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Korea Post holds Philately Week to celebrate Korea’s philatelic development and promote the collection and study of stamps. Celebrating this year’s Philately Week from September 21 to September 28, Korea Post is issuing the “Street Food” edition of the commemorative stamp series Philately Week to mark the global popularity of Korean street food. Tteokbokki is one of the most popular street foods in Korea. Although the red and spicy version of tteokbokki is better known, “gungjung” tteokbokki flavored with soy sauce is actually the original one. Sieuijeonseo, a cook book published at the end of the Joseon dynasty, describes the dish as high-class and nutritious royal court cuisine. According to the recipe, the dish is cooked with garae-tteok (rice cake), sirloin, sesame oil, soy sauce, spring onions, and mushrooms. The records of tteokbokki can also be found in literature such as Buinpilji published in the Korean Empire as well as Joseon Mussang Sinsik Yori Jebeop (“Joseon’s Unparalleled Cookbook of Modern Recipes”) published in 1924. The modern version of red tteokbokki is widely believed to have been created in Sindang-dong in 1953 right after the Korean War by street food vendor Ma Bok-rim (1921–2011). Those restaurants that had served tteokbokki on a briquette oven with a sauce flavored with pepper paste and sweet bean sauce were featured on radio programs of the 1970s as “Tteokbokki Street,” and started to gain popularity nationwide. These days, fusion tteokbokki recipes, such as jajang sauce and pink rosé sauce, are the latest trend to hit Korea other than the original recipe with fish cake, noodles and boiled eggs. Sundae is Korean cuisine made of steamed pig’s intestines stuffed with cellophane noodles and vegetables. There are two different theories on the origins of sundae. Some believe that the origins of the food lie in the Three Kingdoms period through the ancient Chinese cuisine of yangbanjangjahae. And the others contend that it was spread to the Korean Peninsula during the Goryeo dynasty by Mongolia. A sausage-stuffing recipe was first documented in Qimin Yaoshu, ancient Chinese agricultural texts written by Jia Sixie, the official of Shandong. Shandong foods are presumed to have largely influenced those of Baekje and Goguryeo considering geographic conditions of the time. The term dwaeji sundae (“pig sundae”) first appeared in Sieuijeonseo describing its recipe that is similar to the modern recipe. During the early 1960s, sundae was considered a valuable dish due to the scarcity of its main ingredient, pork. However, it has been enjoyed by many ordinary people since 1970s at snack stands and street vendors. This commemorative stamp series features mouth-watering pictures of tteokbokki and sundae. A heaping plate of tteokbokki and sundae will bring you back to your schooldays. We hope you can experience the genuine happiness that the street food delivers through this stamp series.