Winter is here when the 붕어빵 cart shows up 🐟❄️

Around November 7th, the Korean calendar says winter begins. That day is called 입동, and the weather is often still closer to autumn than winter, so most people don't notice it. What they do notice is the first small cart on the corner with a steamy window and a line of people in coats. Once that shows up, winter has started.

입동

입동 is one of the 24 seasonal markers in the traditional calendar, called 절기. 입 means "to enter" and 동 means "winter," so it's literally "entering winter." Traditionally, this was the time to wrap up the harvest and get ready for the cold, which is why 김장 (making kimchi for the winter) happens around now. Today most people don't mark the day itself, but the word comes up in the news and in the weather forecast.

"오늘이 입동이에요. 이제 겨울이에요." — Today is 입동. It's winter now.

"입동인데 아직 안 추워요." — It's 입동, but it's not cold yet.

노점

노점 is a street stall. 노 means "open air" and 점 means "shop," so it's a shop with no roof. Someone who runs one is a 노점상. Winter snacks are one of the main reasons people stop at a 노점, since they're cheap, hot, and easy to eat while walking. Many 노점 are cash only, though more of them now take 계좌이체 (bank transfer).

"저기 노점에서 붕어빵 팔아요." — They sell 붕어빵 at that street stall over there.

"이 노점은 현금만 받아요." — This stall only takes cash.

붕어빵

붕어빵 is a fish-shaped pastry cooked in an iron mold. 붕어 is a crucian carp, and 빵 is bread. There's no fish inside, only filling. The snack is generally said to have come from Japan's taiyaki, and it has been part of Korean winters for a long time. People even count it like a fish: one 붕어빵 is 한 마리, not 한 개.

"붕어빵 두 마리 주세요." — Two 붕어빵, please.

"갓 나온 붕어빵이 제일 맛있어요." — Fresh-out-of-the-mold 붕어빵 is the best.

팥 vs 슈크림

The classic filling is 팥, sweet red bean paste. In recent years 슈크림, a custard cream, has become just as common, and now people take sides. Fans of the first are called 팥붕파, and fans of the second are 슈붕파, from 붕어빵 shortened to 붕. Neither side moves. Some stalls sell both, so the question you'll hear in line is "팥이에요, 슈크림이에요?"

"저는 팥붕이 좋아요. 슈붕은 너무 달아요." — I like red bean 붕어빵. Custard is too sweet.

"슈크림이 훨씬 맛있어요. 팥은 별로예요." — Custard is much better. I don't like red bean much.

천 원에 세 개

The pattern is price + 에 + amount: 천 원에 세 개 means "three for 1,000 won." 에 here works like "for." It's the phrase you'll hear at a lot of stalls, though prices have crept up, and these days you're just as likely to see 천 원에 두 개 or 이천 원에 세 개.

"붕어빵 천 원에 세 개예요." — The 붕어빵 is three for 1,000 won.

"요즘은 천 원에 두 개예요." — These days it's two for 1,000 won.

호떡

호떡 is a flat pancake that's pan-fried on a griddle with a filling of melted brown sugar, often with cinnamon and chopped nuts. The first bite is a warning: the sugar inside is lava-hot, so people tear a small hole and blow on it first. 호떡 is said to have come with Chinese merchants, and the 호 in the name is the old word for something foreign. In Busan, the 씨앗호떡 is stuffed with sunflower seeds and other seeds and is worth trying if you visit.

"호떡 속이 너무 뜨거워요. 조심하세요." — The inside of the 호떡 is very hot. Be careful.

"부산에서 씨앗호떡을 먹어 봤어요." — I tried 씨앗호떡 in Busan.

군고구마

군고구마 is a roasted sweet potato. The 군 in front comes from 굽다 (to roast or grill), and you'll see it again in 군밤 (roasted chestnuts). The old way was a metal drum with hot coals, and a vendor who sold them from a truck. The smell travels a long way, and the sweet, sticky inside is why people eat it in winter.

"군고구마 냄새가 너무 좋아요." — The roasted sweet potato smells so good.

"손이 시려서 군고구마를 샀어요." — My hands were cold, so I bought a roasted sweet potato.