Tongin Market 통인시장
The neat thing about Seoul is that you don’t have to travel very far to experience traditional Korea. While visiting Gwanghwamun Square last weekend, there was a protest going on and there were hundreds of police officers with shields. The protests in Korea are sometimes like they are in the US, where protesters are assaulted by police officers so if you come across this type of situation it is best to walk away and not get involved. Since the officers were taking up all the space in the Square we decided to head to this really cool place called Tongin Market (통인시장) that was about a 10 minute walk straight out from Exit 2 at Gyeongbokgung Station (경복궁역) on Line 3. (The orange line.)
Tongin Market was started in 1941 while Korea was still ruled by Japan for Japanese residents, but after liberation, Koreans used the area to set up shops of their own. The market is mostly full of restaurants serving many traditional/modern dishes as well as some grocery stores. The coolest thing about this place is that you purchase traditional brass coins called yeopjeon (엽전) that you exchange for food to go in your lunchbox, or dosirak (도시락). This is called the Tongin Market Lunch Café. The market is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11a.m. to 5p.m, but they stop selling the coins at 4p.m. Also, they are always closed every Monday and third Sunday so make sure to check the date before you go.
At the opening of the market, there will be someone selling the coins and the lunchbox for you to put your food in. The sign posted explains about the Lunchbox Café and cost. (You can also scan the barcode on the sign to get more information in English, Chinese and Japanese.) You get 10 coins and the lunchbox for 5,000won. Take your coins and check out all the yummy food you can buy. Some places give you more food for your coins so it might be helpful to bring a Korean friend with you to ask how much you get if you do not speak enough Korean already. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend going alone because the fun of this place is buying a bunch of yummy food and sharing together with your friends. Some places in the market don’t accept the coins so if you don’t see a bucket with coins nearby or see people using their coins it’s safe to assume that you have to pay cash instead.
After you get your food, there is a three story seating area called Gogaekmanjok Center (고객만족센터) by the bathrooms with tables and chairs where you can sit down and enjoy your meal. Sometimes you may have to wait for someone to get up in order to sit down so snack on your food while waiting.
This is probably one of my favorite places I’ve been so I would definitely recommend checking it out.
