Ansan: Korea's Most International Food Street, and Clam Noodles on Daebudo

Korea is often described as one of the most homogeneous countries in the world. Ansan (안산), an industrial city southwest of Seoul, is the exception. Its Wongok-dong neighbourhood, next to the factory districts, has been home to workers from across Asia for decades, and the government designated it a Multicultural Village Special Zone.

The result is some of the most varied, affordable and interesting food in the Seoul region.

The multicultural food street (다문화음식거리)

Walk out of Ansan Station and cross into Wongok-dong. Within a few blocks you'll find restaurants, grocery stores and bakeries from:

• Uzbekistan and Central Asia — plov (rice pilaf with lamb and carrots), shashlik skewers, samsa pastries and hand-pulled lagman noodles.
• Vietnam — pho, bun cha and stir-fried water spinach.
• China, including many Korean-Chinese (Joseonjok) restaurants — lamb skewers, dumplings and spicy hot pots.
• Indonesia, Nepal, Russia and more — look for the bakeries selling Russian-style breads.

Our picks with videos:

• Samarkand — Uzbek cuisine, featured on Tasty Guys (the hero video above).
• Vietnam Gohyang Sikdang — beef pho, jokbal (pig's trotter) pho, bun cha and stir-fried water spinach.

Korean meals around Ansan

• Sarangbang in Hwajeong-dong — grilled beef, yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) and brisket doenjang stew.
• Baekmi Idong Galbi in Seonbu-dong — pork ribs and samgyeopsal.
• Sindo Jeongyuk Nongjang in Sangnok-gu — a butcher-restaurant for grilled beef, with a beef kimchi-stew rice set.
• Ilmi Deunggalbi in Bono-dong — grilled baby back ribs.

Daebudo (대부도)

South of the city, the Sihwa seawall, roughly 11 km long across the tidal flats, leads to Daebudo, an island joined to the mainland by road. It's known for:

• Clam kalguksu (바지락칼국수) — the island's signature. There's a whole kalguksu street near Bangameori.
• Tidal flats — at low tide you can walk out onto the mudflats. Some fishing villages run clam-digging programmes.
• The Metasequoia Road and seaside walking trails.
• Daebu grapes and wine, in late summer.

Practical tips

• Getting there: Seoul Subway Line 4 to Ansan Station for the food street (about an hour from central Seoul). For Daebudo, take a bus from Ansan or a taxi; a car makes it much easier.
• Menus: many restaurants on the food street have picture menus or English, and pointing works everywhere.
• Cash is handy at smaller shops and bakeries.
• Allergies: Central Asian dishes are often lamb or beef cooked in cottonseed or vegetable oil, and clam kalguksu is shellfish.

Every restaurant below has a video on its EatHub page. They're especially useful for the multicultural street, where signs may be in several languages at once.