Day-Trip Stop 1/6 — Gwangjang Market: Where Tokyo's Foodies Land First

Gwangjang Market is Seoul's oldest traditional market, and over the last two years it has quietly become the unofficial Stop #1 for Tokyo and Osaka day-trippers. Most flights from Haneda or Kansai touch down at Gimpo just after 9 a.m., and Gwangjang sits a 30-minute subway ride away — perfect timing for a proper Korean brunch. Three stalls genuinely deserve the queue. Monyeo Gimbap (모녀김밥) is the original 'mayak gimbap' — the addictive bite-sized rolls dipped in mustard-soy sauce that show up in every Japanese travel reel. Park's Bindaetteok (박가네 빈대떡) hand-grinds mung beans into a thick, golden pancake that pairs with makgeolli even at 11 in the morning. And for the brave, Cheonggak Alley serves yukhoe — raw beef tartare with a perfectly cooked yolk on top — a 12,000 won bowl that tastes like a Tokyo izakaya cut you'd pay quadruple for. Practical tips: arrive before 11:30, because the queues stack up fast. Most stalls accept Korean QR pay and major credit cards, but bring 30,000 won in cash if you want to skip the lines. Take Exit 8 of Jongno 5-ga Station and you'll smell the bindaetteok before you see it. Up next on Stop 2: a 15-minute walk delivers you to Bukchon's hanok alleys, where the morning crowd thins and the photos get prettier.