It’s no secret that I love Korean food and have done for a quite a while so as soon as we booked our flights to Seoul, we started looking for a cookery class to join whilst we were there.
Fairly recently Airbnb started offering experiences as well as accommodation and as frequent avid users of the site, it made sense to book through them. We quickly found Ann’s Seoul cookery experience and market tour, loved the sound of it and booked on.
Market Tour:
Seoul is huge and Ann lives in Sillim, in an area called Gwanak-ju, south of the river Han. The metro is fantastic there and although it was a bit of a trek we found it no problem. She met us at the metro station and once our Singaporean counterparts had found us we headed off to visit a local alley market.
As we were away from the more touristy areas of the city, we were able to see what a real Korean market was like – and as you know, this is something I love to do when I’m travelling. We didn’t see a single other tourist and enjoyed spending an hour walking through whilst Ann showed us things we’ve never seen before, all the time explaining processes and types of cuisine to us. It was utterly fascinating.
The market was alive with people shopping, eating and working. Fresh fish stalls sat next to those selling dried herbs for tea and medicine whilst opposite, ajumma (아줌마) fried haemul pajeon, chicken and hodok for local office workers on searing hot griddle pans.
Cooking at Ann’s home:
After the market trip, we headed to Ann’s mum’s house to make and eat lunch. It was great to see inside a modern Korean apartment (in one of those looming tower blocks which dot the landscape) and the views were amazing from the top. We made three dishes – beef bulgogi, tteok-bokki and a spicy soft tofu and clam stew. Then we sat down to an incredible lunch, with not only the dishes we’d made but also a fantastic selection of banchan which included both young and 2-year-old kimchi, bracken and a jellyfish salad.
Following the end of an incredibly delicious meal despite being absolutely stuffed, we returned to the kitchen to make Dasik- a traditional Korean sweet which we then ate with yujacha, a Korean citron tea. A perfect end to such a fantastic Seoul cookery experience!
Ann’s Seoul cookery experience tour was such a great way to spend an afternoon and for around £40 each, it was worth the money. I would wholeheartedly recommend you to try it if you’re planning a visit to Seoul. And if you’re new to Airbnb, follow this link to get £25 in travel credit! You’re welcome!
What a great adventure. I love doing local cooking classes – you learn so much.
What a fabulous foodie experience! I also love visiting markets where ever I travel too. Your pics remind me of the market in Phuket, except there were more tourists there! I love that Airbnb are offering these cooking class experiences. Thanks for sharing! Brilliant idea!
You know Seoul is so high on my wish list. I eat Korean food three or four times a week, thanks to my job location, but it’s finishing next week so I’ll really miss it. And this is exactly the kind of market tour and class I’d enjoy. Bookmarking!
whenever I travel I try to take local cooking classes – this will definitely be on my list when I visit Seoul
Its always an eye opener to see non touristy places wherever one travels as that’s the actual indicator of how peoples daily lives are. Being a non vegetarian sometimes limits me to the classes I can take.
What a wonderful experience that must have been! I’m so glad you decided to go ahead and take up the cooking class! 🙂
This sounds like such a fun experience! I’ve always wanted to take a cooking class
What a great experience. Love being exposed to different food and culture.
Combining a market visit with the cookery class is inspired – really gives a root to the recipe, cuisine and culture.