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Korean BBQ, Market and Pub Experience: Immerse Yourself in Seoul's Food Culture
4.9
131 Ratings
Singongdeok-dong
Experience Seoul's food culture with a Korean BBQ, market, and pub tour. Learn about Korean BBQ etiquette, try traditional and trendy alcoholic drinks, and explore vibrant markets. Choose the 'Three Stops' option for an extra fried chicken pub experience.
Duration:
3 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- 정대포 갈매기전문 - Featured on “Parts Unknown with Anthony Bourdain,” this is a local Korean BBQ stop that specializes in a unique specialty, Mapo-style Galmegisal. It’s pork skirt steak grilled over charcoals with a moat of egg surrounding it.
- Cheonghakdong Pancake - We load up on savory Korean pancakes and sit down at the market pub for a crash course in Korean alcohol.
What's Included
- Snacks
- Local guide
- Unlimited drinks (please drink responsibly)
- Dinner included
- Introduction to traditional Korean alcohol with beer, makgeolli, soju, and dongdongju
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Extracurricular activities (karaoke, fried chicken pub) are optional after the main part of the tour
Additional Information
Embark on a classic Korean night-time journey, visiting the famed Korean pork BBQ joint highlighted in ‘Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown’. Spend an engaging night with a connoisseur of Korean cuisine, acquaint yourself with Korean BBQ and drinking customs, and dive into a variety of traditional and modern alcoholic beverages in a lively bar, ebbing with Koreans from all lifestyles. Your adventure continues with a stroll through a renowned pig’s foot market, and a vibrant marketplace offering savory pancakes and a diverse range of tempura.
For an unparalleled adventure, opt for the ‘Three Stops’ choice to include a visit to a vintage fried chicken pub, complete with beer.
Bring your camera along for the ride, just be careful not to misplace it; you wouldn’t want it to end up in the fryer. This is the most immersive exploration of Korean culinary culture you can experience.
MEETING POINT
Gongdeok Station, Exit 7, at the bottom of the escalators
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Minimum drinking age is 19 years
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking.
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Not recommended for unadventurous eaters
- Pork is the only BBQ option. The restaurant has no substitutions.
- Subway is the best way to arrive at the meeting point. Taxis tend to get stuck in traffic.
- If you’re landing after 3 p.m., you may not make it in time. Please anticipate bottlenecks and traffic. Unfortunately, this has happened a lot.
- Tour includes pork and alcohol
Location
56-75
Gongdeok Station, Gate 7, bottom of the escalator
(Don't rely on the address. We use subway exits for locations in Seoul.)
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(131 Ratings)
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322jasenb
Jul 16, 2024
A Must tour! It's an intimate tour of the best places to eat and drink - What an awesome experience! We had SJ as our tour guide. He took us to places we'd never would have known were such amazing jewels. He was super engaging, sharing all the history and culture of Korean cuisine and drinking culture. I wish we had time to take more of the tours offered, now we have a reason to come back for more!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rossgj6385hr
Jul 13, 2024
Highly recommend ultimate Korean bbq tour - I have rarely posted a review on travel sites, but the Ultimate Korean bbq was amazing experience and our guide Jeff was incredible. Korea is overwhelming with the number of restaurants and this provided a perfect way to experience several of them. Jeff made sure our whole family had a great time and even extended the tour into the early evening with additional sites. This tour was recommended by several American friends and surpassed even my very high expectations. We had a private group tour with 9 people, which worked perfectly to get the most out of the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Alexander
Jul 5, 2024
Ron was amazing- food was delicious - We did the tour with Ron and be was awesome! So knowledgeable about the city and culture and also fun to talk to. He was really kind to us and even rode the bus back with us to hotel to make sure we got back ok. We had a ton of meat from a local shop and got the whole market experience, from a mom and pop shop where everything was delicious. We had this exquisite Hanwoo beef and basically could eat as much as we wanted. Also had some delicious beer and soju. The meat market was so cool and the butcher where we got the special cut meat was the same place where we ate in his restaurant above. Our only regret was not being able to eat more due to being full!
Ron was amazing and made it such a fun experience. We were very grateful and will be recommending to anyone that loves Korean bbq!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lilytampa
Jul 2, 2024
Excellent - a must do! - As a solo traveler I had heard that some of the Korean BBQ places will not seat a table for one or if they do they require you to purchase a meat for 2 package, so I thought I’d do this food tour to avoid all that - and it was a great decision! the restaurants were delicious - the barbecue place is all pork and the meat was tender and flavorful but they also do this omelet around the side of the barbecue that is moist and delicious. My fantastic guide Ron gave me all sorts of tips on Korean food and culture. he’s a great conversationalist! the kimchi pancake at the jeon market was smooth and flavorful and paired excellent with the fizzy rice wine (meokgilli i think - can’t spell it!) and then I did the fried chicken and beer add on to the tour. I had the spicy chicken and it was sooooo delicious. The restaurants were all locals places with great food that I would have never discovered on my own. Guide Ron was great - answering all my questions about Seoul and life in Korea. I would highly recommend this tour - food was great, the alcohol pairings delicious and a wonderful guide! Thank you ZenKimchee tours for taking such great care!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Wander592683
May 28, 2024
The BEST tour you can take. - This was a BLAST!!!!!! We had so much fun with Jeff. The food was great but the company was even better. We learned so much about Korean BBQ, Soju, Makgeolli and Korean culture. All while laughing till our sides hurt. Jeff was awesome and even helped with restaurant tips the next day. Definitely take this tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Iangbradford
May 17, 2024
A Great Introduction to Korean Food! - David Mason, our guide for the evening was a fascinating dining host in his own right, giving insight into the Korean mindset. Couple this with a deep knowledge and love of the people, the culture and the food, we found the whole experience to be excellent. Our first stop, just a couple of hundred metres from the station, was a traditional barbecue restaurant based in an old hemp warehouse district. The food was cooked by us on a heated surface at the centre of the table, accompanied by a (weak!) vodka based drink - delicious! Second stop was a mostly seafood and vegetable tempura type of restaurant. You chose what you wanted (literally!), and they heated it and served it directly to you. Lovely, and with a rice wine to go with it, really wonderful! Third was a chicken-battered palate type of establishment. However, any similarities with Col. Saunders was minimal. This chicken was succulent and definitely high quality. Terra beer was suggested by David for this food, and excellent it was. David was a wonderful and fascinating host, and he delivered us back to the starting point, just a few minutes away from our last stop. A memorable experience. Thank you!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Cinthia_p
May 17, 2024
Great time in Seoul - This Meetup was the best part of my trip. I got to meet so many different people visiting seoul and the guide was so knowledgeable and make sure that we knew how to get back on the train. The food was phenomenal and the drinks were even better.
Review provided by Viator
Brocks556
May 5, 2024
Highly recommend - Excellent host (Hannah). Great knowledge and very inclusive. Would recommend to anyone coming to Seoul. If anything there was too much food.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dottordrea
Apr 23, 2024
Excellent and Funny Tour! - We were a small group, it almost felt like a private tour. The food places, including the K-Fried Chicken venue were excellent in food and ambience. Our tour guide, Jeff was so friendly, funny, full of information about the food, Korean dining/drinking cultures and norms, as well as great company all through the evening. He even went over the allotted time tour. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Maritzam683
Apr 16, 2024
Fun evening! - This should have been the first thing to do in Seoul, a nice evening to get to know the “food culture” in Seoul. So much to eat and no idea what or where? This tour will introduce you to delicious dishes in a very friendly and fun atmosphere… at least that was my experience, thanks a lot!!!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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