Essay traces the appeal of Korea’s pojangmacha tents

A Korea Times essay by author Jeffrey Miller recalls his first visit to a Seoul pojangmacha in the early 1990s, using the memory to explain the pull of Korea’s covered food tents.

The essay frames pojangmacha as more than a late-night food stop, describing the tents as informal gathering places where people eat, drink and speak openly.

The Korea Times reported that Miller first entered a pojangmacha after losing his way in Jamsil on a cold December night in the early 1990s. Inside, the essay says, a woman behind the counter welcomed him and pointed him to an open stool.

Miller, described by The Korea Times as the author of several novels, explains that pojangmacha literally means "covered wagon." The essay says the tents developed from wheeled food carts that vendors moved through neighborhoods before many became fixed stalls covered with cloth and later plastic tarps.

The foods cited in the essay include tteokbokki, odeng, sundae, gimbap, dried squid, roasted sparrows and beondegi. The Korea Times reported that Miller connected the food to the broader atmosphere of warmth, alcohol and late-night conversation.

Miller writes that people in pojangmacha drink, laugh, cry and say things they may avoid saying elsewhere, according to The Korea Times. The essay also links the setting to the Korean idea of jeong, or emotional connection formed through shared experience.

The Korea Times also noted that Miller’s latest novel is "The Tree at Panmunjom," which concerns the 1976 Axe Murder Incident.

The essay presents pojangmacha as a durable symbol of Seoul’s night culture, shaped by simple food, shelter from the cold and the ease of conversation among strangers.