Myeongdong Jijimi Prices: Kimchi Pancake ₩9,000, Seafood ₩12,000, Cards Accepted
At the Myeongdong Jijimi stall, a kimchi pancake is ₩9,000, a vegetable pancake is ₩9,000, a half-kimchi half-vegetable pancake is ₩10,000, a seafood pancake is ₩12,000, and a half-seafood half-kimchi pancake is ₩12,000. Those figures are printed on the English menu card and the Chinese menu card propped up in front of the griddle, plus a price card issued by the Jung-gu district office. The stall takes cash, bank transfer, cards, and mobile pay, and when you're done eating you can leave your trash with the vendor instead of carrying it away.
What exactly is the "jeon" sold at Myeongdong Jijimi?
Jeon (煎) is closest to a Korean savory pancake. Vegetables, seafood, or kimchi get mixed into a batter and fried in oil until the edges go crisp.
It's food built for sharing, more like a pizza or a pie than a single-serving snack. In Korea it also shows up at every party and family gathering, so it carries a bit of occasion with it.
Here's the part most visitors find odd at first: rain. The sound of rain hitting the ground is said to resemble the sound of batter hitting hot oil, so Koreans crave jeon and makgeolli (traditional Korean rice wine) on wet days. The two genuinely pair well.
As for heat, the seafood and vegetable pancakes have no spice at all. The kimchi pancake sits at about half the heat of Shin Ramyun, so "mildly spicy" describes it better than "spicy."
So what does all this cost at Myeongdong Jijimi? That's the first thing to settle.
How much do the pancakes cost at Myeongdong Jijimi?
The menu cards stand on the counter, and every item is numbered 1 through 5.
| Menu number | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimchi pancake | ₩9,000 |
| 2 | Vegetable pancake | ₩9,000 |
| 3 | Half kimchi + half vegetable | ₩10,000 |
| 4 | Seafood pancake | ₩12,000 |
| 5 | Half seafood + half kimchi | ₩12,000 |
You never have to ask what something costs. Three separate cards sit side by side on the counter: an English menu, a Chinese menu, and the Jung-gu district office's "Myeong Dong Square" price card. The amounts match across all three, so picking an item takes no guesswork.
The half-and-half option does what the name says: one pancake, two flavors, each covering half the round. Kimchi plus vegetable runs ₩10,000 and seafood plus kimchi runs ₩12,000, which comes in under the cost of buying two separate pancakes.
Once the price is settled, the next worry is usually what to actually say.
Can you order in English at Myeongdong Jijimi?
There are separate menu cards in English and Chinese. The English card reads 1. Kimchi Pancake, 2. Vegetable Pancake, 3. Half(kimchi) and half(Vegetabl), 4. Seafood Pancake, 5. Half(kimchi) and half(seafood), with the amount written at the end of each line in the form W:9000.
The Chinese card lists 1. 泡菜煎饼, 2. 鲜蔬煎饼, 3. 泡菜鲜蔬双拼煎饼, 4. 海鲜煎饼, 5. 海鲜泡菜双拼煎饼 in the same order with the same amounts.
The numbering is the part that matters. You don't need to pronounce anything in Korean — the number and the price are printed together, so you can pick the line you want and go from there.
Order decided. Now for the payment.
Can you pay by card at Myeongdong Jijimi?
Yes. Cash, bank transfer, cards, and mobile pay all work.
This isn't just a verbal assurance. The Myeong Dong Square price card standing on the counter has a "카드가능업소" (card-accepting business) mark printed in the top right corner, and along the bottom the same message appears in four languages.
"카드 사용 가능합니다 / We accept credit cards / カード払いが可能です / 可以使用卡"
That notice wasn't made by the vendor. It was issued by the Jung-gu district office, which is what makes it worth trusting.
Payment done. Now you get to watch the pancake come off the griddle.
How is the pancake cooked and served?
You can see the whole process from where you're standing. The griddle faces out toward the front of the stall, so nothing about the cooking is hidden from the customer side.
The sequence goes like this. Batter gets poured into a ring mold to shape the round, then pressed down with a flat tool and cooked slowly over low heat.
One or two rounds are par-cooked in advance. When an order comes in, that pancake goes back on the griddle for a final crisping before it's handed over — which is why you're not standing there waiting out the entire cooking time from scratch.
Pancake in hand, the next question is where to eat it.
Where should you eat the pancake after you buy it?
Pay, then stand at the stall and eat it right there. Walking around with it is awkward for two reasons.
First, the soy dipping sauce drips. Second, one round pancake is large enough that holding it in your hand gets unwieldy fast.
Eating it is simple. You tear the round apart with the disposable wooden chopsticks, which is a small pleasure in itself. A light dip in the soy sauce hits the right level of seasoning — no need to submerge it.
Which leaves one last thing: the plate and the chopsticks.
Where do you throw away the trash when you're done?
Leave it at the stall, or hand it to the vendor. They dispose of it for you. No walking around Myeongdong hunting for a bin.
This is also printed on the price card in four languages.
"쓰레기 버려드립니다 / You can leave your garbage with us / ゴミをお預かりします / 我們幫您處理垃圾"
If you've ever finished something at a Myeongdong stall and stood there holding the wrapper with nowhere to put it, that particular problem doesn't come up here.
Frequently asked questions
What's the cheapest item at Myeongdong Jijimi?
The kimchi pancake and the vegetable pancake, both ₩9,000. The half-kimchi half-vegetable version, which puts both on one round, is ₩10,000. The most expensive items are the seafood pancake and the half-seafood half-kimchi pancake at ₩12,000 each.
Can foreign visitors pay by card?
Myeongdong Jijimi accepts cash, bank transfer, cards, and mobile pay. The price card issued by the Jung-gu district office and displayed on the counter carries a card-accepting business mark, along with a notice in Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese confirming that cards are accepted.
Can you walk around eating the pancake?
Not recommended. The soy dipping sauce drips, and one round pancake is large enough to be awkward to hold. It's better to pay and eat standing at the stall.
Do you have to throw the trash away yourself?
No. Leave it at the stall or hand it to the vendor and they'll deal with it. The price card states this in four languages under the line "You can leave your garbage with us."
How many kinds of pancake are there?
Five, according to the menu: kimchi, vegetable, half kimchi and half vegetable, seafood, and half seafood and half kimchi, numbered 1 through 5 on the card. The half-and-half options put two flavors on a single round.
What should you eat next in Myeongdong?
Myeongdong's stall alleys have plenty of other vendors who post their prices out front. I'm working through them one at a time — what each one charges, whether cards work, where you're meant to stand and eat, and what happens to the trash.
If you're pricing out Myeongdong street food, the other stall write-ups are worth a look. Which menu should I check next?
