Food Trends

Gyeongju's edible icon, first baked in 1939: a thin, tender shell stamped with a Silla pottery pattern and packed almost entirely with smooth, sweet red-bean paste. A global craze after the 2025 APEC summit put it in every visitor's hands.

A spread of 20 to 30 little plates anchored by warm rice, grilled fish, bulgogi, and homemade doenjang stew. Diners pile bites onto fresh lettuce and perilla leaves and wrap them up, a generous royal-feast ritual along Daereungwon's famous ssambap street.

Gyeongju's signature take on bibimbap: a bowl of seasoned rice and crisp vegetables crowned with silky ribbons of raw Hanwoo beef tartare and a glossy egg yolk. Mixed with sweet-spicy gochujang, every bite turns cool, rich, and unmistakably regional.

Gyeongju's distinctive hangover cure, found along Parujeong Street: a clear, briny seafood broth loaded with crunchy bean sprouts, slippery buckwheat jelly, gulfweed, and tangy sour kimchi. Light yet deeply restorative, it is the morning-after ritual generations of locals swear by.

Premium Gyeongsang-region Hanwoo beef marinated in soy, pear, sesame, and garlic, then grilled tableside until caramelized and meltingly tender. Wrapped in crisp lettuce with rice and ssamjang, it is the smoky, savory-sweet centerpiece of Gyeongju's beloved bulgogi alley.

A viral Gyeongju invention shaped like Korea's ten-won coin, which bears the city's Dabotap pagoda. The crisp griddled bun oozes with a thick core of stretchy mozzarella, a hot, gooey street snack made for photos and devoured on the spot.

A chewy little pancake-cake pressed from locally grown glutinous barley and sandwiched with a layer of sweet red-bean paste. Lighter, nuttier, and earthier than Hwangnam bread, it is Gyeongju's other beloved souvenir treat, griddled fresh and sold warm by the boxful.

A clear, amber rice wine brewed by the Choi clan for over 300 years and designated an Important Intangible Cultural Asset. Clean, smooth, and gently sweet with a fragrant finish, it is the noble Silla-era drink poured alongside ssambap feasts.

A refreshing Gyeongju specialty served at century-old Hamyangjip: thin slices of raw Hanwoo beef in a chilled, tangy-sweet broth with crunchy vegetables and pear. Ladle it over rice or noodles for a cooling, savory-sour bowl.

Cool, wobbly cubes of buckwheat jelly afloat in a chilled, savory anchovy-and-kimchi broth poured over rice, then finished with crumbled seaweed, scallion, and toasted sesame. A humble, soothing Gyeongju country dish that locals prize on hot summer days.