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Net a bargain at South Korea's fish markets

It is a swift transaction. The elderly woman pauses at a stall, eyeballs a stack of vibrantly-coloured fish, then nods to a male vendor and raises two fingers.

No sooner has she made the gesture than the vendor swings a pole down to the stack, snares two fish on its hook and flicks them on to a table.

There, his young offsider wraps them in seconds and lobs the package into the woman’s basket.

She leaves two notes on the counter and weaves off through the crowd, fielding offers from the myriad sellers who occupy Seoul’s giant Noryangjin fish market.

Throughout this cavernous indoor market by the edge of the Hangang River in downtown Seoul, frenzied business is taking place.

While Noryangjin is mainly a wholesale market, many Seoul residents also visit to make retail purchases.

Crates of fish are loaded off the fishing trawlers moored at Jagalchi market.

It is 6pm and locals who have just knocked off work have flocked to the market to find something to serve for dinner.

Seafood is an intrinsic component of South Korean cuisine, as you would expect from a country surrounded on three sides by ocean.

Koreans are particularly fond of fermented food, such as kimchi, the famous spicy cabbage dish, and jeotgal, which refers to a variety of seafoods fermented with salt.

The dozens of vendors at Noryangjin market offer all kinds of jeotgal and other styles of fermented, dried or fresh fish.

The market is effectively open 24 hours a day — there is always some level of activity, although the main selling areas close at 10pm.

But they reopen about 3am as the latest boatloads of fresh catch arrive at the adjoining dock. The fish mostly have been hauled in from the Yellow Sea, the northern section of the East China Sea, and then transported either by truck from the coastline west of Seoul or by boat down the Hangang River which pierces the city.



Tanks filled with a huge assortment of fish punctuate Seoul’s huge Noryangjin fish market.

The variety of seafood on offer is astounding. The market’s website states that more than 830 seafood items can be bought there.

Common seafood such as crabs, clams, shrimp, snapper and salmon are lined up alongside unusual offerings such as giant octopuses, stingrays, sea cucumbers and starfish.

It seems that almost any creature caught in the trawlers’ nets ends up on the selling floor at Noryangjin.

Customers who spy something tasty can either have it wrapped to take home or have it prepared for them to eat immediately at one of the market’s many restaurants.

Similar culinary options are available at South Korea’s largest fish market, Jagalchi, in the southern city of Busan. The second biggest metropolis in the country after Seoul, Busan is known as the seafood capital of Korea.

Just across the Sea of Japan, in Tokyo, the gargantuan Tsukiji fish market is one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions. It became so swarmed with camera-toting foreign travellers that the market banned tourists from attending some of its tuna auctions.

Noryangjin market is particularly busy in the early mornings but remains open well into the evenings.

Jagalchi and Noryangjin offer the same kind of experience as Tsukiji, yet neither are known as tourist attractions so receive few international visitors.

As a result, the reception from the sellers at the South Korean markets is warm and inviting, as opposed to the sometimes surly attitudes of vendors at Tsukiji, who have grown frustrated at the encroachment of tourism on their workplace.

If Noryangjin is all about the restaurants, then Jagalchi excels in the people-watching department. Extending along a large stretch of Busan harbour and spilling into streets and alleys which lead away from the water, it is a labyrinthine space teeming with activity.

Hundreds of stalls, selling everything from sea urchins to whale meat, are operated mostly by women who are known as Jagalchi Ajumma, which means “middle aged” or “married woman”.

Fresh fish are laid out on mats, grouped into buckets or displayed in tanks. Above the roofs of many stalls, dozens more fish are hung out to dry in the morning sun before being sold as crispy snacks later in the day.

Wandering past the hordes of buyers and sellers, you can stand at the edge of the dock which adjoins the market and watch the trawlers being unloaded straight on to the edge of the selling floor.

A fish seller keeps herself entertained while waiting for her next customer at Noryangjin market.

Workmen shout and gesticulate at each other as they help move crate after crate of appetising fare from the weather-worn boats.

Some enterprising customers try to intercept boxes of what must appear to be the most succulent fish before they even reach the stalls, grouped together just metres away.

Their mischievous endeavours are often met with raucous disapproval from wholesalers, who send them scurrying away into the anonymity of the market’s ceaseless crowds.

Many of these crates of fresh catch are intended to be sold at auction.

These ceremonies are lively and entertaining and can involve heated bidding wars between determined buyers.

They are best watched, and photographed, at a distance so as not to disturb the participants, who take the process very seriously.

Outside of the auctions though, both Jagalchi and Noryangjin markets are friendly places. Few nationalities are as amiable and generous towards foreign visitors as South Koreans.

Navigating through these maze-like markets, prepare to be ushered to take a seat alongside jovial vendors who will be intent on explaining the business to you, despite the language barrier.

Other sellers will try to place fish straight into your hands in what is either a cheeky sales tactic or simply good humour.

If you can handle the smell of thousands upon thousands of sea creatures, freshly scooped out of the ocean, then you will enjoy the bustle and unique cuisine these markets have to offer.

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The easiest way to reach Noryangjin fish market from Seoul’s main tourist area is by using the cheap, clean and efficient subway system. Noryangjin subway station is next to the market.

Jagalchi fish market is in the heart of one of Busan’s main tourist areas, alongside the shopping and nightlife precinct of Nampodong, which offers a huge range of brand outlets and local boutiques, restaurants, karaoke clubs and beer bars.

Noryangjin is a particularly attractive night- time destination, with its many seafood restaurants. Jagalchi, too, has scores of nice restaurants, however is most fascinating in the morning when the trawlers are being unloaded and the buying and selling is at its frenetic best. Jagalchi opens at about 8am daily.