Seoul Night Markets bring city to light

Streets bustle with visitors who came out for Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market in this 2016 file photo. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

By Park Jin-hai

When the cherry blossom, which adorn the streets in the day, fade into evening dusk, Seoulites get ready to explore different faces of the city _ vibrant with life and flashing lights.

Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market, which literally means Night Goblin Market, only runs at night and disappears at dawn.

The market, initially kicked off last year by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, has come returned this year with more participants and colors.

The 2017 event, following last year’s successful event which drew over 3.3 million visitors, opened March 24 in five locations in Seoul _ Yeouido Hangang Park, Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Banpo Hangang Park, Cheonggye Stream and Cheonggye Plaza.

“I’ve come to make sweet memories with my friends. The street foods look so delicious and the ambience near the riverside at night is quite romantic,” said Yoo Che-ri, who came with her friend to Yeouido Hangang Park last weekend.

The streets are filled with savory food scents from Cambodia’s passion fruit yogurt, Mexican chipotle nachos and Indian curries, while small booths lined up grab visitors’ attention with handcrafted dog clothes, worry dolls made of traditional Korea paper and other cute accessories.

“Although it is definitely different from what I used to know (about night markets), with all these fancy international foods and small crafts, it is fun to enjoy what is trendy now,” an elderly visitor said. “I also feel good, looking at young people running their own food trucks, serving food diligently and going forward with their dreams.”

The night market, with 143 food trucks and 200 handcraft businesses participating, will lure visitors under the theme of “Five Colors, Five Sentiments,” with each location hosting unique magic shows and acoustic music performances.

Open 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Yeouido Hangang Park, the largest venue with 40 food trucks and 50 street vendors, will channel the concept of “traveling the world in one night along the Han River,” offering various international food choices along with world traditional dances and music performances every Friday and Saturday until October.

The night market at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, which runs from 7 p.m. until midnight every Friday and Saturday, will focus more on youths and trends. Seated at the heat of fashion in the country, the place will hold street fashion shows and buskers.

Banpo Hangang Park, open 6 p.m. until 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday, has the concept of “Romantic Moonlight Market” and provides food zones nearer the river. Beside the Banpo Bridge Rainbow Fountain, visitors can also enjoy acoustic music, jazz and popera concerts each week.

The Cheonggye Stream night market, open between 4.30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, takes the most traditional form of a Korean market, while Cheonggye Plaza night market, a three-day-long seasonal market, will be held in May, August, September and October.

This year, the food trucks and vendors will rotate markets every three to four weeks, to give visitors more choices, while a Seoul Bamdokkaebi Night Market mobile application will be available by the end of this month, helping visitors find the location of every food truck and handmade booth.

Visit bamdokkaebi.org for more.