KMK: Jagalchi Fish Market

I love seafood, yet in Seoul I never seem to eat it as much as I’d like. So, you can imagine, when I hit Busan, the seaside city, the first thing I wanted to do was get some hearty seafood. The place to go in Busan to get the chicken of the sea is Jagalchi Market located at Jagalchi Station.
The main part of the market is a huge building down by the wharf. Behind the building you can find the port with docked ships and dock workers out doing their job. There’s also an outside area where people can sit to grab some much needed fresh air from the fish smell or just grab a quick smoke.

Brandon and I forged ahead through the first floor of the building. There stalls upon stalls of all manner of sea creatures can be yours for the asking. We’re talking about every sea critter imaginable like shellfish, fish, mantas, shark, creepy crawlies and things I don’t even have a name for.
I saw so many exotic undersea creatures that I half expected to see Aquaman propped up on some tank ready to be sold for a low, low, price. The market itself was packed with familes out buying their evening meal. Fathers haggled over prices with the merchants and wives inspected the cuts to find the best possible.

Seeing all the workers doing their thing is a sight to see. The women squat over buckets cleaning fish with quick dexterous mottions born from hours and hours of reptition. Men haul in fresh catches and dump them into the waiting tanks. Seeing a fish flop out or an octupus making an escape attempt is a common sight.
On the second floor you can find merchants selling even more goods. Dried fish, seasonings, seeds, and garnishes can be bought. Upstairs is also where you can find the many restaurants for those who can’t wait to cooke their own fresh fish. Why wait when dozens of places are up there waiting to cook up whatever you’ve seen below.

The market just doesn’t stop inside either. Once you head back outside the fun continues in the outside stalls. More fish, scallops, clams, crabs and await to be haggled over. I also found the outside stalls to be cheaper than the ones inside. We found a place grilling fresh fish for 5,000won and settled down for a glorious meal. The meat just fell off the bone. That fish was so good that it had me making plans to move to Busan.
Check out the rest of the photos and remember that Jagalchi is a must see when you get to Busan. You and your stomach will not regret it.