Jagalchi Market

After wandering around Gamcheon village we headed to Jagalchi Market. Jagalchi Market is the largest fish market in Korea. Most fish markets are run by Ajummas (old Korean women) since the Korean war. Here you can buy fish and other seafood from wholesalers. Or you can just be a tourist like we were and walk around the market looking at all the weird seafood.

Jagalchi Market

The market is located right on Nampo Port so you know the seafood is very fresh. As you walk by the different stalls the women try to get you to come and buy their fish.

Fresh fish at Jagalchi market

Have you ever tried stingray?

Fresh fish & stingray

mussels, shrimp, clam & other seafood

If these aren't the biggest crabs you've seen then you must be seeing monsters. I know the Alaskan crab is huge, but these ones are really big too.

Large crabs

Potential customers shopping

Most of the market is actually inside with lots of vendors selling seafood. In the building there are 6 floors; they have an observatory deck, guesthouse, restaurants, etc. Even though I had no intentions of buying any of the fish it is always fun to just walk around and snap pictures. What you can do is bargain with the seller for whatever seafood you would like to buy and they can actually prepare it upstairs at the restaurant for you. I wish I got to experience that but my Korean sucks. They had huge jumbo shrimp and huge lobster which I was longing for. There were even some vendors that spoke English, but for some reason I thought I would find something better.

Inside Jagalchi Market

These are some of the strangest molluscs I have ever seen. 

Strange foods

Behind the market is the port so we went outside to take a look. It's got a really nice view of the city. Also there are so seagulls flying around because there many fish in the water.

After looking around for a few minutes we went back in the market. On the 2nd and 3rd floor there are restaurants. We went to the third because there was a seafood buffet restaurant. Unfortunately it was closed. They are open from 11 am- 2:30 pm, then take a break and reopen at 6 pm. So we went to the 2nd floor where thy have a multitude of restaurant where you have to sit on the floor. I was starving and didn't even think about taking a lot of pictures. But we ordered grilled fish and Nakji (live octopus pieces), which I have tried before. We paid 40k won for a plate of octopus and two small pieces of fish. So, it wasn't worth the price but it's always a fun experience. We went to observatory deck next. There wasn't much up there but it had a great view and cute cartoons.

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They also have a different version of love locks but they are more like love notes.

Up here you can actually see the colourful Gamcheon village and the Busan tower to the right.

Getting there: Take line 1 (orange line) to Jagalchi station and exit 10. Go straight and turn right on the second street. Keep going straight until you see the fish market.