3 Taiwan-Only Experiences Korean Friends Rate A+: Shilin, Shrimp Fishing, Lanterns 2026

I've traveled with friends to a lot of countries, but when I bring Korean friends to Taiwan, there are 3 things they always end up bragging about back home:

1. Gesturing wildly at a Shilin oyster omelet stall, pulling out a Korean translation app, ending up laughing themselves stupid
2. Spending 90 minutes at a shrimp fishing pond and grilling fresh shrimp until their fingers are covered in shell bits
3. Writing on a sky lantern in Pingxi, releasing it themselves, watching it float off toward the hilltops until it disappears

None of these exist in Seoul. Korea has no night markets (they have markets, but not the same thing), no 24-hour shrimp fishing halls, sky lantern releases are restricted by various laws. Taiwan is the exclusive venue.

In this guide I break down exactly how to do each one: price, pitfalls, booking codes, all of it. Stop routing your Korean friends to naver blog guides, those skim the surface.

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Experience 1: Shilin Night Market — the ordering playbook matters more than the attraction playbook

The real pain point at Shilin for Korean visitors isn't "what's good to eat." It's "how to order." All-Chinese menus, vendors speaking Taiwanese Hokkien, no posted prices. Those three combined make visitors freeze.

My advice: focus on these 5 stalls. Language pressure is lowest, and the value is highest.

A-Zong Noodle (新士林店)

• Address: No. 58, Dadong Rd, Shilin District, Taipei
• Price: Small NT$75 / Large NT$95
• How to order: walk up, point and say "large" or "small." Saying "small / large" in English works.

Hot Star Large Fried Chicken (士林豪大大雞排)

• Address: No. 113, Wenlin Rd
• Price: NT$100 per piece
• How to order: say "original" or "spicy," done.

A-Liang Braised Dish (阿亮滷味)

• Address: inside Lane 9, Danan Rd
• How to order: self-serve, bring to the counter, vendor weighs and quotes. Remind Korean friends not to grab too much — I got burned one time, pulled NT$480 worth in one round.

Large Pancake Wraps Small Pancake (大餅包小餅)

• Price: NT$45
• Korean-visitor reception: sky-high. Sweet-salty hybrid plays they've never seen before.

Hometown Cold Noodles (家鄉涼麵)

• Price: NT$60
• Summer must-order, the owner moves fast, no language issue at all.

My actual spend last time I took friends: 5 people ate at 6 stalls, total NT$1,350, NT$270 per person. At least half the price of Hongdae-style eating in Seoul.

Three Shilin traps to avoid

1. The electronic game zone (middle of the market): games are designed to drain Korean visitors, NT$50-100 per round, no ceiling
2. Tattoo sticker booths: no posted prices, gets inflated to whatever
3. "Mango ice" random stalls: real mango ice is at Ice Monster, not at random night-market vendors

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Experience 2: Shrimp fishing — 90-minute walkthrough

This is my personal pick for #1, because Google searches for "shrimp fishing" in Korean turn up basically zero guides. Take your friend there and they'll be shocked, will laugh, will trash-talk each other over who catches more, will post everything to IG.

Recommended shrimp fishing hall

Ah-Gong's Shrimp Fishing Pond (阿公的釣蝦場) (Sec. 4, Bade Rd, Songshan, Taipei)

• Facility fee: NT$400-500 per person for 90 minutes
• Shrimp you catch: grilled on-site for NT$0 / take home NT$0 (included in the facility fee)
• All gear included: rod, bait, bucket, scissors
• Transport: 8 minutes walking from MRT Taipei City Hall Station

90-minute walkthrough

First 10 minutes: pick a seat Regulars will tell you "corners have slower water, more shrimp." First time, just take the seat the staff recommends.

Minutes 11-30: technique Bait (usually shrimp paste or pig liver) goes on the hook. Key tip: when the float dips lightly, that's the shrimp testing the bait — don't yank yet. Wait until the float submerges completely for 2-3 seconds. I got burned: my first 20 minutes I was too aggressive, yanked too fast, and every shrimp got away.

Minutes 31-70: steady output Once technique clicks, you average one shrimp every 3-5 minutes. The moment a Korean friend catches their first shrimp is the peak of the whole session.

Minutes 71-90: closing + grill Hand your catch to the staff to grill, usually plated within 15 minutes. Salt, lemon squeeze, paired with beer.

Actual cost estimate

Group of 4 for 90 minutes: facility fee NT$1,800, drinks NT$400, grilling charge NT$0 (included), per person ~NT$550. Cheaper than BBQ on Han River in Seoul, and the experience is completely different.

Korean friends always ask "why doesn't Korea have this kind of place?" The answer: Korea has fishing ponds, but not the "24-hour open + catch-and-grill-on-site" combo.

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Experience 3: Pingxi Sky Lantern DIY — 15% failure rate, but worth it

Pingxi is a whole industrial zone of sky lantern release. Lots of vendors. Korean visitors most commonly trip on: wrong time of day, wrong shop, no idea how to write.

Best time slot

Weekday afternoon, 4-6pm. Weekends get swamped, lanterns hit electric wires on release, and your photo backgrounds aren't clean. Tue-Thu afternoon is the smoothest window in my actual tests.

Recommended shop

Wang Lantern (王燈籠), Shifen Old Street

• Address: Shifen Old Street (by the railway tracks), Pingxi District, New Taipei
• Price: 4-color lantern NT$200, 8-color lantern NT$250
• Flow included: 20 minutes to write → staff helps release → 5 minutes for photos
• Clear English and Japanese instructions

DIY flow + failure points

1. Pick color (30 seconds): 4 colors map to "health, love, career, peace." Korean visitors always take this seriously.
2. Write (15-20 minutes): dip the brush in ink, write on the 4 faces. One of my friends wrote Korean too big one time, hit the edge and overflowed — sketch in pencil first if you're unsure.
3. Shop unfolds + heats (3 minutes): the staff handles it, you just stand back.
4. Release (10 seconds of glory): release it on the tracks, film a video at the same time.
5. 15% failure rate: wind drifts it sideways, humidity keeps it grounded, slow writing means wet ink smears. Set expectations.

My actual last-time spend

3 people doing 1 release, 8-color NT$250 × 3 = NT$750. Plus train + shrimp-cake at the old street, total NT$1,100. Full afternoon, 3 hours.

Getting there

Taiwan Rail from Taipei to Ruifang, transfer to Pingxi Line, get off at Shifen Station (end of line). One-way fare NT$120. If you're a group of 4 short on time, KKday's Pingxi + Jiufen chartered tour is faster, and the KKday Friday Taiwan 7% off (KKTW95EX) takes another NT$200 off.

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Running all 3 in one trip

Honestly, 3 experiences in one day is tight. My recommendation is to split into two days:

Day 1: Shilin Night Market + shrimp fishing

• 16:00 Shilin Night Market opens
• 19:30 MRT to Taipei City Hall Station
• 20:00 Shrimp fishing 90 minutes + grill
• 22:30 back to the hotel

Day 2: Pingxi sky lantern day trip

• 10:00 depart Taipei Main Station
• 12:30 Shifen Old Street lunch + lantern writing
• 14:00 release the lantern
• 16:00 side trip to Jiufen
• 20:00 back to Taipei

Pick a hotel around Taipei Main Station or Zhongshan Station, both day routes flow smoothly. Korean friends can book Taipei 3-4 stars through Trip.com Mega Bank hotels 7% off (MEGA26H).

For ticket combos: 4 people booking on Klook with E.SUN card on a Wednesday triggers Klook E.SUN Wednesday NT$4,000+ / NT$333 off (ESUN333260107); CTBC card holders get Klook CTBC all-site 4% off (CTBC2696).

First-time Klook Korean friend? Always route through Klook new-user App first purchase 10% off (APP10TW). NT$100 cap is still savings. More promos on the 1stCoupon Klook page before booking.

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3-experience budget summary

Experience	Per-person (NT$)	Time	Recommended size
Shilin Night Market 6 stalls	270	2 hours	3-5 people
Shrimp fishing 90 min + grill	550	2 hours	2-4 people
Pingxi sky lantern + transport	370	3 hours	any
Total	1,190	7 hours

Half the price of Hongdae bar crawl + Han River fishing + Namsan Tower combined in Seoul.

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FAQ

Q1: Will shrimp fishing clash with a Korean friend's jet lag? Overnight hours actually work great — the hall is empty, shrimp are hungry. If they're jet-lagged at 2-4am and can't sleep, pre-dawn shrimp fishing is a bonus experience. Ah-Gong's hall is open 24 hours.

Q2: Write the lantern in Chinese or Korean? Either works. My friend wrote Korean that time, the shop helped release it regardless. Korean script has more complex strokes than Chinese, font options are narrower, so recommend short phrases over long poems.

Q3: Shilin vs Raohe Night Market, which for Korean visitors? First timers: Shilin. Bigger scale, wider variety, right outside the MRT. Raohe is better for round 2 or for quieter flows, but it needs MRT + walking and the logistics are slower.

Q4: Is shrimp fishing awkward for female friends? Not at all. Every woman I've brought has loved it (zero exceptions). The point is interaction + the win feeling; has nothing to do with gender.

Q5: Pingxi sky lanterns have environmental criticism. Is there an alternative? Yes. New Taipei City's Pingxi Lantern Festival "eco-lantern" (once a year at Lantern Festival) uses biodegradable materials, but it's not a year-round option. Regular-shop lanterns are ~70% combustible + metal skeleton; the debris decays naturally on landing. If your friend cares deeply, swap to night market + shrimp fishing only.

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Sources

• New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Bureau: Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
• Taipei City DOIT: Shilin Night Market official introduction
• Taiwan Railway Pingxi Line schedule
• On-the-ground observation: April 2026, Shilin Night Market, Ah-Gong's shrimp fishing pond, Shifen Old Street lantern experience

More Taiwan-only ticket deals at 1stCoupon.