If you’re planning a visit to Gwangjang Market and wondering what to eat, Parkgane Bindaetteok (박가네 빈대떡) is one place to consider if you want to try several classic Korean market dishes in one meal.
Located in the food area of Gwangjang Market, Parkgane serves dishes such as bindaetteok, meatballs, and yukhoe. The menu is varied enough that you can order a few dishes to share rather than sticking to just one type of Korean street food.
Here’s what we ordered, how much we paid, and what our weekday visit was actually like.
A Quick Introduction to Gwangjang Market
Gwangjang Market is one of Seoul’s best-known traditional markets and one of the city’s popular places to try Korean market food.
The market is packed with food stalls and small restaurants serving everything from mung bean pancakes and dumplings to noodles, gimbap, and yukhoe, Korean-style raw beef.
One of the things that makes Gwangjang Market fun to visit is the atmosphere. Food is prepared right in front of you, tables are close together, and the market stays lively throughout the day.
If you’re visiting Seoul for the first time and want to experience a traditional Korean market while trying several local dishes, Gwangjang Market is an easy place to add to your itinerary.
From there, it’s a short walk, and if you have time, it’s worth taking the route that passes Cheonggyecheon Stream — a nice, quiet contrast right before you step into the market’s noise and crowds.
What Is Bindaetteok?
If you’ve never heard of bindaetteok before, it’s a Korean savory pancake made primarily with ground mung beans.
The mung beans are soaked, ground, and mixed with ingredients such as vegetables, kimchi, meat, or seafood before being cooked on a large, hot pan. The result is a pancake with a crisp, lightly browned exterior and a softer, hearty center.
Bindaetteok is one of the foods most closely associated with Gwangjang Market, where large pancakes are cooked throughout the day.
The best way to eat it is while it’s still hot. The crispy edges and savory interior make it particularly satisfying, whether you’re having it as a casual snack or as part of a larger meal.
At Parkgane Bindaetteok, you can choose from different types of bindaetteok, including seafood bindaetteok. If you’re visiting Gwangjang Market specifically to try this Korean pancake for the first time, ordering one to share is an easy way to start.
What Is Yukhoe?
Yukhoe (육회) is a Korean dish made with raw beef that is seasoned and served chilled or at room temperature.
The beef is typically sliced into thin strips and seasoned with a combination of savory and slightly sweet flavors. Depending on the preparation, it may also be served with ingredients such as pear, sesame oil, garlic, or egg yolk.
For visitors who have never tried Korean yukhoe, the texture can be the biggest surprise. Rather than being cooked and firm like grilled beef, it has a soft, tender texture with a fresh, savory flavor.
Yukhoe is especially well known at Gwangjang Market, where several vendors specialize in the dish.
At Parkgane Bindaetteok, yukhoe is available alongside the restaurant’s pancakes and other Korean market dishes, making it possible to try both cooked and raw beef dishes during the same meal.
If you’re not accustomed to eating raw beef, it’s worth knowing what you’re ordering before choosing yukhoe. For those who enjoy raw beef dishes, however, it can be an interesting part of a Gwangjang Market food experience.
How to Get to Gwangjang Market
There are several subway stations that can be used to reach Gwangjang Market.
One convenient option is Euljiro 4-ga Station, from which you can walk toward the market. If you have some extra time, you can also take a route that passes along Cheonggyecheon Stream before reaching the market.
The market is also accessible from Jongno 5-ga Station, so the best station to use can depend on which part of the market you want to visit.
If you’re mainly visiting for the food section, check your map before setting out because Gwangjang Market is larger and more maze-like than it may look from the outside.
Finding Parkgane Bindaetteok
Once you’re inside Gwangjang Market, the smell of freshly cooked pancakes is hard to miss.
Parkgane Bindaetteok is located in the market’s busy food area, and the large sign makes the restaurant relatively easy to spot.
The restaurant serves a wide range of traditional Korean dishes, but as the name suggests, bindaetteok is one of the main things to try.
If you’ve never tried Korean bindaetteok before, this is the kind of dish that’s best eaten fresh and hot.
Parkgane Bindaetteok Menu and Prices
Parkgane Bindaetteok has both set menus and individual dishes, so you can order according to the size of your group and what you want to try.
For our visit, we ordered three dishes to share:
| Menu | Korean | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Meatballs, 2 pieces | 고기완자 2장 | ₩8,000 |
| Seafood bindaetteok | 해물빈대떡 | ₩10,000 |
| Yukhoe, Korean beef tartare | 육회 | ₩23,000 |
The total was ₩41,000 for three people.
The menu also includes other options such as mung bean bindaetteok, meat bindaetteok, shrimp meatballs, assorted pancakes, noodles, gimbap, and additional yukhoe dishes. Prices can change, so it’s a good idea to check the menu when you visit.
What to Eat at Parkgane Bindaetteok: Our Honest Take
Yukhoe
The yukhoe had a chewy texture and a rich, savory flavor.
For anyone unfamiliar with the dish, yukhoe is Korean-style raw beef, usually seasoned so that the natural flavor of the beef comes through with a sweet and savory balance.
It’s also the kind of dish that’s easy to keep picking at once it’s on the table. We found ourselves going back for another bite without really noticing how quickly it was disappearing.
Because yukhoe is a raw beef dish, it may not be the first choice for everyone, especially if you’re not accustomed to eating raw beef.
Meatballs
The meatballs (고기완자) were our favorite of the three dishes.
They had a deep, hearty meat flavor and a satisfying texture. What made them especially good was eating them with the pickled onions served on the side.
The combination of the savory meatball, tangy pickled onion, and a sip of makgeolli worked particularly well.
If you’re ordering a few dishes to share, I’d definitely keep the meatballs on the list.
Seafood Bindaetteok
The seafood bindaetteok was crisp on the outside and soft inside, with the savory flavor you’d expect from a freshly cooked Korean pancake.
Unfortunately, we were too busy eating to get a proper photo of it. Sometimes that’s the most honest food review possible.
If you’re visiting Gwangjang Market specifically to try bindaetteok, this is one of the dishes that makes sense to order fresh rather than choosing something that’s been sitting out.
Parkgane Bindaetteok vs. Other Gwangjang Market Food Options
One of the fun things about visiting Gwangjang Market is that there isn’t just one type of food to try.
The market is home to many different vendors and restaurants, so you can easily build your own food itinerary depending on what you’re interested in.
Bindaetteok is one of the most recognizable choices. It’s filling, savory, and relatively easy to share, making it a practical option for groups.
Yukhoe is another popular choice, particularly for visitors who want to try a Korean dish that they may not encounter as often outside Korea.
You’ll also find plenty of other market foods, including mayak gimbap, dumplings, noodles, tteokbokki, and various Korean pancakes.
What makes Parkgane Bindaetteok convenient is that you don’t necessarily have to choose between these different categories of food. The menu includes bindaetteok along with meatballs, yukhoe, noodles, gimbap, and other dishes, so a group can order several items and share them at the table.
For our visit, we chose seafood bindaetteok, meatballs, and yukhoe. That combination gave us three quite different textures and flavors in one meal: a crispy pancake, a hearty meat dish, and seasoned raw beef.
If you’re visiting Gwangjang Market with several people, ordering a few dishes to share can be a good way to sample different types of Korean market food without committing to a large portion of any single dish.
How Much Food Should You Order?
For three people, the combination we ordered was plenty for a shared meal.
We had:
- 2 meatballs
- 1 seafood bindaetteok
- 1 serving of yukhoe
The total came to ₩41,000, or roughly ₩13,700 per person before drinks.
Of course, how much you need will depend on whether you’re looking for a light snack, a full meal, or planning to visit several different stalls around Gwangjang Market.
If you’re doing a food crawl, ordering fewer dishes at each stop may make more sense. If Parkgane Bindaetteok is your main meal, ordering a few dishes to share gives you a chance to try more than just the bindaetteok.
When to Visit Parkgane Bindaetteok
We visited on a weekday and had little to no wait.
That made it easy to sit down, order a few dishes, and have a relaxed meal.
Gwangjang Market can become quite busy, particularly around popular food areas, so visiting on a weekday or earlier in the day may be worth considering if you prefer a slightly calmer experience.
Keep in mind that wait times can change depending on the day, time, weather, and overall crowd levels.
Final Thoughts
Parkgane Bindaetteok fits naturally into a Gwangjang Market food itinerary.
The food is classic Korean market fare rather than something designed to be trendy or complicated. That’s part of the appeal: you can sit down, order a few dishes, and experience several familiar Korean flavors in one meal.
For first-time visitors to Seoul, it can also be an easy introduction to dishes such as bindaetteok, meatballs, and yukhoe while taking in the atmosphere of one of the city’s best-known traditional markets.
If you’re planning a visit to Gwangjang Market and searching for what to eat in Gwangjang Market, consider putting Parkgane Bindaetteok on your list, especially if you’re visiting with friends or family and want to share several dishes.
Our pick from this visit: the meatballs with pickled onions and a glass of makgeolli.
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