Street Snacks in Korea

Hello everyone! We're Creatrip, your group of Korean travel experts.

Although you probably won't find yourself paying with cash a lot in Korea, you must still have some cash in hand. The reason for that is because you never know when you're going to run into street food stalls in which case, you'll have to pay in cash.

I'll introduce you to some street snacks of Korea. Go down the list and see which ones you've tried already!!

1. Bungeo-ppang

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Bungeo-ppang is a classic street snack loved by locals for decades. It's a soft, warm pastry with flavourful fillings inside. This popular snack is usually only available in autumn and winter.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

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The most classic one is the one with flavourful red bean filling, but more and more bungeo-ppang stalls are starting to offer cream, chocolate, matcha and other delicious fillings inside.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang INSTAGRAM：meizsh

The most recent flavour I've heard of was sweet potato. I hear it's quite different from the classic red bean flavour. It's got purple sweet potato and yellow sweet potato fillings inside. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm really looking forward to running into one.

Street Snacks in Korea

2. Hotteok

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Hotteok is another snack that represents Korean street food. Hotteok is fried in oil on a flat pan with brown sugar, assorted nuts, cinnamon powder and other topics inside. Holding a hot freshly out-of-the-pan hotteok in your hand and taking small bites little by little, you'll feel a sense of satisfaction.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

The brown sugar gets caramelized inside as the hotteok gets fried in hot oil, so be careful before taking a big bite because it will likely be very hot! Lots of new flavours have come out recently too. I tried the japchae one which felt more like a meal than a snack and was quite filling.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Street Snacks in Korea

3. Hoppang(Steamed Bun)

If you've been travelling around Asia for quite some time, you would have encountered steamed buns of various sorts. Korean steamed bun, hoppang, is often devoured in cold winter weather.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Just like bungeo-ppang, the classic one is filled with red bean. Other savoury flavours such as kimchi, different meats, pizza, sweet potato, etc. can be easily seen too.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Convenience stores in Korea start selling steamed buns inside heated displays in autumn throughout winter. Grab one of these hoppangs if you ever happen to be in a convenience store in Korea in cold weather.

Street Snacks in Korea

4. Fish Cake

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Fish cake skewers boiled in slow-cooked soup with seafood and vegetables inside, delicious! Another popular street snack option that can easily be seen anywhere, this is a must-try for visitors from abroad.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Grab as many skewers as you can eat. What's exciting is that you can drink the hot fish soup for free when you buy food from the vendor such as tteokbokki(spicy rice cake), fish cake, sundae(Korean sausages).

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

If you're in the mood to try street snacks like the fish cake in Busan, you'll also find rice cake skewer cooked inside the soup called multteok(물떡). In Daegu you'll find that a lot of them add bean sprouts too. Every city cooks it a little differently, so it would be interesting to try and compare fish cake skewers by regions too.

Street Snacks in Korea

5. Roasted Sweet Potato & Chestnuts

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

You'll notice that roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts are often sold by one vendor. The aromas of these are so tempting, it's no wonder that they've been well-loved by locals for ages, these are often available in autumn to winter. When you grab a bag of fresh sweet potatoes in your hands, you won't feel cold anymore.

Street Snacks in Korea

6. Gukhwa-ppang (Chrysanthemum Bread)

Gukhwa-ppangs have been around the scene for years but they are not as easily seen anymore.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

It's bread with sticky rice inside, which makes it even softer in texture. I love this comfort food and I hope to see it more often on the streets.

Street Snacks in Korea

7. Egg Bread

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

I'm sure a lot of you guys are familiar with this snack too! You can find egg bread in any busy city scene in Seoul. A whole egg inside the bread makes it nutritious and the cute exterior plays another role in attracting more people.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

The bread's only got an egg inside with nothing else added but recently egg breads with other toppings such as bacon and various vegetables can be seen.

Street Snacks in Korea

8. Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cake)

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

We've all seen it in Kdramas or Youtube mukbangs. How can we leave out tteokbokki when discussing Korean street snacks, right?

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

There are so many variations to tteokbokkis with ingredients such as vegetables, fish cake, meats, boiled eggs, fried rice added to rice cake cooked in spicy gochujang sauce. This superstar street snack is welcomed by locals of all age and gender.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

There are two different types of rice cakes, one made with rice and the other made with flour. Both are delicious in their own way with slightly different textures.

Walk the streets of Korea and grab small bites along the way! Tourist foods out, locals' favourites in, tteokbokki, street food korea, korean snack, korean food, travel korea, egg bread, bungeo-ppang

Out of the street snacks we introduced today, which ones have you tried? Which ones would you like to try? These are all snacks with long histories that are loved by locals. If you're ever on the streets of Korea, make sure to look for these as you walk along!