Jongno Nakji Bokkeum Alley서울 종로 낙지볶음 골목

About

Jongno Nakji Bokkeum Alley refers to the area stretching from the Mugyo-dong intersection near Cheonggye Plaza on Cheonggyecheon Stream to the Jongno-gu Office. Its origins are traced to a nakji (small octopus) alley that formed in Seorin-dong, Jongno-gu, in the 1960s. In the past, office workers from companies near Cheonggyecheon, including journalists and civil servants, came to this alley to eat spicy stir-fried octopus with refreshing clam soup, shaking off the joys and sorrows of life and their stress, and burning with youthful passion. It is known as a street of romance and memories. The area is also called Mugyo-dong Nakji Alley. Several rounds of downtown redevelopment from the 1970s to the 1990s moved the restaurants from Seorin-dong to various neighborhoods, including Mugyo-dong, Da-dong, the Pimatgol area and Jongno 1-ga; the name is presumed to come from Mugyo-dong being the best-known of these at the time. Despite repeated moves, the restaurants that have kept the taste of spicy stir-fried octopus and refreshing soup alive for over 50 years moved into the Gwanghwamun Le Meilleur Building, built after the redevelopment, or relocated nearby. Over the years the alley itself has disappeared, but its restaurants have spread throughout the Jongno area, where they still serve delicious stir-fried octopus and keep winning regulars. The plump, chewy octopus continues to draw people in.