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Mandu at Seoul’s Markets: Gwangjang, Namdaemun and Mangwon Compared

Travel Analysts

📄154 reviews name the mandu at Gwangjang Market, Namdaemun Market and Mangwon Market, and 53 of 65 verdicts are good. Which dumpling, which shop, what it cost.

A vendor in a pink knit hat lifts a steel steamer tray of dumplings at a market stall lined with steamers full of mandu

💡Quick Answer

Where are the best dumplings in Seoul’s markets? In our samples, mandu is named in 5.8% of reviews of Gwangjang Market, 3.8% of Namdaemun Market and 1.7% of Mangwon Market. Of 65 reviewers who say how theirs tasted, 53 call them good. At Gwangjang Market, 16 reviews tie the dumplings to the noodle stall featured on Netflix. At Namdaemun Market the draw is a steamed mandu shop with a queue, named in four reviews as Gamegol Son Wang Mandu. We did not verify current prices.

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Two Kinds of Mandu in Seoul’s Markets

Mandu are dumplings, and the word covers two different things in these reviews. At Gwangjang Market they are mostly small dumplings eaten with knife-cut noodles. At Namdaemun Market they are large steamed mandu from a shop people queue for, close enough to a filled bun that many reviewers call them steamed buns. We read the 154 reviews that name either across our samples of three markets.

🥟 Mandu in the reviews	Gwangjang Market (1,458)	Namdaemun Market (1,376)	Mangwon Market (1,089)
Reviews that name it	5.8% (84)	3.8% (52)	1.7% (18)
Say how theirs tasted	39 reviews	21 reviews	5 reviews
✅ Say they were good	31	17	5
🟡 Call them ordinary	5	1	0
❌ Did not like them	3	3	0
What reviewers come for	Dumplings with knife-cut noodles, kimchi mandu	Large steamed mandu from a shop with a queue	Kimchi mandu, sold by the five

Sixty-five of the 154 reviews say how the mandu tasted, and 53 of those say they were good. The other 89 list them, recommend them or ate them without comment.

The trade-off: which market has the better dumpling depends on which dumpling you mean. The reviews do not compare the two directly, with one exception noted below.

Gwangjang Market: Dumplings Beside the Noodles

At Gwangjang Market 31 of the 39 reviewers who judged the mandu liked them. Sixteen of the 84 reviews that name mandu are about one place, the noodle and dumpling stall that appeared on Netflix, which we cover in a separate article. The rest are about the market in general.

The most tasty dumplings I had in Korea. — Google Maps review of Gwangjang Market, 5 stars, October 2025

The kimchi dumplings and mung bean pancakes were amazing! — TripAdvisor review of Gwangjang Market, 5 stars, August 2019

Five reviews name kimchi mandu. Five say the dumplings are made on the spot, one of them a two-star reviewer who calls it the market’s one good point and contrasts it with the frozen dumplings sold on the street in Myeongdong. One reviewer points away from the stalls altogether:

Watch out for an excellent dumpling restaurant to your right-hand side as you enter the main Eastern entrance off Dongho-ro. — TripAdvisor review of Gwangjang Market, 4 stars, December 2024

Three reviewers did not like them, all in reviews of two stars or fewer. One, in Japanese, says the dumplings tasted frozen. One says the food at several stalls was not good for the price, with small dumplings at 8,000 won. The third, from 2019, found the famous stall’s dishes less appetizing than they look on screen. Five more call the mandu ordinary, and one of those adds that they were good value all the same.

Three single reports are worth knowing about. A Korean reviewer whose foreign friend ordered in careful Korean says the vendor mixed kimchi and meat dumplings together and charged more for it. A reviewer who expected meat got something else:

Both were disappointing as they were tofu/vegetarian. — TripAdvisor review of Gwangjang Market, 3 stars, August 2023

And a Japanese reviewer in July 2025, on a day of 36 degrees, describes dumplings that had been boiled in advance and left out before being reheated to order.

The trade-off: the dumplings reviewers praise most at Gwangjang Market are the ones served with noodles at stalls that make them in front of you. Bought on their own from a tray, the reviews are more mixed.

Namdaemun Market: The Steamed Mandu Shop With the Queue

At Namdaemun Market 17 of the 21 reviewers who judged the mandu liked them, and four reviews name the shop: Gamegol Son Wang Mandu (가메골 손왕만두), which reviewers also write as Kamegol. One of them says there is seating on the second floor. Four reviews describe a queue.

From Hoehyeon station, exit 5 turn into the lane — Google Maps review of Namdaemun Market, 4 stars, November 2024

unlimited radish to eat with your dumplings — Google Maps review of Namdaemun Market, 5 stars, June 2026

That second reviewer describes the routine: order and pay, then move to the left to stand and eat. Four reviews name kimchi mandu, and one says theirs came freshly steamed. Two note a minimum order of five pieces, which one reviewer counts against the market.

The praise is strong, including from people who did not like the rest of their visit. A two-star reviewer, put off by touts in the noodle alley, gives the mandu shop five stars on its own.

steamed pork bun vendors (which were amazing!) — TripAdvisor review of Namdaemun Market, 4 stars, September 2019

Three reviewers did not like them. One joined the queue because others were in it:

we felt the dough was too thick and the filling was very underwhelming — Google Maps review of Namdaemun Market, 4 stars, October 2024

A reviewer writing in Vietnamese says the same in fewer words: a long line, not tasty and expensive. And a two-star review from 2019 is about a different place, a sit-down restaurant in one of the alleys, where the plate that arrived held half the dumplings shown in the display.

The trade-off: this is a thick, bready dumpling. The reviewers who love it and the ones who do not are describing the same dough.

Mangwon Market: Kimchi Mandu by the Five

Only 18 reviews of Mangwon Market name mandu, and the five that say how they tasted all liked them. One of them is the only review in our samples that compares the markets directly:

The dumplings (especially those with kimchi) are so BIG and delicious!! (6000₩/5pcs) — Google Maps review of Mangwon Market, 4 stars, March 2026

The food here is definitely better than in Gwangjang market. — Google Maps review of Mangwon Market, 4 stars, March 2026

Two reviews recommend a mandu shop at Mangwon Market, one of them a Korean reviewer who names it among the few places worth singling out. Another Korean reviewer praises the dumplings served in the noodle shop inside the market.

The trade-off: five verdicts are too few to rank Mangwon Market. What they add is a price and a portion: five large dumplings for 6,000 won in March 2026.

What Reviewers Report About Ordering

🔎 What reviewers report	Gwangjang Market	Namdaemun Market
Tie the mandu to one famous stall or shop	16 reviews: the Netflix noodle stall	4 reviews name Gamegol Son Wang Mandu
Kimchi mandu	5 reviews	4 reviews
⏳ A queue	covered in our article on the stall	4 reviews
Made on the spot	5 reviews; 1 says theirs tasted frozen	1 review: freshly steamed
A minimum order	not reported for mandu	2 reviews: five pieces

On price, Gwangjang Market reviewers report 5,000 won an order in May 2019 and January 2020, and one reports 8,000 won for small dumplings in August 2025. Mangwon Market has the one report above. No review of Namdaemun Market in the sample gives a price for mandu. We did not verify current prices.

The trade-off: a minimum of five large mandu is a meal, not a snack, and two reviewers found that out at the counter. If you are grazing through a market, that changes what else you can eat.

Methodology

Figures come from the SeoulFoodTour research corpus. This article uses three samples of rated reviews from Google Maps and TripAdvisor, each collected without filtering by rating: 1,458 reviews of Gwangjang Market, 1,376 of Namdaemun Market and 1,089 of Mangwon Market.

What counts as naming the dish. A review is counted when it names mandu or dumplings in English, Korean, Japanese or Chinese, or names the steamed buns sold as mandu at these markets. Each match was read, and three that turned out to describe something else were removed. That leaves 154 reviews: 84, 52 and 18.

How they were sorted. A review counts as a verdict only when the reviewer ate the mandu and says how they were: 65 do. Reports about queues, prices, fillings and minimum orders are counted separately.

Names. We name Gamegol Son Wang Mandu because four reviews do. The Netflix stall at Gwangjang Market has its own article and is not re-examined here.

Quotations. Every quotation is from a review written in English and is reproduced exactly as it appears in the original record, spelling included. Reviews in other languages are counted and described in our words, never quoted.

What this article does not do. It does not verify today’s prices or where any shop is, and it cannot confirm what any reviewer says they saw at a stall. A review records one person’s account of one day.

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is mandu?+

Mandu are Korean dumplings. In Seoul’s markets reviewers describe two kinds: small boiled or steamed dumplings served with knife-cut noodles or in soup, and large steamed ones closer to a filled bun, which some reviewers call steamed buns. Kimchi and meat are the fillings reviewers name most.

Are the dumplings at Gwangjang Market good?+

Of the 84 reviews of Gwangjang Market that name mandu, 39 say how they tasted: 31 call them good, 5 ordinary and 3 did not like them. Sixteen reviews connect the dumplings to the noodle stall featured on Netflix.

Where is the famous mandu shop at Namdaemun Market?+

Four reviews name it as Gamegol Son Wang Mandu (가메골 손왕만두), also written Kamegol. One reviewer gives directions: from Hoehyeon Station exit 5, turn into the lane and look for the stall with the queue. One says there is seating on the second floor. We did not verify where it is today.

How much are dumplings at Seoul’s markets?+

At Gwangjang Market reviewers report 5,000 won an order in 2019 and 2020, and one reports 8,000 won for small dumplings in August 2025. At Mangwon Market one reports 6,000 won for five kimchi mandu in March 2026. We did not verify current prices.

Are the mandu vegetarian?+

Some are, and you may not be told. One reviewer at Gwangjang Market expected meat and got tofu and vegetable dumplings; another says the market has good options for vegetarians. Kimchi mandu are named in ten reviews across the three markets, and no review says what is in them. Ask at the stall.

Are the dumplings freshly made or frozen?+

Five reviews of Gwangjang Market say the mandu are made on the spot, and one of them contrasts this with frozen dumplings sold on the street in Myeongdong. One reviewer says theirs tasted frozen, and one describes pre-boiled dumplings left out in summer heat and reheated to order.