Dish guide · Pancakes and market food
Bindaetteok
빈대떡
Mung bean pancake
A thick pancake made from ground mung beans, mixed with bean sprouts, kimchi and often pork, and fried in plenty of oil until crisp outside and soft inside.
What it is
- Soaked mung beans are ground into a batter and mixed with ingredients such as mung bean sprouts, kimchi and green onion, and often pork or seafood.
- It is also called nokdu-jeon or nokdu-bindaetteok (nokdu means mung bean).
How to eat it
- 1Dip it in the soy sauce with sliced onion that comes with it; it cuts the oil.
- 2Makgeolli, a milky rice wine, is the traditional drink to go with it.
History
- It is believed to come from Pyongan Province in the north, and it has been made since at least the Joseon era.
- Gwangjang Market in Seoul, open since 1905, is the most famous place to eat it. Vendors there grind the beans with millstones right at their stalls.
Allergies and diet
Usually contains
- It often contains pork; some versions use seafood instead.
- The kimchi inside usually contains fish sauce or salted seafood.
Recipes differ between restaurants. If you have an allergy, always ask the staff before you order.
🗣️ Allergy card for the staff
Pick your allergy to see the sentence in Korean.
📍 Where to try it
- 🍜
Eulmildae 을밀대 본점
Noodles · Yeouido & Mapo, Seoul · Since 1971
One of the great names in Pyongyang naengmyeon, serving buckwheat noodles in chilled broth in a quiet Mapo lane since 1971. The broth comes slushy with ice unless you ask otherwise, and a crisp mung bean pancake or sliced boiled pork is the classic side.
Try: Mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth)
Short wait - 🍖
Pyeongando Jokbal 평안도족발집
Jokbal & bossam · Dongdaemun, Seoul · Since 1961
The old-timer of Jangchung-dong's jokbal street. Jokbal is pork trotter braised for hours in a spiced soy broth, then sliced and served at room temperature: tender meat, sticky skin. Here it is mild and clean-tasting, with buckwheat makguksu noodles and mung bean pancakes on the side.
Try: Jokbal (small, medium, large, extra-large)
Short wait - 🥞
Bakganae Bindaetteok 박가네빈대떡
Market food · Jongno, Seoul
One of Gwangjang Market's two famous mung bean pancake houses. You can watch the beans being ground in a stone mill out front, then sit upstairs for crispy bindaetteok, beef tartare and makgeolli.
Try: Mung bean pancake (bindaetteok)
Short wait - 🥟
Darakjeong 다락정
Soups & stews · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
A hand-made dumpling house on Samcheong-ro, serving North Korean-style mandu. Families share pots of kimchi- or doenjang-based mandu-jeongol (dumpling hot pot) with a mung-bean pancake on the side. It's a calmer pick when Samcheong-dong Sujebi up the road has a line.
Try: Kimchi mandu-jeongol (kimchi dumpling hot pot)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🥞
Jongga Bindaetteok 종가빈대떡
Pubs · Seongsu, Seoul
An old pancake-and-makgeolli bar a minute from Ttukseom Station exit 7, where the mung-bean pancakes are thick and crisp. People who work around Seoul Forest stop in after work, especially on rainy nights.
Try: Mung-bean pancake
Locals' pick - 🍜
Nunnamujip 눈나무집
Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
An old Samcheong-dong favorite up the road toward Samcheong Park, famous for kimchi-mari guksu: thin noodles in icy, tangy kimchi broth. Grilled tteokgalbi (beef patty) and mung bean pancakes make it a full meal, and prices are gentle for the area.
Try: Kimchi-mari guksu (cold noodles in kimchi broth)
Short wait - 🥟
Pyeongando Mandujip 평안도만두집
Soups & stews · Jongno, Seoul
A basement dumpling house behind the Sejong Center in Gwanghwamun, serving mild North Korean-style dumplings. Office workers share a pot of mandu-jeongol (dumpling hot pot) here; it's a calmer alternative to the famous dumpling spots in Bukchon.
Try: Mandu-jeongol (dumpling hot pot)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🍜
Sangol Makguksu 산골막국수
Noodles · Euljiro, Seoul
One of Seoul's oldest makguksu (buckwheat noodle) houses, a minute from Euljiro 4-ga Station. Locals come for the set: a bowl of cold buckwheat noodles with mung bean pancake and either spicy chicken salad or boiled pork.
Try: Jeongsik (makguksu set)
Locals' pickShort wait - 🥞
Soonhee-ne Bindaetteok 원조순희네빈대떡
Market food · Jongno, Seoul
The most famous mung bean pancake stall in Gwangjang Market, right at the entrance to the food alley. Thick, crispy bindaetteok fried in a sizzling pool of oil, with meat patties and beef tartare on the side. The line is part of the experience.
Try: Mung bean pancake (nokdu bindaetteok)
Short wait - 🍜
Yujin Sikdang 유진식당
Noodles · Jongno, Seoul
A tiny, no-frills Pyongyang naengmyeon house behind Tapgol Park, loved for some of the cheapest cold buckwheat noodles in central Seoul. Add a mung-bean pancake and boiled pork, and eat among older regulars.
Try: Pyongyang naengmyeon
Locals' pickShort wait
Sources
We check every fact against at least two sources and write it in our own words. Last checked: 2026-10-26.