Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Alley ( 신당동 떡볶이 타운 )

Tteokbokki is a popular Korean snack food made from soft rice cake, fish cake and sweet red chili sauce.

If you walk onto any street in Seoul and you’ll find a tteokbokki restaurant or street food shop around every corner. But the origins of tteokbokki in Seoul can be found in Sindang-dong’s Tteokbokki Alley.

Mabongnim Tteokbokki (마복림 떡볶이) is considered to be the first tteokbokki restaurant in this alley. This restaurant has been cooking up hot, delicious tteokbokki for over 60 years, ever since it started up in 1953. Back then, Dongdaemun Stadium was still around and in its prime, so most of their customers were baseball fans coming to grab a bite to eat before and after the games. Nowadays, this restaurant, amongst others in the food alley see all sorts of characters, including middle school and high school students who have saved up their money to buy a tasty treat with their friends. .