Soft Chicken

Tungkol dito

Takeout-only traditional whole fried chicken stall in Seongdae Market serving crackly, double-fried whole birds at budget-friendly prices.

Tucked inside Dongjak-gu’s bustling Seongdae Market, Soft Chicken draws steady foot traffic away from Sindaebangsamgeori Station with the rich, unmistakable aroma of deep-fried bird. Despite what the English name suggests, the defining feature here is anything but soft. The shop specializes in classic *tongdak*—whole young chickens prepared in the traditional market style, boasting an audible, shatteringly crisp skin wrapped around chewy, taut meat. Operated strictly as a takeout counter, the stall keeps pre-fried Harim chickens lined up in the display case. When an order lands, each bird is dropped back into sizzling oil for a second fry. In about ten minutes, it emerges piping hot, seasoned with a salty, lightly spicy kick, and gets slipped into a brown paper carry bag. Savvy locals phone ahead to skip the pavement wait, especially during peak dinner and late-night rushes when workers stop by for supper or an unpretentious companion to cold draft beer and highballs at home. The price point remains an aggressive counterweight to modern franchise rates. A single cash-purchase bird runs just 9,000 won, with multi-bird bundles dropping the per-chicken cost even further. Because the operation strips away excess overhead, pickled radish cubes and dipping sauces are sold separately for 500 won each. Regulars routinely bypass the standard sweet-and-spicy red glaze in favor of the sharp, sinus-clearing mustard sauce, which cuts through the rendering fat of the skin. Eaten straight from the tearing paper using bare hands, it offers a purely nostalgic, no-frills market ritual that outshines trendier neighborhood alternatives.