Taste of the Chuseok Table, Assembled Lunchbox-Style at Tongin Market
No Chuseok ancestral table is complete without songpyeon, jeon and japchae. Songpyeon is a half-moon-shaped rice cake steamed over pine needles, symbolizing wishes for abundance; jeon are pan-fried fritters; and japchae is stir-fried glass noodles mixed with an array of vegetables — all staples of the holiday spread.
At a glance: Tongin Market, 18 Jahamun-ro 15-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul · "Lunchbox cafe" runs roughly 11:00–16:00 (varies by stall) · Pay with market-issued brass coins to fill your own lunchbox from different stalls
Even travelers with no plans to prepare a holiday meal themselves can taste these dishes on the spot at Tongin Market in Seoul's Jongno district. At the market's lunchbox cafe in the center of the arcade, you buy brass coins issued by the merchants' association and use them to pick jeon, seasoned vegetables and rice cakes from different stalls to build your own holiday-style lunchbox.
During the Chuseok holiday, some stalls in the market may close for a day or two, so it's safer to check the notice posted at a stall before visiting.