Nau speak: Korea: Heading to Noryangjin

I've posted about Noryangjin market before and I'll be posting about it again, and again, because it's one of my absolute favourite places in Seoul. This might seem strange to some, because it's a fish market, after all. It's not exactly a glamorous location- the floors are often wet and sometimes coated in questionable looking runoff, the odours of fish in their various stages of freshness and preservation surely waft densely through the air, and there's a lot of slippery slimy slithering things flapping about while little Korean ladies or men in overalls and/or rainboots try to grab the interest of anyone walking by in their catch of the day. This is not the kind of place you should go to in fancy dress or expensive shoes, but if you love seafood and want to find some of the freshest of the fresh for reasonable prices in the city, then head here! If your Korean speaking skills are well-polished, you might be able to negotiate with the shop owners, but I figured it was easier not to try to argue with the people handling my food and paid them what they asked.

Noryangjin market is one of the older markets still active in Seoul, but that doesn't make it immune from modernisation. It's changed quite a bit since my previous visit, in fact, and whether that's a good or negative thing is up for debate. The newer space was controversial when first announced due to higher cost of rent for the vendors, and it only officially opened in March of 2016. When I visited it didn't seem very full yet, but I'll leave discussion on that for it's own post.

The weather was lovely, and since I had been out and about running errands for the majority of the day I had worked up quite an appetite. I was excited to return to the market and see what fun new beasts of the sea I could find and devour, and boy did I! Finding the market is pretty easy, though now you enter at street level as opposed to how I entered from above last time. One thing I found interesting was the abundance of little shops that had popped up along the entrance walk, with all sorts of fresh produce and supplies up for offer. Makes sense, though- once you've gotten your fish inside you'll likely need some veggies to serve them with if you don't opt to dine at one of the many restaurants attached to the market.

I've split the photos from this trip into several posts so it won't be too overwhelming. Still, lots of photos below!