Korean 'yajang' culture explained: Guide to outdoor dining in Seoul

“Not going to 'yajang' in this weather should be a crime,” Koreans jokingly say whenever a crisp, breezy evening arrives — a seasonal call to trade indoor dining rooms for plastic chairs, sizzling grills and conversations held in lively streets. By 7 p.m. on Monday in Seoul’s Jongno 3-ga area, the saying seemed to have become reality. Red and blue plastic tables were set up in narrow alleys, providing a place for college students, office workers still in shirts and slacks, couples and older diners to sit shoulder to shoulder as they grilled thick slices of pork belly, clinking together their glasses of beer, soju and makgeolli in the early autumn air. Nearby, indoor restaurants and bars offered warm lighting, carefully selected furniture and sleek interiors. But it was the more humble tables outside, in front of old storefronts and streets that looked like they had been unchanged for decades, that drew the longest lines. This is “yajang,” shorthand for an outdoor business space. In everyday Korean, it broadly refers to casual outdoor dining and drinking, which can encompass