Pyeonghwa Market Dakttongjip Street

The leftover part became the street

In 1972, Sama Tongdak had a sales problem: gizzards were a low-demand byproduct. The owners deep-fried the leftovers and served them to workers from the nearby labor market as an inexpensive snack with makgeolli. The response was strong enough for the giveaway to become a regular menu item

Other restaurants copied the idea, and the first cluster became known as Wonjo Golmok — the “original alley.” A part with little demand became the specialty of an entire market district, and deep-frying became the local signature. The gizzard's dense muscle gives it a springy, chewy texture under the crisp coating; its lower cost than chicken meat also suited the alley's original role as affordable drinking food

Workers gave way to student tables

The first customers were laborers, but the audience did not stay fixed. By the 1990s, university students were coming for low prices and the informal market-tavern setting, and the specialist businesses spread through the surrounding lanes

The cluster is smaller than at its peak, but it remains active. The current merchants' map lists 21 businesses, and the original Sama Tongdak is still among them, operating inside the same food district more than five decades later

The old shops sit deeper inside

The alleys now show different generations at once. Near the market entrance, newer specialist shops tend to have more contemporary interiors; deeper inside are first-generation and long-running chicken houses. Walking inward before choosing a table makes that age difference visible without needing a formal heritage route

Fried gizzards remain the baseline, but the menu expanded with the clientele. In the 2000s, soy-sauce and garlic specialists helped make the alley a gathering place for younger diners who had previously centered their nights on Dongseongno; later fusion dishes combined gizzards with ingredients such as squid, shrimp or octopus. A mixed order makes the evolution easy to taste: crisp plain pieces beside sweeter, saltier or more heavily seasoned versions of the same chewy cut

Before you go

The district spreads across several connected market lanes rather than one straight street. Starting at the market entrance and walking toward the older central shops gives the clearest sense of how it developed before choosing a restaurant. Drivers face a narrow vehicle approach and limited parking; pedestrians can enter through several lanes, making the area easier to read on foot