BIFF Square and Gukje Market, Busan (South Korea)

BIFF stands for Busan International Film Festival Square, which used to be home to the fame film festival .

(ภาษาไทย)
BIFF Square is located near the Jagalchi market and Nampo fashion village that’s typically crowded with locals and tourists.

To go to BIFF Square & Gukje Market, take the Orange Line to Jagalchi Station, then take exit no.7

We walked to Gukje Market (남포동 국제시장) first, the market is huge and has so many sections. The market is popular for locals and we didn’t spot too many tourists.

Shops in Gukje Market sell an assortment of new and used items. Since vendors deal in both wholesale and retail sales, the average customer can purchase various items at incredibly inexpensive prices.

Gukje Market began during the Korean War in 1950 as a place for war refugees to try to eke out a living, soon growing into a large, busy market. Today the area is bursting with the old-fashioned marketplace spirit, similar to that of Namdaemun Market in Seoul.

Gukje Market used to be the very center of commerce as both military supplies for the U.S. armies and imported goods came through the neighboring port city.

A famous zone in Gukje Market is the Gukje Market Food Street pictured below (국제시장 먹자골목).

Gukje Market Food Street boasts of over 60 years of history. It offers delicious Korean food such as gimbap, sundae (Korean blood sausage), and noodles. The open seating and street dining are representative characteristics of the traditional marketplace.

First-time visitors can easily get lost in Gukje Market because of its countless alleys, shops, and street stalls

If you kept walking thru Gukje Market to BIFF Square (BIFF 광장 (구, PIFF 광장), you will find the street food is all prepared and cooked right there in front of you and there is something for everyone’s taste!

Lots of food to try but we were all hunting for the famous original Korean pancake filled with nuts and seeds and brown sugar and honey!

Korean pancake or Hotteok (호떡).

“Ho-tteok” is a variety of filled Korean pancake, and is a popular street food of Korea!

Some ho-tteok are filled with cheese and syrup!!!

We love the original one. It’s warm & crispy outside but chewy & chewy sweet inside – YUM!

The Ho-ttoek at BIFF is about 1,300-1,500 won each. You can find Ho-ttoek Mix box in a supermarket if you like to bring some back to cook at home.

Don’t forget to bring Korean money with you, the food in this street is about 1000-5000won ($1-$5).

There are lots of cheap & mid-range fashion shops around this area, especially SOCKS!!!

BIFF is one of the best places to experience the street food in Busan, it’s fun to go there once when you are here!

Nearby BIFF is Jagalchi (fish) market, or you can stay up for the Night Market Bupyeong (all about food).

Ref:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=789805
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1024670

About Jam

I'm Jam, the blogger, and illustrator of this website. I live in Bangkok, Thailand and Louisiana, USA when I'm not travelling.

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