Gwangjang Market. A place often visited by foreigners because they can feel the local taste and atmosphere in downtown Seoul.
In addition, it was mentioned on Netflix and became a must-visit destination for tourists.
Anyone who has been to Gwangjang Market knows that it looks good and has a full of local mood.
As a travel agency, I have to recommend it.
But as a Korean individual, I would not recommend Gwangjang Market to foreigners or even Koreans.
The first problem is hygiene.
If you look at the bottom of the market, you will understand why. But in fact, issues related to hygiene in local market food are raised everywhere, so this will be left out of the discussion. (This is also because I personally don’t like market food.)
The biggest problem with Gwangjang Market is that it is ridiculously expensive.
Countless YouTubers are also pointing this out, but the merchants at Gwangjang Market are so evil that you wonder if they can sell it at such high prices even though it is targeted at foreigners/tourists. I am angry that food like this is sold at this price. Even though the Merchants’ Association has received many opinions that a fixed-quantity system for food should be introduced, they do not even pretend to listen.
Furthermore, credit card payments are not acceptable. In Korea, the proportion of non-cash payments such as credit card and simple payments is very high. The proportion of cash transactions in Korea in 2021 is only 21%. The reason why merchants at Gwangjang Market refuse credit card payments is obvious. They don’t want to pay taxes.
So recently, there has been a movement to boycott Gwangjang Market among Koreans. Can you imagine a Korean traditional market with no Koreans and only foreigners? I think it might have the same feel as Myeongdong. It is questionable whether Korea without Koreans will really be valuable.
Of course, not all Gwangjang Markets are bad. Yukhoe(raw beef) restaurants are not bad. And twisted bread in front of Gwangjang Market gate is truly the best. -The price is cheap and it’s really delicious. However, it is not easy to buy because there is always a long waiting line.
Gwangjang Market is emerging as a popular tourist destination for the first time in a while. But now, the merchants at Gwangjang Market are like fools looking for a knife to cut open the stomach of the goose that lays the golden eggs.
