Day 25 (9.6)- The Traditional Market: A Photographer’s Paradise

There comes a time in every trip where one either runs out of things to do, or finds they don’t have enough time to do it all. Due to the length of this trip, I’m finding that it appears to be the former, thankfully, so I’ve been open to suggestions on things to do in my last view days in Seoul.

Enter the traditional food market…heaven for foodies and photogs alike

This is Gwangjang Market near Dongdaemun, a bustling display of authentic Korean food, sweets, and life. The stands were splayed out depending on food category, one side being for meats, another for seafood, another for shops, and one for everything carby and delicious. The center of the X marked the pivotal spot of the Mung Bean Pancake, a crunchy-on-the-outside, stringy-on-the-inside, protein-packed snack that is ubiquitous with this market in particular.

We sit down at the stand, and enjoy our quick meal, washing it down with some Makgeolli, a traditional alcoholic beverage, a cloudy sweet rice wine, that is often paired with mung bean pancakes, and definitely goes down a lot easier than soju.

All the stands are run by grandmas that definitely know what they’re doing better than young chefs in some fancy restaurant could ever attempt.

There’s that famous Korean presentation value again with pyramids of artfully-stacked gimbap.

Whats so great about places like Gwangjang (Kwangjang also acceptable) is how they seem to provide the most authentic view of small life in a big city. Yes, it might be touristy. Yes it might be saturated with as many foreigners as there are locals. But in reality, does that not show the true makeup of Korea? A place where foreigners and locals come together to enjoy the culture of Seoul. Just like Pike Place, Gwangjang shows exactly the place where these separate worlds come together, people trying these dishes for the first time sitting next to local business-people just off the job enjoying dinner with colleagues after a long day. Women negotiated prices with each other at spice shops. Young couples walking around the thin alleyways searching for a late-night date-night snack.

It both gives me a clear view of life in Korea, and a strong remembrance for the similar stalls I’m used to from home. As a photographer, you’ll often find me wandering around Pike Place early in the morning or late at night? Why? The same reason I came to Gwangjang…the ultimate people-watching, and a chance to capture the slice of life in a lively city.