Gyeongju Seongdong Market

If you want to eat among locals rather than tour groups in Gyeongju, head to Seongdong Market. Gyeongju's largest traditional market sits at the Wonhwa-ro entrance opposite the old Gyeongju Station and has traded on this spot since 1971. Buffet-style restaurants where you fill your own plate with side dishes, gimbap stalls and produce from the farmland around Gyeongju are all packed under one roof.

The name and the place

Seongdong (城東) simply means 'east of the town wall'. Standing directly opposite the old Gyeongju Station, the market was the gateway market where people arriving by train and villagers from the surrounding area did their shopping. Since rail services moved to Singyeongju Station at the end of 2021, it has remained the everyday market of the town centre.

Gyeongju's kitchen

The market is full of crops, fruit and vegetables grown in and around Gyeongju, along with seafood from the East Sea. It is large enough that sources give anything from about 300 to about 550 shops. After a period of losing customers to supermarkets, it was renovated from floor to ceiling, including its alleys and walls, and given a look that draws on Gyeongju's history as the ancient Silla capital.

What to eat

• Korean buffet alley: About ten restaurants share an indoor hall. You help yourself to the side dishes (banchan) on display and eat them with rice, so you can sample a whole spread of home-style Gyeongsang cooking. À la carte dishes are also available.
• Burdock gimbap: Several stalls in the market are known for gimbap rolls generously filled with braised burdock root. Many close early once they sell out.
• Street food: Stalls sell snacks such as gimbap, sundae (Korean blood sausage) and tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes), easy to pick up as you wander.
• Shopping: Seasonal fruit and dried seafood are handy for eating at your hotel or taking home as gifts. Produce from around Gyeongju changes with the seasons, so the stalls look quite different in spring and autumn.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: These vary from shop to shop. The market opens early in the morning, and the popular gimbap and side-dish stalls can run out around lunchtime, so come in the morning or for an early lunch.
• Payment: Some small shops and stalls take only cash or bank transfer, so carry a little cash.
• Arriving by train: KTX and other trains now stop at Singyeongju Station outside the centre, so take a city bus or taxi into town.
• Time needed: An hour to an hour and a half is enough to look around and have a meal.
• Location: The address is 11 Wonhwa-ro 281beon-gil, Gyeongju. Daereungwon tomb park is about 900 m away and Hwangnidan-gil about a 15-minute walk, so the market in the morning and the royal tombs in the afternoon make an easy pairing.
• Photo etiquette: Ask before taking close-ups of stalls and traders, and step aside so you do not block the aisles during the busy morning hours.
• Shopping kit: If you plan to take seafood or fruit back to your accommodation, a cool bag or shopping bag helps; buy heavy fruit last.
• Information: Market office, +82-54-772-4226.