Markets on Jeju Island

1 - Jeju Minsok folk Five-day Marketplace 

Five-day marketplaces can be found in almost every city throughout Korea, and Jeju is no exception. Like the others throughout the country, Jeju’s Minsok (meaning Folklore) Five-day Marketplace is held every five days and is the largest market on the island. 

Carrying every item imaginable, the marketplace takes up approximately 40,000 square meters and is home to 1,004 stores. Unlike other markets, this marketplace has a designated area for grandmothers older than 65 to sell goods without being charged for rent. 

“The grandmothers are very affectionate,” says Hong In-pyo, Jeju Island's Merchant Chairman. “You can tell just by the sheer amount of “on-the-house” goods they heap unto their customers.”

As the name suggests, the five-day market is open every five days. Days open: 2nd, 7th, 12th, 17th, 22nd, 27th days of every month. 

This market usually opens in the early morning and closes at about 07:00 p.m

You can find lots of restaurants that offer various Korean food like Sundae (a sausage made of beef and bean curd stuffed in pig intestine), Teokbokii (a seasoned bar rice cake), boiled rice served in soup and so on.

This market is one of the biggest markets out of Korea's traditional ones.

Especially, local crops like garlic, onion and fruits are sold right after their harvesting.

Jeju, Jeju-si, Dodu-1-dong, 1204-1 ; +82 64 743 5986

2 - Dongmun Market

Founded during the late 1970s, the Dongmun Market is the biggest fish market on Jeju. Located close to the airport and the main transportation hub of Jeju city, the market is known to be the heart of commerce of the island and is a great place to swing by for last-minute purchases before leaving the island. The majority of the seafood for sale are “Dang-il bari”, or goods that have been caught that day, ensuring their freshness in quality. 

You can visit this market everyday contrary to the five day markets. This place is famous for seafood such as octopus, mackerel, cuttlefish, hairtail and so on. You can buy fresh seafood here because the merchants catch and sell their fish right after. Also, there are Jeju’s trademark fruits like Cheonhyehyang, Hallabong, orange, mandarine etc. Chunhyehyang means its scent lasts at 1000m away. It is like a big mandarine. Hallabong is a high class of mandarine. Last but not least, you can enjoy spending your pocket money on sweets like Bingtteok, Omegitteok (Teok means Korean rice cake.) Omegitteok is a rice cake which looks like a small ball. It is surrounded with red beans and stuffed with bean-jam. Bingtteok is also a rice cake which made of buckwheat. It is like a pancakes with white radish.

The best part about the Dongmun Fish Market is that customers can choose what they want to eat. By purchasing a fish among the 107 stores in the market, one can carry the fish over to a “Customer Customized” restaurant (고객맞춤음식점) close by and ask for it to be sliced up into fresh hoe.

The restaurant charges the customer a small fee for the gutting and scaling of the fish and serves up free side dishes. Hanchi, also known as mitra squid, is one of the most popular items on the menu from June to October. 

Jeju, Jeju-si, Leedo-1-dong, 1349 ; + 82 64 752 8959

3 - Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market 

The best market on the island, Seogwipo Olle Market was established in 1960 and features more than 200 shops that sell everything from freshly caught fish to casual apparel. 

The market is almost predominantly frequented by island locals and is a welcome respite from the tourist scene. Haggling may invite some good-natured complaints from the vendors, but at the very least they’ll add in more than what you thought you were paying for. 

In an effort to make it more visitor-friendly, the government introduced an artificial stream that runs down the middle of the path, and also roofed the entire market in anticipation of the many rainy days. 

The best part of The market is connected to Route 6 of Jeju Olle Course, a beautiful hiking route that encompasses both coastal and downtown areas. Saunter down after a scenic hike for some delicious local snacks. 

Jeju, Seogwipo-si, Seogwi-dong, 277-1,  +82 64 762 1949

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