I remember how fascinated I was by traditional Korean markets when I first arrived here. The wet sections are especially intriguing, with some weird and wonderful aquatic creations holed up in tiny opaque enclosures with barely enough space to move around. Then, Netflix released their series 'Street Food' which documented the struggles and success of 초윤선's 갈국수 (kalguksu) store in Gwangjang Market. I happened to be in Seoul one weekend and thought it might be worth a visit to see what the fuss was all about. Like most things in Korea, markets are largely a copy-and-paste affair with nothing much to separate them from one another.
What I did enjoy was capturing these subjects in a setting where they felt at ease. The ajosshi knocking back shots of soju; the vendor trying to hawk customers into buying from her stall; cooks furiously frying up a selection of 전 (Korean pancakes).
It's this cast of characters that makes the market experience so entertaining. Stick around for a little while and you might just make some new friends.
