π Food & Drink in Seoul
South Korea
About Seoul for Solo Travelers
A 24-hour megacity where eating alone has its own cultural term and restaurants have solo dining booths β Seoul's palaces, K-culture, street food, and world-class skincare shopping make it one of Asia's most complete solo destinations.
Solo Travel TipsΒ· Solo Friendly
Seoul is one of Asia's great solo cities β the subway is exceptional, eating alone (νΌλ°₯ honbap) is a deeply established Korean cultural practice with restaurants that literally have solo booths, and the city's 24-hour culture means there's always something happening. The palaces (Gyeongbokgung at 9am before crowds), the Han River parks, and the Namsan tower hike are excellent solo experiences. The jjimjilbang (Korean spa/sauna) is a perfect solo social evening.
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Cost Level
Language
Korean
Currency
KRW
Solo Level
Great infrastructure, English-friendly, well-established solo traveler culture.
π Resources for your trip
Where to stay in Seoul
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Solo-friendly tours
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Best Food & Drink in Seoul for Solo Travelers
Showing 5 spots in Food & Drink
Gwangjang Market
Food & Drink
Founded in 1905 as Korea's first permanent daily market, Gwangjang is still one of Seoul's biggest traditional markets. The central food alley is where solo travellers eat: take a stool at a stall counter for bindaetteok (crispy mung bean pancakes fried to order) and mayak gimbap, the small, moreish rice rolls. Pointing at what looks good works perfectly well.
π88 Changgyeonggung-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Mapo Jeong Daepo BBQ
Food & Drink
A long-running pork barbecue joint on Dohwa-gil near Gongdeok Station, famous for galmaegisal (pork skirt meat) grilled over charcoal on a grill ringed with beaten egg, kimchi and onion that cooks in the running fat β wrap it all in a perilla leaf with ssamjang. It was featured by Anthony Bourdain and is still packed with local office workers on weeknights.
π183-16 Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Myeongdong Street Food
Food & Drink
Myeongdong's pedestrian shopping streets turn into Seoul's best-known street-food strip every evening, with carts setting up from late afternoon and crowds peaking from about 7 to 10pm. Expect tornado potatoes, grilled cheese lobster, hotteok and gyeranppang (egg bread). It's touristy and pricier than the markets, but easy and fun to graze alone, and close to the Namsan cable car.
πMyeong-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Noryangjin Fish Market
Food & Drink
Seoul's big seafood wholesale market, now in a bright modern building next to Noryangjin Station. The routine is simple: buy live fish, shellfish or crab from the vendors on the main floor, then take it upstairs to one of the second-floor restaurants, which charge a small table fee to slice it as sashimi or cook it for you. A lively, unpretentious solo meal.
π674 Nodeul-ro, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Tosokchon Samgyetang
Food & Drink
Open since 1983 in a sprawling hanok near Gyeongbokgung Station (Exit 2), Tosokchon is Seoul's most famous place for samgyetang β a whole young chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng in a milky broth. It was a favourite of former president Roh Moo-hyun and seats around 400, so even the long queue moves quickly. Every bowl is a single serving, so eating alone is the norm.
π5 Jahamun-ro 5-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea