🍜 Food & Drink

Mapo Jeong Daepo BBQ

Seoul, South Korea

About Mapo Jeong Daepo BBQ

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 — 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.

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📍183-16 Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

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Why it works for solo travelers

✓ Comfortable to eat here on your own — you won't feel out of place dining solo.
✓ Good for meeting other travelers and locals.
✓ Mid-range ($$).

More solo-friendly food & drink in Seoul →Seoul solo travel guide →

Quick info

Price range

More Food & Drink in Seoul

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Gwangjang Market

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.

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Tosokchon Samgyetang

Open since 1983 in a sprawling hanok near Gyeongbokgung Station (Exit 2), Tosokchon is Seoul's most famous place for samgyetang — 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.

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Myeongdong Street Food

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.

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