Korean winter street snacks: what to order, what they cost, and how to pay

Korea's winter street snacks cost little, but buying one isn't always simple.
Some stalls take only cash, some post a bank account for transfers you can't make without a Korean bank account, and a stall listed in an app may not be there when you arrive.
This guide covers what each snack is, what to ask for, what dated news reports say they cost, and what to do when a stall won't take your payment.

The short version

Carry a few 1,000-won notes and a 5,000-won note.
Cards work at some stalls, mainly in tourist markets, but you can't count on it.
If a stall takes only a bank transfer and you don't have a Korean bank account, you can't pay there, so move on to another stall or to a convenience store.

The six snacks, what to ask for, and how they're sold

The names below follow the romanizations Korea.net uses where it has them.
Say the name and hold up fingers for how many you want.

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What do they cost this winter?

No October–November 2026 street-price report had appeared when this was checked in early November 2026. The figures below come from reports between August 2025 and the 2025/26 winter, each tied to the report it came from.
Expect prices this season to be the same or higher, and to vary from one stall to the next.

Each date matches a report in the source list at the end of this guide.
The December 2025 report noted that a year earlier the usual deals had been 3 for 2,000 won or 2 for 1,000 won.

Why prices rose

The reports point to similar costs.
Price data cited in the November 7, 2025 report put red beans at 13,893 won per 500 g in early November 2025, up 34.9% on a year earlier.
The December 2025 report cited a 33.8% rise in the wholesale price for 40 kg of red beans.
Vendors interviewed for the November 30, 2025 report also listed gas, paper bags and pitch fees.

Tourist-spot prices are a separate case

In August 2025, a news report found fish cake at 3,000 won a skewer near a Busan tourist site, against 1,200–1,400 won at a market in the same city.
If a price is two or three times what's above, you're paying for the location.
You're free to walk away before ordering.

How to pay at a stall

Work through these in order.

1. Cash in small notes. It's the safest choice, and some stalls take nothing else. A November 2023 report described a cash-only stall, and a November 2025 newspaper column described a neighbourhood stall that took no cards. Break larger notes at a convenience store before you go looking.

2. A card, if you see a terminal. Ask by showing the card before you order. A March 2026 news report found Gwangjang Market vendors calling out that cards were fine, while some stalls in Myeongdong had covered their card notices and hesitated when handed a card.

3. QR payments in some tourist areas. The same report found many Myeongdong stalls taking Alipay-style QR payments aimed at Chinese visitors. Outside the big tourist streets, don't expect it.

4. Bank transfer. Some stalls post the vendor's bank account number for transfers, as both the November 2025 column and the March 2026 report describe. This needs a Korean bank account and a banking app.

When the stall wants a bank transfer

If you're visiting and don't have a Korean bank account, you can't pay by transfer.
A foreign card or a phone number won't change that.
Ask whether cash is fine first, since a stall that posts an account number may still take cash.
If not, go to the next stall.

If you live in Korea and have a Korean account, paying by transfer is normal.
Check the amount before you send it.
A November 2023 news report relayed the case of a vendor who checked transfers only after closing, kept finding ones of just 200 or 300 won, and stopped accepting them.
Show the vendor your transfer confirmation when you pay.

For cash withdrawals and which cards work at convenience stores, see our convenience store guide.

Finding a stall that's actually open

Stalls are harder to find than they used to be.
City figures cited in the November 7, 2025 report show Seoul's street stalls fell from 6,079 in 2020 to 4,741 in 2024, about 22% fewer.
When the same report checked 15 bungeoppang stalls listed in a stall-map app across four Seoul districts on November 6, 2025, only 3 were open.
Vendors in that report blamed ingredient costs, enforcement, complaints and fines for unlicensed stalls.

Use a stall-map app, with a caveat

Gaseumsok 3cheonwon is a user-reported map of bungeoppang and other snack stalls.
As checked on November 3, 2026:

• App Store. The listing is in the Korean store under a Korean-only title, and its Languages field lists Korean and English. It wasn't found in the US or UK App Store when checked, so it may not be available in your country's store.

• Google Play. It's also listed there, again under a Korean-only title.

• How it works. Users add stalls with photos and report whether a stall is open, or still has stock, that day. A recent report is worth far more than the pin itself.

A pin with no recent report is only a guess.

Search a map app

On NAVER Map or KakaoMap, searching the snack name often brings up shops and cafés that sell it rather than the street stalls themselves.
Those shops are a fallback with regular hours.
For setting up a Korean map app in the first place, see why Google Maps falls short in Korea.

Timing patterns

Treat these as tendencies, not rules.
Stalls cluster near subway exits, bus stops, markets and apartment-complex entrances.
They mostly set up in the afternoon and stay open into the evening.
Uncovered stalls often don't open on rainy days.
The season roughly follows the cold, from late autumn to early spring.

When you can't find a stall: convenience stores

Convenience stores sell winter hot snacks with regular hours, and they take foreign cards far more reliably than stalls do.

The table comes from a September 15, 2026 news report, which also covered CU and GS25's previous season.

For bungeoppang without a stall, supermarkets and online grocers sell frozen versions you heat at home.
A December 2025 news report put a major brand's bag of 11–12 red bean pieces at ₩7,600, with its November 2025 online sales up 45% on a year earlier.
That's mainly an option for residents with a microwave or air fryer.