to Danyang, which is famous for its black garlic, we decided to order the flavor with twice the amount of garlic.

They cook it for you immediately after you place an order so we waited around 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes of walking around its nearby area, we came back to pick up our order.

Black Garlic Scorched Rice Sweet & Sour Chicken
18,000 won

This place doesn't sell small portions but it didn't matter because we could always finish the rest at home. 

But if you want to just order a cup to eat as a simple snack, you might find it unfortunate that they only do bigger portions in a box.

And here is what it looks like!

You can see the pieces of scorched rice in between the chicken.

Scorched rice (누룽지) is a traditional Korean food made by pressing the rice flat. It's very savory and crunchy.

It was this moment when I found my favorite sweet and sour chicken (닭강정) place. 

It was so delicious!

Usually, a lot of other places use dry and tasteless meat but I could tell that this place used the best parts because it was incredibly soft.

There was a strong flavor of black garlic, but it tasted amazing with the sweet and salty sauce and the crispy chicken. 

I brought the rest home to eat with my family and it was still delicious after it had cooled down. 

Atia Macaron Ice Cream
아티아 마카롱 아이스크림

Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전리 539
539, Dojeon-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do.

There was an ice cream shop at the end of the alley in the market. 

I was curious because everyone passing by had a cute animal macaron ice cream in their hands. 

The ice cream was sold for 3,000 won each.

There were many flavors but we decided to order the Aronia flavor.

Aronia berry is like cranberry and it's one of Danyang's specialties.

Aronia Macaron Ice Cream
3,000 won

This is what it looks like!

Cute little macarons are placed around the ice cream and it was adorable.

The thick milk-based ice cream tasted sweet with a hint of fruitiness from the berry.

You can find many people enjoying their ice cream as they walk around the market.

We highly recommend trying one of these cute ice creams as a dessert after a satisfying meal!

Additionally, since the market is located very close to a place for paragliding, if you look up at the sky you can see people paragliding over the market.

We wanted to see people paragliding up close so we walked towards the paragliding place and we were in awe of the Namhan River.

Enjoying our ice cream while looking out at this view was something I'll remember forever!

Pack up your street food and enjoy the beautiful natural scenery here.

It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Information

Address: 충청북도 단양군 단양읍 도전리
Dojeon-ri, Danyang-eup, Danyang-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do.

Hours: 08:00-20:00

Today we took a trip to Danyang Gugyeong Traditional Market, a street-food paradise!

If you are planning a trip outside of Seoul, don't forget to visit a traditional market.