Last Updated on February 13, 2017 by Nancie

Noryangjin Fish Market

This week, we’re visiting Seoul’s Noryangjin Fish Market and a place that I have wanted to visit for ages. That became a reality when I received an invite from the Hansik meetup group to do just that. Welcome to week 282 of Travel Photo Thursday (6/16/2016). I hope you enjoy the tour as much as I did!

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The Noryangjin Fish Market has been on my want to see list for a while. Firstly, I was eager to experience buying freshly caught fish and having it prepared on site. Secondly, the old Noryangin Fish Market may soon be a thing of the past. A new market has been built adjacent to the old market and is now open. However, many of the vendors do not want to relocate. After I heard their story, I can understand why. Here is a link to an interview with one of the vendors that our meetup host, Jason, did recently. The short version is that the spaces are much smaller, rents are 40 to 50 percent higher, and the floor in the building is very slippery; resulting in numerous falls. Market management, known as the Suhyup, are strong-arming vendors into the new facility so that they can begin construction of a new casino. They are hoping to take advantage of the popularity of the fish market to draw people into gamble. Okay, enough with the politics. Let’s eat some fish!

Noryangjin Fish Market

First, we stopped for a very quick peek at the new market building, which is pleasant and bright. Remember the slippery floor!

We’re entering the old market building. Quite a contrast to the new building wouldn’t you say? You can see all the tables on the left. We’ll be coming back here to have our seafood cooked, once we tour the market and make our purchases

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Nothing but fresh seafood everywhere we look! I’m not sure why these ladies are yelling. We were all on our best behavior 🙂

 

 

I don’t know the name of this, but we decided to buy some. It looks like it will be a similar texture to squid. Also, it is next to the sea cucumber. I’m not sure if that matters or not. I tried sea cucumber once when I was in Taiwan, and have to say  I was not impressed.  Hopefully, the choice today will be a winner!

 

 

This lovely vendor is preparing our seafood for cooking. The older lady vendors like to be called grandmother (in Korean..homoni).

 

 

Koreans love octopus, and many, like this one, are proudly displayed.

 

 

Of course, there is always the sannakji to try.  Remember, me a few months ago: Nakji Bokkeum in Seoul. Been there done that, and not again. Live octopus in my mouth is a once in a lifetime event. 🙂

 

 

This lady is a dynamo and gets along famously with our fearless leader. She became a fishmonger in her twenties, and she’s now 75. She’ll probably pack it in if she is forced into the new market building. Interview

 

 

Never fear, there was something weird and wonderful   to try here (maybe interesting is a better word!). These little sea creatures remind me of acorns. At first, I politely declined a sample, but then I thought…what the hell. I pulled up my big girl bloomers and popped one in my mouth, and biting down I got this gush of what tasted like sea water. Weird, but not awful. The hard piece on the end I spit out. Some of these made their way into our shopping bag.

 

 

Our soon to be steamed prawn.

 

 

The biggest scallops I have ever seen!

 

 

Trying to give Jason back some change. They had a bit of a tussle! 🙂

 

 

Then we stopped to gawk at the huge live lobsters from Atlantic Canada. I had a good chuckle. At home, you can’t buy them this big. The larger the lobster, the tougher the meat. They had smaller ones, too. If I weren’t going home next month, I would be tempted to make a return trip and buy one or two for a feast!.

 

 

Next, king crab.Look at these beauties, just ready to be steamed.

 

 

Last, but not least, the halibut/flounder man. One of these is from a fish farm; the other is wild. Can you guess which is which?

 

 

Filleting our pick.

 

 

Now it was time for our feast at the Noryangjin Fish Market to begin. First, we started the seafood soup (at the table, of course). Most of the shellfish went in, along with the octopus and whatever else we had in our bags. This makes the best tasting broth I have ever had!

 

 

While our soup was cooking, we enjoyed out of this world delicious prawn, and we couldn’t forget the king crab and scallops. I think there were a couple of steamed snails hiding on the crab plate, too.

 

 

 

The flounder/halibut sashimi was a hit. The vendor also included a nice fillet of salmon as well. Condiments included pickled ginger and garlic, and wasabi. There was also a choice of dipping sauce, soy sauce or spicy gochujang.

 

 

We washed all of this delicious seafood down with some tasty Korean rice wine, makgeolli. Six of us enjoyed this fishy feast, and it took us a good two hours to devour it all, including the delicious soup. Except for the pickled ginger and garlic, there were no other side dishes. The seafood reigned supreme, and it was awesome.  As always, Jason was a fantastic host.

Can you believe that we paid only 35,000 Won each (around $35.US), and that included the cooking?

 

We were all so excited about eating that we forgot to take a photo of the group. I snapped this quickly just before the feast began. Other diners were staring.

 

 

Have you dined at the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul, or at a similar market somewhere else in your travels?

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Open 365 days a year. There is a fish auction every day at 3:00 am.!

Operating Hours
High-Class Fish Market: 24 Hours
General Fish Market: 01:30 – 22:00
Frozen Fish Market: 03:30 – 22:00
Shellfish Market: 01:00 – 22:00

Getting there:

[Subway]
Noryangjin Station (Seoul Subway Line 1), Exit 1.
Walk about 100m over the bridge before arriving at the destination.

[Bus]
Take any of the following buses and off at Noryangjin Market Station.
Bus No. 150, 152, 360, 462, 500, 504, 507, 605, 640, 641, 650, 751, 752,
5516, 5517, 5531, 5535, 5536, 6211, 6411, 6515, 9408

 

Please welcome our co-hosts this week: Jan from Budget Travel Talk Ruth from Tanama Tales  Rachel from Rachel’s Ruminations

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You can browse the Travel Photo Thursday archives here.

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