Satisfy Your Cravings: Must-Try Korean Street Foods for Summer

If you have been to Korea, you have seen and tried some of the country’s most famous street foods during your stay!

With a wide variety of foods and snacks at many different price points, anyone visiting the country can find a Korean street food item without which they can’t live.

So whether you have seen them in person or your favorite K-drama, here are some of Korea’s most famous street foods to try this summer!

Starting strong with one of the most famous Korean Street Foods is Tteokbokki! While you may be thinking, “Why would I want to eat something spicy in the summer,” many Koreans know that nothing helps you beat the heat than adding more heat!

Tteokbokki is a spicy rice cake made with the main ingredient gochujang, or Korean red pepper paste, and is often served on skewers by street vendors as an easy grab-and-go snack.

The rice cakes can also be easily made at home, as you can buy frozen or fresh rice cakes at many Asian markets and grocery stores, as well as gochujang and gochugaru, among the other ingredients needed to make this fantastic dish!

Check out the video below for an easy Tteokbokki recipe!

Another famous street snack in Korea is Kimbap, basically inside-out sushi in Korea. This snack can be found in almost any convenience store in Korea and can also be made at home with your favorite veggies and meat!

Kimbap is typically made by preparing vegetables and ingredients like cucumber, pickled radish, egg, crab meat, and ham and rolling them up with rice in a long seaweed sheet!

The trick to this dish is that you have to slice each of the ingredients into long strips so that they all fit into your kimbap, and so you can see each color when you cut into it.

You can also find variations of the dish in convenience stores, such as triangle kimbap, which is wrapped in a way that makes it stay fresh until you are ready to enjoy it as a snack or quick lunch at work or school!

There has also been a recent trend where cakes are sold to look like Kimbap so people can satisfy their sweet tooth without feeling guilty, especially around coworkers or classmates!

With all the different vegetables and meats included in this snack, it is an easy way to get the protein and nutrients you need to replenish your body and satisfy your hunger during the summer!

Check out the video below to learn how to make Kimbap at home!

Bungeo-Ppang is a fish-shaped pastry that is popular in Korea for its crispy texture and sweet taste.

The pastry has many variations depending on the season you buy it and where you are visiting in Korea, as some markets will sell red bean or custard-filled bungeo-ppang, or in the summer, they can be filled with soft-serve ice cream!

The dessert is perfect for those with a sweet tooth, and the ice cream adds a soft texture to contrast the crispy bread, making it a great treat to enjoy in the summer in Korea!

Some popular flavors include honeycomb, ube, and matcha, and you can find this dessert in many Korean markets, including Myeongdong Main Street and Gwangjang Market.

While hotdogs are popular in the US during the summertime, Korea has its Gamja Hotdog, which is like a corndog but 10x better!

These hotdogs are made by skewering the hot dogs, dipping them in a batter, and covering them in potatoes before frying, giving them a crunchy outside.

You can buy them with the hotdog or cheese filling, or even both, and you can customize them by adding ketchup, mayo, or sugar to coat the outside for extra flavor!

You can also find these hotdogs in many different countries, as they have become very popular through kdramas and social media.

These hotdogs will make the perfect summer grab-and-go snack since they are easy to eat and enjoy while exploring the streets of Korea!

If you are vacationing in Korea and aren’t sure what to eat for a quick breakfast or snack before you head to your travel destination, Kkwabaegi is the perfect solution.

Kkwabaegi is a spongey Korean twisted donut made of glutinous rice flour and often dusted with cinnamon sugar after frying. It can be found in many street markets in Korea and is a light and airy snack that will satisfy your sweet tooth.

These donuts taste their best just after frying, but if you have already eaten a large meal before you get to these, you can save them for the next day and heat them up in the microwave when you are ready to enjoy.

Like any meat skewer you might enjoy grilling in the summertime, many Koreans can head to their local outdoor market to find Korean chicken skewers, known as Ddakkochi.

Ddakkochi is a popular grilled chicken snack found all over Korea and is an easy and delicious way to incorporate some protein into your diet during the summer months.

These chicken skewers are typically coated in a sweet and spicy sauce or can be purchased plain with salt depending on what you like, making it one of Korea’s more popular kkochi or skewered snacks, fish cakes, and rice cakes.

Some street vendors may include vegetables and chicken on the skewer, like green onions, making for a simple yet tasty meal in Korea.

In the comments below, let us know which Korean Street Foods you are dying to try and which ones you’ve tried before!