What you will find
- 붕어빵Bungeoppang (Fish-shaped Bread)
- 잉어빵Ingeoppang (Carp-shaped Bread)
- 국화빵Gukhwappang (Flower-shaped Red Bean Cakes)
- 호떡Hotteok (Sweet Syrup Pancake)
- 씨앗호떡Seed-filled Hotteok
- 계란빵Egg Bread
- 어묵Eomuk (Fish Cake Skewers)
- 군고구마Roasted Sweet Potato
- 군밤Roasted Chestnuts
- 떡볶이Tteokbokki (Spicy Rice Cakes)
- 떡꼬치Rice Cake Skewer
- 닭꼬치Chicken Skewer
- 핫도그Korean Corn Dog
- 꽈배기Twisted Doughnut
- 호두과자Walnut Cakes
- 핫바Fish Cake Bar
- Bungeoppang vs. ingeoppang: both are fish-shaped pastries with red bean or custard. Ingeoppang is longer and rounder, and its batter — made with glutinous rice and oil or butter — bakes into a thinner, richer crust, so you can often see the filling through it.
- 팥붕 or 슈붕? Red bean (팥) or custard cream (슈크림) — the great Korean winter debate. Say 팥으로 주세요 or 슈크림으로 주세요.
- Hotteok is filled with brown sugar syrup that comes out very hot — bite carefully.
- Fish cake skewers (어묵, also called 오뎅) sit in a pot of broth. You pay per skewer, and the broth is usually free to sip from a paper cup.
What it costs
Prices have risen fast — the wholesale price of Korean red beans, the main filling, roughly doubled in two years — and they vary from stall to stall. This is what Korean news reports found from October 2025 to January 2026:
| Snack | Reported prices |
|---|---|
| Bungeoppang | Seoul street stalls: usually ₩1,000 each or 3 for ₩2,000 (Dec 2025). Cheaper in some places — 2 for ₩1,000 in Gwangju (Nov 2025). Cafés and fancy fillings: ₩1,350–3,500 each. |
| Hotteok | ₩1,500–2,000 at ordinary Seoul stalls (Dec 2025); about ₩1,000 in Gwangju (Nov 2025). |
| Fish cake skewer | ₩700 at one Seoul market snack bar (Dec 2025); ₩700–2,000 in Jeonju (Oct 2025). |
| Egg bread | ₩1,500–2,500 in Jeonju (Oct 2025). |
| Convenience store snacks | 7-Eleven mini bungeoppang: 2 for ₩700; mini roasted sweet potato (80 g): ₩700 (Oct 2025). |
We did not find reliable recent prices for roasted sweet potatoes or chestnuts from street stalls, so we have left them out.
How to buy and pay
- Bring cash, ideally ₩1,000 notes. Many stalls take cash only — some stopped accepting bank transfers after customers sent less than the price (reported in 2023). Others take transfers or cards: ask 카드 돼요?
- Point and say how many: 붕어빵 세 개 주세요 (three bungeoppang, please).
- Stalls change places and hours. The Korean app 가슴속3천원 (“3,000 won in my heart”) is a map of bungeoppang and other snack stalls. Koreans joke that living near one is living in a 붕세권 — a play on 역세권, “near a subway station”.
From the convenience store
Hoppang (호빵) are soft steamed buns sold in winter. Samlip has made them since 1971; red bean (단팥) is the classic, with vegetable (야채) and pizza versions too — check the label for meat and allergens. Convenience stores also sell fish cake bars, mini bungeoppang and roasted sweet potatoes. See the convenience store guide.
Warm drinks
Cafés serve yuja tea and jujube tea. On the winter solstice, Koreans eat red bean porridge — see food for holidays and special days.
Vegetarian, pork and allergies
- Usually vegetarian: bungeoppang, ingeoppang, gukhwappang, hotteok, egg bread, roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts. Most contain wheat, and the bungeoppang-style batters usually have egg and milk too.
- Not vegetarian: fish cake skewers and their broth (fish, often anchovy broth), and tteokbokki (usually anchovy broth and fish cakes).
- Korean corn dogs usually contain a pork sausage — ask for an all-cheese one.
- Hotteok contains nuts; seed hotteok also has seeds and sesame.
Sources
- Seoul Economic Daily — bungeoppang now ₩1,000 each; convenience store versions (Oct 27, 2025)
- Jeonbuk Ilbo — winter snack prices in Jeonju (Oct 29, 2025)
- Jeonnam Ilbo — winter snack prices in Gwangju (Nov 6, 2025)
- Korea Economic Daily — bungeoppang vendors and red bean prices (Nov 30, 2025)
- Chosun Biz — bungeoppang, hotteok and fish cake prices in Seoul (Dec 13, 2025)
- Money Today — bungeoppang prices and red bean costs (Jan 20, 2026)
- Seoul Economic Daily — stalls refusing bank transfers (Nov 18, 2023)
- YTN — bungeoppang and ingeoppang compared (Dec 21, 2019)
- Segye Ilbo — Samlip hoppang 2025 season (Oct 22, 2025)
- Hankyung Magazine — the bungeoppang stall map app (Jan 18, 2023)
Quick answers
How much is bungeoppang in Korea?
At Seoul street stalls in winter 2025–26, usually ₩1,000 each or 3 for ₩2,000, according to Korean news reports. Cafés and fancy fillings cost ₩1,350–3,500 each; some stalls outside Seoul sold 2 for ₩1,000.
What is the difference between bungeoppang and ingeoppang?
Both are fish-shaped pastries with red bean or custard. Ingeoppang is longer and rounder, with a thinner, richer crust made with glutinous rice and oil or butter.
Is bungeoppang vegetarian?
Usually yes — there is no fish in it. The batter normally contains wheat, egg and milk, and the filling is red bean paste or custard.
Can I pay by card at Korean street food stalls?
Not always. Many stalls take cash only, and some refuse bank transfers after customers underpaid. Carry ₩1,000 notes, or ask 카드 돼요? (Do you take cards?).
Is the fish cake broth free?
Usually yes. At fish cake (eomuk) stalls you pay per skewer, and the broth is normally free to sip from a paper cup.