Fusion rice cakes bring new energy to traditional markets

Fusion rice cakes are drawing long lines at traditional markets in Incheon and Seoul ahead of Chuseok. Shops selling pizza seolgi and other novelty varieties are seeing strong sales, especially among younger customers. Merchants say the trend is also bringing more visitors and livelier business to struggling markets.

Pungnyeon Tteok in Incheon’s Bupyeong Traditional Market has been selling pizza seolgi for about two months, with around 1,000 people visiting daily.

The shop said the rice cakes usually sell out between 5:30 and 6 p.m., and ingredients ran out around 5:40 p.m. on the day described.

Lee Geum-sun said sales of pizza seolgi alone at her rice cake shop in Myeonmok Market have reached as many as 2,000 pieces a day.

The fusion rice cakes are priced at 2,000 won, and Lee said many customers see them as similar in taste to a whole pizza.

A 23-year-old college student said the rice cakes were cheaper than Dubai chewy cookies, while a 44-year-old homemaker said she was considering buying them for relatives instead of songpyeon.

Published Sep 24, 2026 12:31 pm KST

Rice cake variations, including 'pizza seolgi,' outshine staples like 'songpyeon'

"Pizza seolgi" is sold at a rice cake shop in Myeonmok Market in Seoul’s Jungnang District, Sunday. Korea Times photo by Lee Yeon-jae

A few days before the Chuseok holiday, a long line of customers stretched past three neighboring stores outside Pungnyeon Tteok, a rice cake shop in Incheon’s Bupyeong Traditional Market earlier this week.

They were not waiting for “songpyeon,” the traditional rice cake associated with Chuseok, but for “pizza seolgi,” a fusion rice cake topped with tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni slices on a base of steamed white rice cake.

Despite a limit of four pieces per customer, the line showed no sign of letting up.

Pungnyeon Tteok owner Hwang Seong-un, 50, said he has been selling pizza seolgi for about two months, with an average of around 1,000 people visiting daily. He said the rice cakes typically sell out between 5:30 and 6 p.m. That day, ingredients ran out at around 5:40 p.m., prompting the shop to put up a notice saying it had closed for the day.

Traditional-market rice cake shops are bustling ahead of Chuseok, thanks in part to the popularity of unusual rice cake varieties such as pizza seolgi on social media, particularly among people in their 20s and 30s. New slang terms have even emerged, including “tteokjirisunrye,” referring to visiting rice cake shops one after another, and “tteokpeon,” describing the practice of lining up before a shop opens to buy rice cakes.

Lee Geum-sun, 60, who has run a rice cake shop in Myeonmok Market in Seoul’s Jungnang District for 30 years, has also noticed a change in customer response since introducing pizza seolgi late last month. She said she experimented repeatedly with the recipe after waiting an hour at another rice cake shop to try its pizza seolgi herself.

Word of mouth has helped her shop take off, with sales of pizza seolgi alone reaching as many as 2,000 pieces a day.

“Markets used to be visited mostly by older people, but now, everyone from students to office workers stopp by after work,” Lee said. “For 2,000 won, you can get a taste similar to a whole pizza, so people can buy it without worrying too much about the cost.”

A notice listing the prices of "pizza seolgi" and "songpyeon" is displayed side by side at a shop in Kkachisan Market in Seoul’s Gangseo District, Monday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Jeong-hyeon

With group orders from companies and public institutions pouring in ahead of Chuseok, Lee said she plans to focus on a limited selection of items, including songpyeon and pizza seolgi, during the holiday.

Pizza seolgi has won over customers of all ages, from young people who are less familiar with traditional rice cakes to middle-aged and older customers who prefer to avoid instant foods. On Tuesday, two days before the start of the holiday, colorful fusion rice cakes ranging from pizza seolgi to mango and fig varieties were selling briskly at Mirae Tteok in Kkachisan Market in Seoul’s Gangseo District. Piles of songpyeon sitting nearby were getting little attention.

Choi, a 23-year-old college student, said the rice cakes were less expensive than “Dubai chewy cookies” and, being about the size of a piece of toast, looked filling.

Oh, a 44-year-old homemaker, stopped by the store while shopping at the market. “There were so many rice cakes I had never seen before that they caught my eye,” she said with a smile. “I’m thinking of buying several to give to relatives instead of songpyeon for Chuseok.”

The pizza seolgi craze is also bringing new energy to traditional markets, which have been struggling with declining business.

“Business is better than it was around this time last year because so many young people are coming. Especially on weekends, customers who come to the rice cake shop are also stopping by nearby stores,” said Baek, 62, who runs a toast shop near Bupyeong Traditional Market.

Ko, 41, who runs a Chinese restaurant in the area, said, “The number of visitors has noticeably increased since pizza seolgi started becoming popular about a month ago. Our sales have also been gradually improving.”

Kkachisan Market in Seoul’s Gangseo District is bustling with shoppers ahead of the Chuseok holiday, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Kwon Jeong-hyeon

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

中秋节前夕，仁川和首尔的传统市场里，各种创意年糕吸引了大量顾客排起长队。披萨年糕和其他新奇口味的年糕销量火爆，尤其受到年轻顾客的青睐。商家表示，这股潮流也为原本生意惨淡的市场带来了更多客流和活力。

仁川富平传统市场的风年年糕店已经售卖披萨雪糕约两个月了，每天约有 1000 人光顾。

店家表示，年糕通常在下午 5:30 到 6 点之间售罄，而事发当天，食材在下午 5:40 左右就用完了。

李锦善表示，她在面木市场经营的年糕店，仅披萨雪糕的日销量就高达 2000 个。

这些融合风味的年糕售价为 2000 韩元，李先生说，很多顾客都觉得它们的味道和一整个披萨很像。

一位 23 岁的女大学生表示，这种年糕比迪拜的软饼干便宜；一位 44 岁的家庭主妇表示，她正在考虑买这种年糕送给亲戚，而不是买松饼。

发布于2026年9月24日下午12:31（韩国标准时间）

年糕的各种变种，包括“披萨雪糕”，比“松饼”等传统年糕更受欢迎。

周日，首尔中浪区面木市场一家年糕店正在出售“披萨雪糕”。（韩国时报 李延宰 摄）

本周早些时候，在仁川富平传统市场，一家名为“丰年糕”的年糕店外，排起了长队，顾客一直延伸到三家相邻的店铺外，而此时距离中秋节还有几天。

他们等的不是中秋节的传统年糕“松饼”，而是“披萨雪糕”，这是一种融合了多种元素的年糕，以蒸白年糕为底，上面放有番茄酱、奶酪和意大利辣香肠片。

尽管每位顾客限购四件，但队伍丝毫没有减弱的迹象。

丰年年糕店老板黄成云（音译，50岁）表示，他卖披萨雪糕已经大约两个月了，平均每天约有1000人光顾。他说，年糕通常在下午5:30到6点之间售罄。那天，食材在下午5:40左右就用完了，店里只好贴出告示，宣布当天歇业。

中秋节前夕，传统市场里的年糕店生意兴隆，这在一定程度上要归功于社交媒体上一些新奇口味的年糕（例如披萨雪糕）的走红，尤其是在20到30岁的人群中。甚至还出现了一些新的俚语，比如“年糕店一家接一家地逛”（tteokjirisunrye），指的是一家接一家地光顾年糕店；还有“年糕店排队”（tteokpeon），指的是在店铺开门前排队购买年糕的行为。

在首尔中浪区面木市场经营年糕店30年的60岁李锦顺也注意到，自从上月底推出披萨雪糕后，顾客的反应发生了变化。她说，自己曾在另一家年糕店排队一小时品尝披萨雪糕，之后便反复试验配方。

口碑传播帮助她的店铺生意兴隆，仅披萨雪吉的日销量就高达 2000 件。

李说：“以前逛市场的主要是老年人，但现在，从学生到上班族，每个人都会在下班后过来逛逛。花2000韩元就能买到差不多一整个披萨的味道，所以人们买的时候不用太担心价格。”

周一，首尔江西区葛芝山市场一家店铺的告示牌上并排展示着“披萨雪糕”和“松饼”的价格。韩国时报 权正铉摄

李女士表示，随着中秋节临近，来自公司和公共机构的团体订单纷至沓来，她计划在节日期间专注于提供有限的商品选择，包括松饼和雪糕披萨。

从不太熟悉传统年糕的年轻人到不愿吃速食的中老年人，披萨雪糕赢得了各个年龄段顾客的喜爱。周二，也就是假期开始前两天，首尔江西区葛芝山市场的未来年糕店里，各种口味缤纷的融合年糕，从披萨雪糕到芒果、无花果口味应有尽有，卖得十分火爆。相比之下，旁边堆放的松饼却无人问津。

23岁的大学生崔表示，这种年糕比“迪拜软饼干”便宜，而且大小和一片吐司差不多，看起来很管饱。

哦，一位44岁的家庭主妇在市场购物时顺便光顾了这家店。“这里有好多我以前从没见过的年糕，一下子就吸引了我的目光，”她笑着说。“我打算买一些送给亲戚，代替松饼过中秋节。”

披萨雪糕热潮也为生意下滑的传统市场带来了新的活力。

“生意比去年这个时候好多了，因为来了很多年轻人。尤其是在周末，来年糕店的顾客也会顺便光顾附近的商店，”62岁的白先生说道，他在富平传统市场附近经营一家吐司店。

41岁的Ko在附近经营一家中餐馆，他说：“自从大约一个月前雪糕披萨开始流行以来，顾客数量明显增加。我们的销售额也在逐步提高。”

周二，首尔江西区的葛芝山市场人头攒动，热闹非凡，人们正值中秋节假期前夕。（韩国时报 权正铉摄）

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。