30 Mouthwatering Photos Of Street Food In Korea

2014-04-09T19:44:48.392Z

The Insadong neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the city.

It's packed with a bunch of tea shops, markets, dozens of carts selling various kinds of street food with everything from grilled octopus on a stick to delicious custard cakes.

I spent an afternoon stuffing my face with as much of it as possible. Here's what I saw.

Disclosure: Samsung paid for a portion of our trip to South Korea for a separate series of stories about the company. It paid for the flight and some meals. Business Insider paid for lodging and all other expenses.

This is a twist potato. The chefs put an entire potato in a special machine that cuts it into this twisty shape. They then put it on a skewer and fry it up.

You can sprinkle it with cheese or chili powder. This was the first thing I ate. It was greasy and delicious.

A lot of stands sell a variety of different foods.

This one had fish cakes and hot dogs on a stick.

I tried one of the fish cakes, which had a big chili pepper inside for some extra spice.

There aren't many trashcans on the streets of Insadong, so you have to carry around a bunch of empty skewers unless you want to litter. Some stands will take your empty skewers and throw them away though.

This is either a kettle of nuts or bugs. I wasn't sure. And I wasn't brave enough to try.

This was one of my favorite dishes. It's grilled octopus on a skewer.

The chefs dip it in soy sauce and these flaky things before they serve it to you. It had a rubbery texture, but there was a surprisingly sweet taste thanks to the soy sauce.

This place had a line out the door. And I saw a bunch of people eating sugary twisted pastries stuffed with...something. I decided to wait until I was ready for dessert to check it out.

Sweet stuff seemed to be the most popular in Insadong.

This stand had sweet cakes frying on a big pan.

This woman poured batter from a tea kettle into a hot mold to make her tiny custard cakes.

These cakes had an egg cracked in them.

These guys were making a stringy, sugary dessert.

The sugar strings were then wrapped around what looked like nuts.

A lot of the food was spicy.

And fried! No health food here.

This woman was making noodles in a spicy red sauce.

This stand was packed with people munching on platters of dumplings.

I couldn't tell what this was, but it was salty and crunchy.

If you wanted some booze, there was an outdoor cocktail cart. You could walk around the neighborhood enjoying some liquor.

Restaurants and food carts have a bunch of crazy signs that try to entice you to stop by.

Like this stuffed dog holding a menu.

And this creepy crying kid.

I stopped inside one random restaurant for dumpling soup and a Cass, a local Korean beer.

Then it was dessert time. I just had to see what those twisty pastry things were, so I went back to the crowded shop. Lots of kids were coming out with smiles on their faces.

I paid this guy 5,000 won (about $5 U.S.) and asked for chocolate, but I still had no idea what I was getting.

Then I went to the next counter. It turns out they fill the twisty pastries with frozen yogurt.

It was really good! You munch your way down through the frozen yogurt. It's cleaner and more efficient than your typical ice cream cone.

Can't get enough street food?

Click here for 50 mouthwatering photos of street food in Singapore >>

30 Mouthwatering Photos Of Street Food In Korea

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

30 Mouthwatering Photos Of Street Food In Korea

This is a twist potato. The chefs put an entire potato in a special machine that cuts it into this twisty shape. They then put it on a skewer and fry it up.

You can sprinkle it with cheese or chili powder. This was the first thing I ate. It was greasy and delicious.

A lot of stands sell a variety of different foods.

This one had fish cakes and hot dogs on a stick.

I tried one of the fish cakes, which had a big chili pepper inside for some extra spice.

There aren't many trashcans on the streets of Insadong, so you have to carry around a bunch of empty skewers unless you want to litter. Some stands will take your empty skewers and throw them away though.

This is either a kettle of nuts or bugs. I wasn't sure. And I wasn't brave enough to try.

This was one of my favorite dishes. It's grilled octopus on a skewer.

The chefs dip it in soy sauce and these flaky things before they serve it to you. It had a rubbery texture, but there was a surprisingly sweet taste thanks to the soy sauce.

This place had a line out the door. And I saw a bunch of people eating sugary twisted pastries stuffed with...something. I decided to wait until I was ready for dessert to check it out.

Sweet stuff seemed to be the most popular in Insadong.

This stand had sweet cakes frying on a big pan.

This woman poured batter from a tea kettle into a hot mold to make her tiny custard cakes.

These cakes had an egg cracked in them.

These guys were making a stringy, sugary dessert.

The sugar strings were then wrapped around what looked like nuts.

A lot of the food was spicy.

And fried! No health food here.

This woman was making noodles in a spicy red sauce.

This stand was packed with people munching on platters of dumplings.

I couldn't tell what this was, but it was salty and crunchy.

If you wanted some booze, there was an outdoor cocktail cart. You could walk around the neighborhood enjoying some liquor.

Restaurants and food carts have a bunch of crazy signs that try to entice you to stop by.

Like this stuffed dog holding a menu.

And this creepy crying kid.

I stopped inside one random restaurant for dumpling soup and a Cass, a local Korean beer.

Then it was dessert time. I just had to see what those twisty pastry things were, so I went back to the crowded shop. Lots of kids were coming out with smiles on their faces.

I paid this guy 5,000 won (about $5 U.S.) and asked for chocolate, but I still had no idea what I was getting.

Then I went to the next counter. It turns out they fill the twisty pastries with frozen yogurt.

It was really good! You munch your way down through the frozen yogurt. It's cleaner and more efficient than your typical ice cream cone.

Can't get enough street food?

Click here for 50 mouthwatering photos of street food in Singapore >>

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know