Korean Street Food Glossary

A quick plain-English glossary of the Korean street-food and snack words you’ll see across this site. Where we have a full guide, the term links to it.

  • Bunsik (분식) — cheap Korean “flour food” snacks: tteokbokki, kimbap, twigim and the like, usually sold together at a snack bar (bunsikjip).
  • Pojangmacha (포장마차) — a covered street tent or cart selling food and drink, especially at night.
  • Gochujang (고추장) — fermented red chili paste; the base of many spicy street foods.
  • Gochugaru (고춧가루) — Korean red chili flakes.
  • Tteokbokki (떡볶이) — chewy rice cakes simmered in sweet-spicy gochujang sauce.
  • Tteok (떡) — Korean rice cake, in many shapes; garae-tteok is the cylindrical kind used for tteokbokki.
  • Eomuk / Odeng (어묵 / 오뎅) — fish cake, often skewered and served in hot broth.
  • Twigim (튀김) — assorted deep-fried street snacks.
  • Sundae (순대) — Korean blood sausage with noodles and barley.
  • Hotteok (호떡) — sweet filled griddle pancake, a winter favourite.
  • Bungeoppang (붕어빵) — fish-shaped pastry with red bean filling.
  • Gyeranppang (계란빵) — oval egg bread with a whole egg baked in.
  • Dalgona / Ppopgi (달고나 / 뽑기) — honeycomb sugar candy stamped with a shape.
  • Korean corn dog (핫도그) — sausage/cheese on a stick in sweet batter, often sugar-coated.
  • Gun-goguma (군고구마) — roasted sweet potato, a winter street staple.
  • Gunbam (군밤) — roasted chestnuts.
  • Dakkochi (닭꼬치) — grilled chicken skewers.
  • Sotteok sotteok (소떡소떡) — alternating sausage and rice cake skewer.
  • Ssiat hotteok (씨앗호떡) — Busan-style hotteok stuffed with seeds.
  • Kkochi (꼬치) — “skewer”; you’ll see it in many street-food names.
  • Gui (구이) — “grilled,” as in muneo-gui (grilled octopus).
  • Ppang (빵) — “bread,” as in bungeoppang or gyeranppang.
  • Market (시장, sijang) — traditional markets like Gwangjang are street-food hubs.
  • Won (₩, KRW) — Korean currency; most street snacks cost a few thousand won.

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