Yangyang Traditional Market

Where the Seoraksan and Odaesan mountains meet, in the middle of Yangyang-eup in Gangwon Province, Yangyang Traditional Market comes fully alive on dates ending in 4 and 9, when one of the biggest five-day markets on the northern east coast takes over the town. Greens and mushrooms from the mountains meet fish and dried seafood from the coast, and on market days the whole town centre buzzes. If your east-coast trip lines up with a market day, it is worth a detour.

Where mountain meets sea

Yangyang's mountain villages and fishing villages sit close together, so a market for swapping goods grew up here long ago. This one goes back to the late Joseon period, giving it more than 100 years of history. On ordinary days around 150 shops trade, including some 60 inside the market building, but on market days roughly 300 extra stalls run by travelling traders and local grandmothers bring the total to around 450. Traders who cannot find a spot inside set up across the road on the banks of the Namdaecheon river, so the two markets merge into one.

A shopping basket that changes with the seasons

• Spring: wild greens gathered in the surrounding hills and plant seedlings fill the stalls, and hwang-eo (Pacific redfin) swim up the Namdaecheon.
• Summer: July and August are sweetfish (eun-eo) season on the river, and peaches and other seasonal fruit appear on the stalls.
• Autumn: this is the season for songi (pine mushrooms), Yangyang's best-known speciality. In October a combined songi and salmon festival takes place on the Namdaecheon riverbank, when you can also see salmon swimming upstream. Pears are in season too.
• All year: dried fish from the East Sea, grains and home-grown vegetables are always on offer.

What to eat

There are many restaurants in and around the market that have been going for decades. The local favourites are seopguk, a soup made with seop (a type of mussel), makguksu (buckwheat noodles), buckwheat pancakes and kalguksu. Ddugeori-tang, a soup made with ddugeori, a small native fish of the Namdaecheon, is another local dish. On market days, street stalls sell fish cakes, old-fashioned doughnuts, hotteok (sweet filled pancakes) and jokbal (braised pig's trotters), and plenty of people wash it down with makgeolli. Haggling is expected, and vendors often throw in a little extra.

Plan around the market calendar

Time your visit with the autumn festival and you can enjoy the market and the festival together. The 2026 festival ran from 16 to 18 October, so check each year's announced dates and pick a day that coincides with a market day.

Tripto tips

• Market days: the 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th and 29th of each month. On other days the market is much smaller, so plan around these dates.
• Time needed: 1–2 hours including a meal. Stalls start packing up in the late afternoon, so go between morning and early afternoon.
• Getting there: the market is within walking distance of Yangyang Intercity Bus Terminal. From Seoul, express and intercity buses take about two hours. On market days the street in front of the market is closed to traffic, so use a car park.
• Paying: cash is easiest at street stalls.
• Combine with: about 6 km north is Naksansa Temple, on the clifftops above the East Sea. Market in the morning, temple and beach in the afternoon works well.
• Riverside walk: after the market, stroll along the Namdaecheon banks across the road. In October and November you may see salmon swimming upstream.