Cheonggyecheon Stream

There are a few streams running through Seoul; however, they are usually underneath freeway bypasses. This stream too had a freeway above it, making the walking path un-accessible. In a drastic reform to bring back life to the downtown the freeway was removed and the pathway has been redone. Along this stream walkway you can see the largest ceramic wall painting depicting the life of King Jeongjo (the 22nd kind of the Joseon Dynasty). There is also a historic laundry site where Korean women once washed clothing in stremlets; it has been recreated in the current stream. We only walked about half way down to reach the largest market eatery in Seoul in the Gwangjang Market.

The Gwangjang market is famous for its meokjagolmok (food alley) lined with 200 stands selling various foods. We had read there were two alleys, one with various grilled fish that then lead to the dakhanmari or boiled whole chicken alley. I'm not sure if this is the exact area that we found but we were overwhelmed by our food choices; we may have only seen the 200 stands rather than the specific alleys. There were seafood stands with what looked to be octopus, some sort of pig sausage with a very unappealing roasted whole pig face looking at you while you ate, fried tempera like pancakes, fish and veggies. Below is video of just a few of the stands we saw. (I realize my finger snuck in the view a bit)



We stuck with something we knew and decided to eat bori bibimbap. Bibimbap consists of barley rice, chili paste, mong beans, dried seaweed, lettuces pickled with chili paste and other various wild vegetables. You mix it all up and eat it; the lady told me I didn't mix it well enough and took my spoon from me to do it herself. I was also approached by a Korean lady who seemed very surprised that Americans were eating Bibimbap; she giggled as she tapped me and said, "you like?" as I shook my head yes; then she said "it is so delicious, the best you ever tasted?" I personally was a bit shocked that I was even asked that and I guess it just shows you how few non-Koreans venture out into the Gwangjang Market.