How the system actually works
At Tongin Market in Seochon (see our Seochon guide), visitors buy a set of old-style brass coins (yeopjeon) at a central booth, then use them like currency at participating stalls throughout the market to "purchase" small portions of different side dishes and mains, assembling a full lunchbox meal (dosirak) piece by piece from whatever looks good.
What to actually expect
- A modest upfront cost buys a set number of coins, which you then spend across multiple stalls until they run out.
- Dishes rotate by stall and by day — this is a real, functioning market, not a fixed menu experience.
- A central seating area is typically provided for eating your assembled lunchbox once you're done shopping for it.
Should you go
A genuinely fun, low-cost, hands-on food experience that doubles as a way to explore a real, local market away from the bigger tourist-oriented ones — well suited to combining with a Seochon or Gyeongbokgung day.
Tip: Go with an appetite for small portions of many things rather than one large dish — the fun of the format is variety, not volume.