Is Gongdeok Jokbal Alley wheelchair accessible?

Visit details

There is a place where jokbal restaurants that began in one corner of a market alley have come to fill the whole street—and now draw more customers than the market itself. That place is Gongdeok-dong Jokbal Alley.

The alley’s roots go back 30 years to a two-pyeong (about 6.6 square meters) restaurant that opened on one side of the market. The shop simmered sundae-guk (blood sausage soup) for market workers’ meals and prepared jokbal (braised pigs’ trotters) as a drinking snack to ease hard days. As the soup and jokbal soothed both stomachs and spirits, the restaurant prospered, and a bag shop in the market switched trades to sell sundae and jokbal as well. More jokbal restaurants followed, and before long the alley had become Jokbal Alley.

Over time the clientele shifted from market workers to students and nearby office workers. By day older patrons are more common; by evening younger people fill the seats. Older visitors come back for memories of sharing drinks here in their youth, while younger ones make memories of their own over lively night gatherings. The customers have changed with the generations, but some restaurants still pass down sundae-guk and jokbal from one generation to the next—so seeking out that long-standing taste is well worth a visit.

Hours: varies by shop

Closed: varies by shop

Information: Mapo Tourist Information Center 02-334-7878

Address: Mapo-gu Manlijae-ro 19 (Gongdeogdong), Seoul

Official website: https://korean.visitseoul.net/