So-tteok-so-tteok

So-tteok so-tteok (Korean: 소떡소떡), sometimes translated as sausage and rice cakes, is a popular South Korean street food consisting of skewered and fried garae-tteok (rice cakes) and Vienna sausages brushed with several sauces including mustard and spicy gochujang-based sauce.^[1] It is a portmanteau as well as a reduplication of sausage (소시지) and tteok (떡).

Initially, it was only available on a highway rest stop in Anseong.^[2] In March 2018, comedian Lee Young-ja introduced the dish in a television broadcast.^[3] The broadcast caused the dish to explode in popularity. By the end of that year, of all rest stops in Korea, Anseong ranked third in total sales.^[4][5]

Since then, rest stops across the country began offering the same snack,^[6][7][8] with restaurants^[9][10] and convenience stores^[11][12] following suit. Vendors created modifications of the dish, for example by adding cheese^[9] or even dalgona.^[13] The South Korean government and companies began promoting the dish abroad. So-tteok-so-tteok was one of the dishes representing South Korea at the 2023 ASEAN Food Festival in the Philippines,^[14] where it received a long queue, while South Korean restaurants in Malaysia have started to serve the snack.^[15][16]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the renowned boy band BTS filmed in locations across Gangneung, Pyeongchang and Busan, and on one instance recommended so-tteok so-tteok at a rest stop.^[17] It was incorporated into the government's promotional program for Hallyu-related tourism in 2024, further boosting the popularity of the snack.^[18][19]