Pajeon

파전

Green onion pancake

♨️ Served hot🙂 Not spicy🥬 Vegetarian versions exist: ask

A big savory pancake loaded with green onions. Haemul-pajeon adds seafood, and it's the classic rainy-day partner for makgeolli.

What it is

Haemul-pajeon is the most common version, with seafood such as squid, shrimp, oysters or clams.
Busan's Dongnae pajeon is a famous regional style.

How to eat it

1Tear or cut it into pieces, and dip them in soy sauce with vinegar.

History

One account says Dongnae pajeon was made to mark a victory over invaders in the Imjin War, then later reached the royal table. Why Koreans crave pancakes on rainy days has many folk explanations.

Allergies and diet

Usually contains

wheateggshellfishsoy

Seafood is usual. Ask for a plain green onion pancake.
Batter may contain seafood stock.

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

🍜
Samcheongdong Sujebi 삼청동수제비
Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul · Since 1982
The busiest door on Samcheong-dong's main street since 1982: hand-torn dough soup (sujebi) in a light anchovy broth, served in a little pot, with crispy potato pancakes on the side. A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick near Bukchon and the palaces.
Try: Sujebi (hand-torn dough soup)
30-60 min wait
🍲
Bukchon Dodam 북촌도담
Home-style meals · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
A Korean home-cooking spot by Anguk Station known for kimchi-jjim, whole aged kimchi braised soft with pork. Order the set meal, add a green-onion pancake and makgeolli, and you have the meal Koreans come to Bukchon for when the famous noodle shops are packed.
Try: Kimchi-jjim jeongsik (braised kimchi set)
Locals' pickShort wait
🍜
Chebu-dong Janchijip 체부동잔치집
Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
A cheap, cheerful noodle house at the start of the Sejong Village food street near Gyeongbokgung. Bowls of janchi-guksu (banquet noodles), perilla sujebi and kalguksu are remarkably affordable, and a pancake with makgeolli turns it into a long afternoon.
Try: Janchi-guksu (noodles in anchovy broth)
Short wait
🍖
Daeryeonjip 대련집
Jokbal & bossam · Jongno, Seoul
A 60-year-old house in the alleys between Jongno and Cheonggyecheon Stream, where office workers order tender boiled pork wrapped in raw napa cabbage and a bowl of rich beef-bone kalguksu, often with makgeolli.
Try: Saengbaechu bossam (pork with raw cabbage)
Locals' pickShort wait
🥩
Daeseong-jip 대성집
Korean BBQ · Seongsu, Seoul
A retro Seongsu eatery whose star is beoseot jumulleok: spicy marinated chicken stir-fried at the table with a heap of mushrooms and no water, a cousin of dakgalbi. A seafood pancake and cold acorn-jelly soup often come along, and staff finish the pan as fried rice.
Try: Beoseot jumulleok (spicy chicken and mushroom stir-fry)
Short wait
🍚
Dosol Maeul 도솔마을
Home-style meals · Hwangnidan-gil & Old Town, Gyeongju
A Korean set-meal restaurant in a hanok near the old town. The house set brings a full table of side dishes at a fair price, and savory pancakes make a good add-on.
Try: Surisan set meal
Short wait
🍗
Hwacheon Dakbal 화천닭발
Pubs · Jamsil, Seoul
An old tent-style pub inside the Bangi-dong food alley, with outdoor seats and walls full of handwritten menus. Spicy chicken feet are in the name, but locals order seafood pancakes, shrimp jeon and stir-fried squid too. A neighborhood second stop near Olympic Park.
Try: Spicy chicken feet
Locals' pickShort wait
Hyanghwajeong 향화정
Home-style meals · Hwangnidan-gil & Old Town, Gyeongju
The Hwangnidan-gil spot for cockle bibimbap: seasoned cockles over rice, served as a portion for two. Seafood pancake and beef mulhoe in icy broth round out the table.
Try: Seasoned cockle bibimbap
30-60 min 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
🍚
Mil-gwa Bori 밀과보리
Home-style meals · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
A homey restaurant near Changdeokgung serving barley rice and gondeure (thistle) rice bibimbap with fresh greens, plus hand-cut noodles and minari pancakes. Office workers and Bukchon walkers line up for it, but it's a world away from tourist set menus.
Try: Boribap (barley rice bibimbap)
Locals' pick30-60 min wait
🥞
Neoseure 너스레
Pubs · Sinchon & Ewha, Seoul
A long-running pancake pub near Ewha Womans University, popular with students for decades. Cheese kimchi pancake is the signature, often ordered as a half-and-half with seafood pancake, alongside boneless chicken feet and house lemon soju. Cheerful, cramped and cheap.
Try: Cheese kimchi pancake
Locals' pick
🥩
Samwon Garden 삼원가든
Korean BBQ · Gangnam, Seoul
Gangnam's landmark galbi house: a big traditional restaurant with a garden and waterfall, where Seoul families have celebrated for decades. Order the house marinated beef short ribs or plain prime Korean beef ribs, grilled at your table, or come at lunch for a bowl of galbitang and cold noodles.
Try: Samwon traditional marinated galbi
Short wait
🥞
Seoul Jijimi 서울지짐이
Pubs · Myeongdong, Seoul
A jeon-and-makgeolli house on the edge of Myeongdong, on two floors. Office workers come for crisp seafood pancakes, kimchi pancakes and mixed jeon, washed down with makgeolli from around the country. It's busiest on rainy days.
Try: Modeum-jeon (assorted pan-fried bites)
Locals' pick
🍖
Wolseong Bunsik 월성분식
Home-style meals · Hwangnidan-gil & Old Town, Gyeongju
Don't let the name fool you: bunsik means snack shop, but this alley spot near Jungang Market serves home-style meals. Smoky spicy pork or kimchi stew arrives with over a dozen side dishes.
Try: Spicy stir-fried pork
Locals' pickShort wait
🍜
Yuldong Kalguksu 율동칼국수
Noodles · Seochon & Bukchon, Seoul
A second-floor noodle shop in Bukchon where noodles are kneaded with a bamboo pole in the front window. Chicken kalguksu is the classic, and there are newer bowls with perilla oil or butter. Many people find it while waiting out the line at Hwangsaengga Kalguksu nearby.
Try: Dak-kalguksu (chicken noodle soup)
Locals' pickShort wait