Street food is usually on the seasonal menu in Korea. Furthermore, people often look forward to winter to eat street snacks that are only offered on cold days. These are the top 5 street snacks you must try if you go to Korea during winter!

• Bung-eoppang

Bung-eoppang (붕어빵) is a fish-shaped pastry filled with sweet or savory fillings. The name “bung-eo” means “carp,” which is why the pastry is shaped like fish. It’s made from a pancake-like batter and typically filled with sweet red bean paste. However, you can also find variations with other fillings like custard cream, chocolate, cheese, or sweet potato paste. It’s one of the most popular Korean street snacks during the fall and winter. Dana Song, a junior in Cresskill High School, shows love for her favorite winter snack: “It has a crispy outside and there are various inside fillings you can choose from. The shape is also very interesting.”

• Hotteok

Hotteok is sweet and made from a pancake-like batter but more chewy. It’s filled with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and crushed nuts. The dough is made from wheat flour and yeast and is fried until it becomes golden and crispy. When you bite into it, you’ll experience a delightful contrast between the crispy exterior and the chewy, sweet filling. Hotteok is a popular street food, especially in the winter. A Junior Jonathan Shin explains, “I like Hotteok because it’s a warm treat that pairs well with other winter treats like hot chocolate”. Indeed, Hotteok goes well with warm beverages that could heat your frozen body in winter.

• Hoppang

Sujin Park, a junior in Cresskill gives the best description of Hoppang: “Red bean paste hoppang is the best Korean winter street food because the paste is sweet and the bread outside is chewy”. To explain further, Hoppang is a Korean steamed bun and it’s similar to baozi from China. The dough is made from wheat flour, and it’s typically filled with savory fillings like a mixture of vegetables and chopped meat. Sometimes, it is filled with sweet red bean paste, pizza-flavored paste, hot chicken, or sweet potato paste. These buns are usually steamed, making them soft and fluffy. Hoppang is a popular winter snack, and it’s often served in convenience stores, food stalls, and at home. 

• Odeng

Odeng, aka eomuk, is a popular Korean street food made from fish cake. It originates from Japan, but it is also easily seen with tteokbokki in Korea. Odeng is skewered on sticks and typically served on the go. The fish cake is made from ground fish paste, which is seasoned and shaped into various forms like ovals or cylinders. It is usually served on skewers and dipped in a savory broth or sauce for extra flavor. Since skewered odeng is served with a cup of warm soup, Koreans like to hold them as hand warmer in winter when they buy odeng in winter. Heewon Jung, a senior in Cresskill, expresses, “Its warm soup helps me survive in cold winter.”

• Tteokbokki

Tteokbokki is a popular Korean dish made from chewy rice cakes (tteok) and a spicy, sweet, and savory sauce. The rice cakes are usually cut into cylindrical shapes and cooked in a Korean red chili paste-based sauce, often with fish cakes, boiled eggs, and scallions. Tteokbokki is known for its spicy kick and is an irreplaceable Korean street food. Not only on the streets but there are different franchise tteokbokki restaurants with various flavored tteokokki where you can also choose the spiciness levels. The plate is typically spicy, but there are different flavors like cream, rosé, black bean sauce, mara, and cheese. Konoka Suganuma, a senior, states “I like the sweet and spicy flavor and the chewy texture of tteok.”

In this poll, based on four winter snacks that vendors offer on streets in Korea, the members of the Korean Culture Club at Cresskill High School voted Bung-eoppang as a clear fan favorite. Next, Hotteok takes second place. The warm and soft skewered fish cake takes the third, and unfortunately, Hoppang is the last. However, this doesn’t mean that Hoppang is bad. You should definitely try everything and find your taste!

Unfortunately, in Bergen County, you can’t enjoy these snacks from street vendors when it’s hot like the streets in Korea. However, you can get meal kits or frozen versions of them in Hmarts.