How spicy red tteokbokki became a national street food

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How spicy red tteokbokki became a national street food

Published: 19 Mar. 2026, 00:04

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Moon Jung-hoon

The author is a professor of agricultural economics and rural development at Seoul National University and director of the Food Business Lab.

Tteokbokki, a dish made of chewy rice cakes simmered in sauce, is one of Korea’s most recognizable street foods. Today, it is most commonly associated with a bright red, spicy and slightly sweet sauce made from gochujang, a fermented chili paste. But this now-familiar version is a relatively recent development, shaped by industrialization, policy shifts and changing patterns of consumption. It is also a dish that reflects broader transformations in Korea’s modern food system.

On May 5, 2025, then Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung visits a commercial district in the innovation city of Jincheon County, North Chungcheong, and eats tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes). It is a common campaign scene in which politicians visit traditional markets and sample inexpensive street foods such as tteokbokki. [NEWS1]

The commonly cited origin of red tteokbokki dates to 1953 in Sindang-dong, where a street vendor, often identified as Ma Bok-rim, is said to have improvised a recipe by mixing black bean paste and gochujang with boiling rice cakes in a metal pot. This version later evolved into what became known as Sindang-dong instant tteokbokki, a communal dish cooked at the table that remained popular through the late 20th century.

An example of red tteokbokki (Korean rice cakes) prepared with gochujang-based seasoning. [JOONGANG ILBO]

However, few people recall eating this red version during the 1950s. At the time, gochujang-based tteokbokki was not a widely shared or standardized recipe. Instead, earlier forms of tteokbokki were quite different. A Jan. 11, 1936, edition of the Dong-A Ilbo included a “Joseon cuisine ingredient chart” that listed rice cakes, beef, mushrooms and eggs, along with soy sauce and sesame oil. Gochujang was not included. The dish was stir-fried, savory and closer in character to a side dish than to a street snack.

Recipes documented through the 1950s and early 1960s followed this pattern. Tteokbokki was typically cooked in oil, seasoned with soy sauce and valued for its nutty and salty flavor. It was not associated with spiciness, nor was it a food consumed casually in public spaces.

A turning point came in the late 1960s, when red gochujang tteokbokki began appearing near schools across the country. Unlike earlier versions, this was not a home-cooked dish but a street snack consumed by students after school, often alongside inexpensive foods such as beondegi, or silkworm pupae. What is striking is that this new form appeared almost simultaneously in multiple regions, suggesting a broader structural shift rather than a single point of origin.

One key factor was the development of mass-produced fermented sauces. In the 1950s, as reflected in a 1955 Kyunghyang Shinmun roundtable, there was a widespread desire for large food manufacturers that could produce staples such as kimchi and jang (Korean sauces) products. At the time, however, such products were not yet widely available in packaged form.

By the early 1960s, change had begun. A 1962 Chosun Ilbo advertisement for Sempio gochujang indicated that consumers could purchase factory-made products directly, although distribution remained limited. Packaged gochujang products emerged more clearly in the mid-1960s, initially developed for Korean troops stationed overseas. A 1967 advertisement for canned gochujang reflected growing demand and the early stages of commercialization.

Government policy accelerated this transformation. In 1968, as part of the Saemaul Movement, authorities promoted the “ jangdokdae [fermentation space] removal campaign,” encouraging households to abandon traditional fermentation jars in favor of commercially produced sauces. The policy aimed to improve hygiene, modernize urban environments and reduce the labor burden on households.

In Seoul, the campaign was implemented through direct action. The city supported the construction of sauce factories and facilitated distribution systems that made products widely available at low cost. By the early 1970s, mass-produced gochujang had become a common household item, distributed through an expanding retail network.

A traditional restaurant owner's jangdokdae, a platform of earthenware jars used for fermenting sauces, set up on the rooftop of his home. Until the 1970s, nearly every household in Korea kept such jars somewhere in or around the home to make gochujang, doenjang (fermented bean paste) and soy sauce. [JOONGANG ILBO]

At the same time, government policies promoting wheat consumption led to the widespread use of wheat-based rice cakes, which were cheaper and more suitable for mass production than traditional rice cakes. The combination of affordable gochujang and widely available ingredients created the conditions for red tteokbokki to spread rapidly.

As a result, small street stalls and snack vendors began to appear near schools nationwide, selling the now-familiar red tteokbokki. The dish’s accessibility, low cost and bold flavor made it especially appealing to students, embedding it in everyday life and shaping shared memories across generations.

In this sense, the popularization of red tteokbokki was not simply a culinary evolution but a cultural phenomenon shaped by industrialization, policy and changing consumption patterns. Once dismissed as an unhealthy or low-quality snack, it has since become a defining element of Korea’s food culture.

Many Koreans still recall the taste of tteokbokki eaten after school, often purchased from small stationery shops or street vendors. That memory reflects not only nostalgia but also a moment in which food, industry and policy converged to create a new national staple. According to testimonies from North Korean defectors, this red gochujang-based tteokbokki does not exist in North Korea.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.