Jongno 3-ga Pocha Street - Map, Location, Hours, Waiting, Menu, Restroom

 

 

I had passed by the Jongno pocha (street food) street many times before, but this time, I decided to really experience it! 😊

 

The main pocha street is located near Jongno 3-ga Station on Line 5, but there’s another street (marked in blue on my map) where there’s also a line of food stalls!

 

At the start of the street, you’ll see a signboard for the Pocha Village.

 

It was 6 PM on a Friday, and the street was already filling up with people 😅.
This area seemed to attract a slightly older crowd compared to the main Line 5 pocha street, and it felt more organized.

 

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After checking out the area, we headed to our original destination—the pocha street along Jongno 3-ga Station on Line 5.
The street, marked with blue highlighter, had pochas lined up all along it.

 

By 6:30 PM, the weather was clear, but it was already super crowded.

 

We walked back and forth from one end of the Line 5 pocha street to the other, but it was packed with people waiting for a seat. Many seemed to have just started their night 😅.

 

From what I overheard, the police were patrolling the area, which is probably why fewer tables were set up than usual. The pochas had plenty of tables and chairs, but they weren’t using them all.

 

By the time we returned to the street at 9 PM, it was even busier!

But thankfully, more tables and chairs had been set up by then, and a lot of the pochas that weren’t open earlier had now joined the lineup.
Some people asked the owners for extra chairs to sit, and they kindly made space for them.
Since we had a friend who already secured a spot, we joined them by adding a few extra chairs with the owner’s permission 😊.

 

We ended up at the Nakwon Pocha, near Exit 3 of Jongno 3-ga Station!

 

There were couples sitting at the bar, while the tables were occupied by groups of 2–3 or even larger groups.

 

" Nakwon Pocha Menu "

 

The pocha owners here are super friendly, often joining their customers for drinks! 🥂
If you order alcohol, they’ll bring their own glass, have a quick chat, and clink glasses with you before taking a drink 😂.

 

As a side dish, they serve cucumbers!

 

Live octopus (San-nakji) for 18,000 KRW
Sea squirt (Meongge) for 15,000 KRW
Surprisingly fresh! (Honestly, I didn’t expect much from a pocha, but it was good!)

 

Fried eggs for 12,000 KRW

 

We hesitated due to the price, but we were craving it, so we ordered anyway!

They even served it with ketchup 😋.
Just don’t confuse it with the spicy sauce that came with the octopus and sea squirt, haha!

 

The yolk was perfectly cooked!
Dip it in ketchup for a savory, sweet taste 😋.

 

When we ran out of cucumbers, they happily gave us more.

The owner came by again, encouraging us to order more soju, and even joined us for a quick drink 😄.

 

Grilled eel (Ggom-jang-eo) for 15,000 KRW

 

It took a while to cook, but the smoky flavor was worth the wait!

 

To be honest, I didn’t have high expectations for pocha food, but I was pleasantly surprised 😊.
It was super crowded, but the lively atmosphere made the night memorable!
However, there were cars driving through the street at one point, which felt a bit unsafe. Back in the day, I don’t remember cars coming through this street.
For restrooms, there’s one located behind the rooftop bar near Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station (and there’s another restroom near Exit 4 for the pochas in that area).