Korea: Noryangjin New Fish Market Fall 2016

Now that I've feasted on the flesh of still squirming shrimp and sampled the infamous slithering octopus tentacles of sannakji once more, it's time I set aside my unease and explore the newest Noryangjin building. In my previous visit to Seoul in 2014, Noryangjin was one of my favourite destinations! It was so raw, quite literally, and seeing so much seafood bubbling in tanks or still twitching it's last throes on the icy tables while the bright-apron-clad aunties climbed up the tanks to wrangle out a massive lobster, crab, or other delicacy was fascinating. The old building, which is still operational next to the new market, has been in it's current location for over 40 years and feels like an established, and invariably older, market.  The new building still offers plenty of seafood, yes...but it's in a much more sterile environment. The floors, while still prone to being slick, are a lacquered linoleum reflecting the bright florescent lights from above. Instead of feeling like a wet market, it's more of a department store gone super fishy. Some people will indubitably prefer this, and I suppose that's okay. I don't despise shopping malls, after all...I can see how the clean, austere, controlled environment and crisp appearance would appeal. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions on the matter, and everyone's tastes are different.  Seoul is a city that strives to perfect itself and strive towards modernisation whenever and wherever possible and their old, established markets are not immune. To me, though, it feels like a shadow of the former market. If I came to Seoul for the very first time and had never visited the older market, maybe I'd have swooned over this one. From what I've read, the new building costs more for the vendors to rent their stalls, which means that their prices are typically higher to account for that, but it's also a sticking point for many of the vendors who site the higher rent as prohibitive. Roughly half the vendors have refused to move into the new building, so the new market still feels a bit unfinished and empty as a result. You'll still find people diligently breaking down fish for various methods of consumption and various uncles and aunties mostly eager to sell their goods (when not in the midst of an afternoon nap, of course), and there are restaurants upstairs you can take your choices to, should you opt to purchase anything while here. If you find yourself in Seoul, check it out and decide for yourself. For now, here are my photos.

Korea: Feast at Noryangjin fall 2016

If you're in Noryangjin market to pick up some seafood but find that you aren't sure exactly how to prepare it, or you aren't in a position where you can readily cook for yourself, have no fear! There are many restaurants located just outside the doors of the old market or inside the new where you can have your freshly picked seafood prepared for you at a reasonable cost. You have ample options, from sannakji:

Octopus a'squiggling! Sannakji is one of Seoul's classic dare foods :D #sannakji #octopus #food #foodporn #korea #southkorea #delicious #seafood #noryangjin #market

A post shared by Jessthulhu (@shethatisnau) on Aug 29, 2016 at 4:05am PDT

Have you ever tried Sannakji?

It's octopus served so fresh that it's tentacles are still twitching and can grab your lip or tongue...or throat. They're served with sesame oil to help lubricate their journey towards your gullet and minimise the risk of choking...

Sannakji, live squid chopped up quickly and doused in sesame oil then eaten while still wiggling. The noise I made was because the suckers were doing their thing and sticking to my lips and tongue. It's a unique sensation, to say the least. #Noryangjin #fishmarket #sannakji #seafood #foodporn #octopus #korea #southkorea #food

A post shared by Jessthulhu (@shethatisnau) on Aug 29, 2016 at 3:54am PDT

Then there's the raw, still twitching shrimp. If your seafood is still twitching when it hits your plate you can rest assured it's the freshest of the fresh. I have to admit that eating the still live shrimp here at Noryangjin market spoiled me on the tasty little sea bugs. I have long been a fan of sweet shrimp when available at sushi restaurants, especially when they serve the fried heads alongside the sweet and succulent tails raw, but having them here and still alive was the absolute pinnacle of freshness. There was some feelings involved, and I tried to ensure I took their heads off as cleanly as I could to reduce the amount of time they spent contemplating their fate. The shrimp were SO fresh, in fact, that I had to chase some of them down the aisle in the restaurant to ensure they met their pre-ordained fate. In my mouth. It isn't pretty, but it sure was delicious. 

Squirming for their lives! Poor little shrimp T_T about to be viciously devoured alive... #food #southkorea #korea #foodporn #seafood #noryangjin #market #delicious #evil

A post shared by Jessthulhu (@shethatisnau) on Aug 29, 2016 at 3:57am PDT

SO very tasty, though! So good, in fact, that I later went back to get some more. Sure, their little head spikes were stabby and their dying thrashes were pitiable, though sometimes animated enough to send them on an attempted dash at freedom, but the end result was undeniably delicious.

And savage.

But that's okay. I like being a savage sometimes.

Eating live shrimp at Noryangjin market. I feel a bit like a monster for doing this x_x #liveseafood #liveshrimp #shrimp #noryangjin #seafood #seoul #korea #southkorea #food #foodporn

A post shared by Jessthulhu (@shethatisnau) on Aug 29, 2016 at 3:51am PDT

More photos below...

Korea: Noryangjin Old Fish market part two

Noryangjin Fish market, especially the old building, is one of my absolute favourite places in all of Seoul. Being someone who grew up in a desert, my exposure to seafood was limited to the tanks at our local markets and the occasional aquaponics set up. I remember finding a crawdad at Lake Mead once as a kid and being super excited about the "mud bug", much to the amusement of those around me. Suffice to say, exposure to aquatic life was extremely limited growing up... we might have the sporadic surf and turf specials at various local casinos when they were affordable or my dad had gambled enough on their premises to earn a "comped" meal (which is always considerably less money than was lost in the casino, unsurprisingly), or I'd find some shoreside creepy crawly while playing at the beach, but the desert doesn't really afford a lot of beach time without associated travel.  My time living in Japan gave me many more opportunities to sample various sea life I might not have otherwise been fortunate enough to find (like shirako and shirasu), and my fascination with all things slippery and seaborn still runs deep like the Mariana Trench. I can't help but be simultaneously fascinated and horrified by the beasts that lurk below, and entranced by the ways people have found delicacies and ways to uncrack and work with the mysteries within.

After all, sea level is going to be the highest elevation at which any of these creatures might possibly live, right? So they're generally going to be living at much lower elevations than our air-borne brothers. If, like me, you share a curiosity about the oceans and things that dwell therein, you too will find Noryangjin market a highly interesting experience. There's no shortage of variety available, with each vendor selling multiple species and sizes of assorted sea-creatures. There are shrimp as big (or bigger) than your hand, crabs that could take your face off, crustaceans in an incredible array of shells, slithering daebul (aka penis fish) who look like uncircumcised members who've liberated themselves from their hosts, whatever your flavour there are massive slabs of fresh glistening fish flesh abounding for you to take your pick from. Of course, if you don't like seafood, this will not be a destination that ranks high on your to-do list... but then, why are you here? Don't be scared, my friend. As scary and alien as some of these strange little things are, most are truly quite tasty when deftly handled by the restaurants nearby. That's right; if you find yourself too intimidated to try to cook up whatever curiosity you find, you can simply take your bagged up merchandise to one of the many restaurants just beyond the market doors. If you need guidance, don't fear. One of the staff members, such as this woman in the vest, will likely guide you to where you need to go. I wouldn't be surprised if there were deals between different vendors and restaurants, but I'm not complaining. I've always had a great meal when dining here! With such fresh seafood available it's really hard to go wrong. 

Many more photos below!

Korea: Noryangjin Old Fish Market part one

Seoul, much like my hometown of Las Vegas, is a city constantly striving to improve upon itself and renovate the old in the hopes it will bring in brighter, better futures along with more visitors and more money, so I can't be surprised that things will have changed since my previous visit in 2014. However, with Vegas we're a fairly young city, having only been founded in 1905, so our history, and even our culture as Americans, is still rather new when compared to a city and culture as old as Seoul and Korea's so tradition hasn't really had time to set roots..I mean, seriously, guys, have you considered just how ancient the Korean culture is? The United States of America was established on the 4th of July in 1776, a measly 242 years. That's not even three centuries yet. In contrast, it's believed that the ancient precursor to what is now known-as Seoul (Baekje) was established in 18 BCE. That's right, 18 years BEFORE we even started this whole 0-to-2000 countdown thing, so that'd be 2036 years ago. That's seriously OLD, guys. 

What all this means is that for Vegas, I think we have a bit more wiggle room to tear down and rebuild because the history, culture and traditions of the city of Las Vegas, while important to the region, are so young and still fomenting. With Seoul, they have to be mindful that sometimes the endless pursuit of modernisation and improvement must be tempered by appreciation and respect for their past and the ways that have been established over their many centuries. There are ancient Temple buildings peppered all throughout Seoul, neighbourhoods where traditional Bukchon style homes and old-school streets are kept in pristine condition, and the ancient Fortress Wall (first built in 1396) still stands it's somber vigil like a spine crawling atop the back of a massive, slumbering dragon. Soldiers still walk the wall, too, and you'll need to sign in and be alert of the no-photography zones because they're quite serious about enforcing them. This same fierceness has been brought to the desire to renew and rejuvenate, and at some expense. 

The old Noryangjin market has been in operation since 1927 before settling in to it's current location for over 40 years. It's a bit old, nostalgic, and funky, but these are all part and parcel of the reasons I loved it so much! It was real, gritty, slippery, fishy work and the people working the stalls true blue-collar hard working Koreans trying to make their livelihood the best way they know how. There's little to no pretence, no glossy K-pop idol wannabe's patta-patt-patting their perfectly coiffed faces or checking that their bangs maintain the perfect arch in their compacts, at least not working the floor. You will find guy's like this friendly fellow to the left, who was here during my previous visit, too! I gave him a hug both times. Thank you for what you do, dude. Motorbikes and heavy-duty carts roll through, beeping or honking to alert photo-focused photogs and awestruck tourists alike. The new building, shown in part above, is absolutely nothing like it. And, to be totally honest, I didn't like it. This post, however, is going to focus on the old market, the part I love so dearly. Thank glob.

More photos below!

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!