We left Andong in torrential rain and arrived at Busan, the southern tip of the Korean peninsula. With over 3.6 million people, Busan is South Korea's second largest city and is known for its beaches, local seafood and nightlife. The first thing we did was purchase a large umbrella, we had brought the rain with us.
Busan seems very lively, colourful, friendly and filled with tiny dogs that would rather be carried than walked.
South Koreans love food. There is food everywhere. Food is a joy shared by all. Korean food is viewed as medicine because of its protective and probiotic qualities. Food in Busan is no different but it’s on another level. Busan is all about food, especially seafood - there are fish markets, fish stalls, restaurants, night food markets, bakeries - street after street, food is everywhere...
Jagalchi Fish Market is on a scale that I have never experienced before. Being a vegetarian and not a huge lover of fish was not going to prevent me witnessesing such a spectacle. This market represents Busan and is famous throughout the country. This huge market is full of all kinds of fish, every species you can imagine. Colourful ones, weird ones, you name it! There is so much fish that it could easily feed an entire city.
Every single day, the freshest fish is delivered by a fleet of fishing boats. After its delivery, the sellers start to clean and display it.
Jagalchi Fish Market has two sections: the indoor market and the outdoor stalls. We ventured inside the indoor market and it looked like we had arrived at an aquarium.
While the men go fishing, most of the people who sell fish here are women, the so called Jagalchi Ajumma, Ajumma meaning married women or middle-aged women. They take care of the preparation of the fish and the sale. They cut, resize and prepare the fish on the spot. It’s a long hard day.
At the ground floor, there were hundreds of small pools and tanks filled with weird living sea creatures. I have no idea what they were but they were long and fat, short and flat, thin and round fish, they were all swimming in the small tanks.
You can buy your fish from the first floor and take it to one of the restaurants at the second floor to have it cooked. Or you can eat a seafood buffet on the 5th floor.
After visiting the indoor market, we proceeded to visit the outdoor stalls. There are hundreds if not thousands of them.
Some of the stalls only sell fish but some of them also have small restaurants in the back. Not even the pouring rain deterred the women, or the customers for that matter.
Beautifully displayed on the stalls and decorated with fresh vegetables, you will see clams, squids, sea cucumbers, whale meat, lobster, crabs, and just about every edible sea animal.
Daytime and night-time, rain or shine, Jagalchi is one big spectacle.
If you’re still hungry there are numerous street -food stalls selling all sorts of fast food and then there’s the cake shops and bakeries. The list is endless.
Then it’s time for beer.