Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market (서울 밤도깨비 야시장)

Last October I wrote about the Bamdokkaebi Night Market, which was held at the Cascade Plaza at Yeouido Hangang Park. Just to recap, it’s an outdoor market where people sell their handmade goods, entertainers give free performances and food trucks sell an assortment food.

It was a lot of fun and I wasn’t the only one to think so. Apparently it was such a huge success that they decided to hold it for a longer period of time this year, March 31, 2016 ~ October 29, 2016 to be exact.

So once again the Bamdokkaebi Night Market is open for business, but with a few improvements. Last year, I felt the set up to be a little sloppy and lacking organization. This year all the vendors selling handmade goods have been neatly grouped together in bright orange uniform tents.

Some of the vendors change from weekend to weekend, but there is a lot to see. One of the more interesting booths I’ve seen is one where a guy crafts rings out of different kinds of coins from all over the world. Each one is unique and they are really nicely made. The boyfriend and I each got one. His was made from a U.S. silver dollar and mine from a Japanese Taisho 1 sen. They’re so cool!

Other booths have cute handmade pushies, beautiful jewellery with dried pressed flowers in them and colourful painted ceramics. One particular booth makes really fragrant candles in 항아리 (hangari), a type of jar that kimchi is usually stored in. I’m obsessed with these, so of course I had to grab one. The black cherry is amazing.

My biggest complaint about the market last year was the food layout. There were only a handful of food booths and trucks, so the lines were incredibly long and the food ran out so quickly. This year, the food vendors are neatly lined up in food and drink trucks and there is way more to choose from! While the lines can still be long, you can easily bounce to a truck with a shorter line while you wait for the long lines to go down.

I’ve gone a few times now, and I definitely have my favourite trucks. One of my favourites is a fusion tteokbokki truck called “Yo! Bro.” I really recommend trying their “매운크림-Mix” which is a plate of half spicy tteokbokki, half cream tteokbokki served on top of a risotto, drizzled with cheese and sprinkled with dried basil. It’s so good!

Of course there are a lot of other fantastic food trucks to choose. So far I’ve tried the Hawaiian burger, churros, Hawaiian pineapple shrimp and okonomiyaki just to name a few. It’s a nice little hodgepodge of food with plenty of space to enjoy it. Since its in a park we always bring our dog along for a little exercise and social time.

Overall it’s a great way to spend the weekend. Make sure to check it out before it’s gone.

• Duration
  • March 31, 2016 ~ October 29, 2016
• Hours
  • 06:00pm~11:00pm, Friday~Saturday
• Address
  • 서울특별시 영등포구 여의동로 330 (여의도동)
  • 330, Yeouidong-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
• Website
  • http://www.bamdokkaebi.org