Seoul's apartment arcades, where local food lives on
Seoul's most authentic local food spots aren't in Seongsu or Hongdae. They're hidden beneath apartment blocks.
The restaurants that have defined everyday Korean dining aren't always the ones making headlines. Many have quietly thrived inside "sangga" — commercial arcades built for Korea's large apartment complexes. Here, regulars outnumber tourists by far, and reputations are built over decades, not social media.
One of the best-known examples is Eunma Apartment. Nearly half a century old, it remains one of Seoul's most iconic residential complexes, with its long-delayed reconstruction plans keeping it in the spotlight. Home to 4,424 units, the complex also houses a sprawling 6,600-square-meter sangga with around 400 businesses, including neighborhood restaurants that have attracted loyal diners for decades.
For those looking to experience the same Korean food locals have grown up with, The Korea Herald visited three longtime favorites inside Eunma Apartment's sangga.
Twigim Ajeossi, which translates to "Mister Fried Foods" in Korean, is located at block A, No. 65.
Around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, the store is packed with students, workers, parents and residents who line up for "bunsik" — Korea's iconic street food, including tteokbokki, fritters and sundae (not the ice cream, but Korea's own blood sausage).
For under 5,000 won, visitors can enjoy a whole dish of fried squid, shrimp, dumplings, sweet potato and rolled seaweed. A plate of tteokbokki that goes great with it is also 5,000 won.
Twigim Ajeossi opened its first truck-shop in front of Sookmyung Girls' High School, where it ran for 10 years before opening at the Eunma mall in 2016. The restaurant's co-owner, Park Ki-jun, was also introduced by SBS' "Master of Living" as a master of soup tteokbokki in 2017.
Twigim Ajeossi's tteokbokki is sweet, just as many Koreans have enjoyed since childhood. It is made of simple ingredients — rice cake, fish cake and cabbage — but the taste is not quite like that from franchises. It is sweet and spicy, and most of all, addictive.
The fried snacks are extraordinary. Fresh out of the fryer, five different fried fritter varieties are hot and crispy. Try dipping them into the tteokbokki soup, just as locals do.
Right across Twigim Ajeossi is Pizza N'Banne, store No. 73.
N'Banne focuses on a slow step-by-step process of cooking a fine pizza; thus the shop's name, short for "neurin bannejuk," or "slow kneading" in Korean. The chefs make the dough all by hand, and smash tomatoes for the sauce base.
The oven-baked pizzas come in three sizes. Solo travelers as well as groups of up to four are all welcome.
The store opened only a few years ago, but has gained much in popularity among residents and students who live nearby. On The Korea Herald's visit, delivery orders kept ringing and one of the staff sat down on the side to fold more pizza boxes.
"At first we started smaller, with two or three workers. With more customers coming by, we needed more staff, so friends joined," said Thuta Min, a 25-year-old employee from Myanmar who has worked at Pizza N'Banne for almost two years.
The customers are mostly local residents and students attending Daechi-dong's hagwon, or private academies, the dense concentration of which has made the neighborhood Korea's education capital.
Students' favorite item on the menu is the "Meatmania," topped with pepperoni, bacon and Canadian bacon along with cheddar cheese sauce.
"I've come here several times because it's so delicious. Thumbs up," a customer wrote on the wall next to the dining tables.
It's time for sweet and fresh drinks, following the savory meals.
Eunma Coffee is located at store No. 61, near Twigim Ajeossi and Pizza N'Banne.
The signature items are drip coffee, cream coffee and salt coffee. The cafe makes drip coffee with various grounds of different acidity and tastes.
When an order is made, the cafe manager welcomes the customer with a complimentary cup of warm coffee with a drop of Ethiopian Abaya Geisha.
Cafe owner Lee Bo-ra grew up in this neighborhood. Her parents owned their own business in the neighborhood for three decades. She opened her own coffee roastery in the Eunma mall in 2020, before seizing the opportunity to open a cafe 1 1/2 years ago.
"I saw the long line of customers waiting for Twigim Ajeossi and thought opening a cafe next to the line would be a good idea. The rent here is reasonable, too," Lee explained.
Eunma Coffee's drip coffee concentrate is also available for purchase.
For many Koreans, no meal is complete without banchan, or side dishes.
And for tourists who are tired of the strong flavors of restaurants and hope to enjoy meals that locals have on a daily basis, as well, this is for you.
For 10,000 won, customers may purchase four packages of different banchan. From sweet potato salad to japchae, or stir-fried glass noodles with vegetables, grilled deodeok or lance asiabell, stir-fried anchovies and rolled omelets, Eunma mall offers a wide variety.
Eunma Jeon and Sarang-ui Jip are two among several stores that have sold jeon, or Korean savory pancakes, for some four decades in Eunma mall. The historic vendors offer jeon made from meat, fish, vegetables and kimchi.
In Korea, jeon is enjoyed on an everyday basis as well as on special occasions, including national holidays like New Year's Day or on one's wedding day.
What is hidden is sometimes the sweetest find.
Among many groceries, fresh vegetables and fruits, fruit lovers shall not miss out on the Korean-bred Shinbi peaches, also known as "white nectarine." It has a nectarine's soft peel and a white peach's sweet juice, making it extra sweet from peel to core.
However, Shinbi peaches can only be enjoyed for two weeks, from mid-June to the beginning of July.
Other Sangga restaurants
Designed around the rhythms of everyday Korean life, sangga within apartment complexes have long provided residents with everything from daily essentials to comforting meals that have nourished families for decades.
Eunma Apartment is expected to begin reconstruction around 2030. While many of its restaurants are likely to return to its newly built sangga, the current arcade — with its labyrinthine corridors and decades-old atmosphere — will likely all but disappear.
As Seoul renews its aging apartment complexes, these neighborhood shopping arcades are becoming increasingly rare. For now, a handful still remain, including those at Jangmi Apartment in Jamsil, Hyundai Apartment in Apgujeong and Sibeom Apartment in Yeouido, preserving a slice of everyday Seoul that is slowly fading from the cityscape.
Go-go-ssing: Explore Korea is The Korea Herald's guide to lesser-known destinations, local stories and distinctive travel experiences. — Ed.
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