When you hear the word Busan, the thing
that comes into your mind is the ‘sea,’ and if you think of the sea the thing
that comes into your mind is definitely the fresh seafood. The Jagalchi Market
that has a long history in Busan is a typical tourist sight of Busan. The
Jagalchi Market that lies from Nampodong Jung-gu to Chungmudong Seo-gu in Busan
is nearby the Nampodong area which is the main downtown of Busan, so there are
many tourists. There is a story that says the reason the market was namee ‘Jagalchi’
was because there were many ‘jagal(pebbles)’ in the area, and another story
that says that it came from the word ‘galchi(hairtail).’
If you enter the Jagalchi Market, you can
smell the somewhat fishy smell of the seafood. There are many sushi restaurants
because you can dress and eat fresh-caught seafood on the spot. Recently due to
the radiation leak of Japan the sales are slowing down a little, but since it
is the biggest fish market in Busan, the Jagalchi Market is always crowded with
people. The grilled fish from fresh-caught fish is the best food in the
Jagalchi Market. When you enter the Jagalchi Market you can easily find
restaurants that sell grilled fish, and you can pass by the owners of the
restaurants that call people to come in. Along with the grilled fish, grilled
sea eel is also the famous food here. When mealtime comes, your mouth gets
watered from the delicious smell of the grilled fish being cooked in the
restaurants.
There are many bystanders that watch the people
dressing the fresh-caught fish with great tact, and you can see a lot of
seafood that are alive moving around. As one lays out crabs that have been
caught, the fish that scatter around and flop about look pretty fresh.
If you go through the Jagalchi Market to
the beach there is a small waterfront park. There is the Yeongdo Bridge right
next to it, and you can also see large ships fishing nearby. The Yeongdo Bridge
is a bridge that gets connected to Yeongdo-gu of Busan, and before that there
is the Gwangbok branch of the Lotte Dept. Store. Many tourists visit this place
because they can see the sea, and you can also easily find the elderly that
have visited the market taking a break. You can also take the chug boat at the
dock to go on a sea travel to Yeongdo.
Famous for its way of speaking ‘Oiso(come),
Boiso(look), Saiso(buy),’ at the Jagalchi Market you can not only find fresh
seafood but also the passion of people working hard at their site of life and
the energy of frugal people that have come to the market for shopping. You can
hear the rough but affectionate unique dialect of Busan, and it is full of
energy here. The expression ‘Jagalchi Ajuma(madam)’ came from our mothers that
have started to sell at the Jagalchi Market during the Korean War for living,
The auction for seafood starts at early
dawn here, a little earlier than other places, and closes at about sunset. So
if you visit here around evening everything has ended and is silent. For those
of you visiting the Jagalchi Market for the first time, if you come here before
sunset you can see the Jagalchi Market full of energy.
If you visit the waterfront park at night
again, there is whole different scenery in front of you. Lights that have been
lit up shine and sparkle being reflected to the seawater. And at the fish
market where a big ship was anchored during daytime you can see the merchants
closing down their business for the day. To the back of the market the street
lights of Bumindong embroider the night. The unique scenery of the mountain
village is pretty unusual.
The Jagalchi Market is a historical place
with its history of more than 100 years. The Jagalchi Market where the joys and
sorrows of the commoners remain untouched is surely fit to be called the symbol
of Busan.
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