Korean food is popular these days and there are a large number of tourists that are taking the journey to Korea to discover its unique flavor. One of the dishes that travelers crave is Tteokbokki. When they come here I tell them they have to go to Sindang-dong Tteokbokki town by Sindang Station.

For those that don't know what Tteokbokki is, it is rice cake noodles in a spicy chili sauce. The dish was originally a royal court dish and served with a sesame soy sauce seasoning. It is widely believed that the red chili paste version recipe was invented by accident in 1953, when street food vendor Ma Bok-rim accidentally dropped a rice cake into her father-in-law’s black bean noodle dish. It tasted good, so she started experimenting with sauces and seasoning. She found that the red chili paste tasted the best and started selling it from her street cart. She would sell rice cake, steamed corn and potatoes to those going to a nearby theatre. It was a big hit and soon she upgraded her street stall to a restaurant. Her restaurant can still be found near the entrance of Sindang-dong Ttteokbokki Town, proudly proclaiming “Since 1953.”

Sindang-dong Tteokbokki Town street was built starting from late 70s as more restaurants copied and adapted Ma Bok-rim's recipe. The street was featured on popular TV programs of the time. These days on the street there are many fusion recipes such as different sauces and ingredients such as eggs, cellophane noodles, fish cakes, instant noodles, squid, prawn and cheese.
With so many Tteokbokki restaurants in the area it is probably too difficult to choose where to eat. Here are some of my suggestions.

▒ Mabongnim Halmeoni Tteokbokki

Opened in 1953 by a woman known as Mabongnim, the restaurant takes pride in its 60-plus years of service. As Mabongnim gained popularity, other similar establishments opened nearby, and eventually, formed “tteokbokki street.” The elderly owner is well known. She even starred in a red-pepper paste ad in the 1990s.
The secret of this restaurant’s tteokbokki lies in the sauce. Here red pepper paste is mixed with Chinese soybean paste for a sweet and spicy taste. These days, Mabongnim’s daughters-in-law are running the store.

▒ I Love Sindangdong

In 2002, seven tteokbokki restaurants merged to form this giant restaurant.
This eating house serves not only Sindangdong style tteokbokki, but also unique menu items such as gungjung tteokbokki (bulgogi added), cheese tteokbokki (mozzarella-stuffed rice-cakes), haemul (seafood) tteokbokki, and ultra-spicy nunmul (tear) tteokbokki, which is popular with young people. With the tear Tteokbokki it is recommended you drink a glass of cooling peach juice to kill the burn.

Besides the menu, the restaurant offers a large video screen, live guitar performances, and a 1970s~80s-style DJ who plays LP records.

▒ Jongjeom

Jongjeom has been open for 25 years. Initially, it was located at the end of Tteokbokki Street, which is how it earned the name Jongjeom, meaning ‘the end of the line.’ (Currently, several other restaurants have opened around Jeongjeom’s original location.) The restaurant serves Sindangdong-style tteokbokki, which combines red pepper paste and Chinese soybean paste to create this sweet and spicy fare. Another well-known specialty is dakpal (fried chicken feet seasoned with red pepper paste), which are especially popular among secondary school students. Oh and if you order tteokbokki, soda is free.