Jagalchi

A couple of weekends ago, Taylor and I took Corin to the World Famous fish market in Busan called Jagalchi. It is a huge three or four story building flush up against a large harbor on one of the many Busan coast lines. (I have provided a link for those intrigued beyond my descriptive visual representations!) I must admit that I had been dying to go with my camera in tote! We walked in not really sure what to expect and were pretty impressed with the aisles and aisles of vendors with their treasures on display. Most of the fish were live, crammed into smallish aquarium tanks resting on the floor. The number of unidentifiable creatures was outstanding. Everything from sea cucumbers to shark to gigantic horned crabs. It was a seafood lovers paradise! (I do not fall into that category, but I sure do enjoy looking!) Each vendor hosted about 6 different tanks with baskets or trays of random immobile creatures rested on the ledges. You had the options of taking it to go whole, prepped, or even eating it there in the market. They would simply chop off the head(if it had one) debone and clean out the innerds, then cut it into cook ready slabs/fillets/cubes... whatever. The floor above would then cook the meat for you and dish up some sides as well. Taylor and I were unaware of the cooking part until after we left though, so we did not partake of this luxury.

Corin loved walking through the aisles as vendors would pull fish, octopus, crabs and other unknown species out of the tanks for him to touch or look at up close! One lady pulled a crab out and Corin's fingers got a little too close to the pinchers... the lady at the booth across from her ran up and pushed the crab back, said something in a stern voice to the lady with the crab, and then pet Corin's hand. He has a way of charming the ladies here with his good looks! :) Another woman handed him a sea creature that was bright red and looked like it had a major case of the warts near the tops, not to mention "roots" at the bottom. She showed him how to hold it, then suddenly she squeezed it resulting in a squirting action. It reminded me of a bathtub squirt toy, and I guess the same for Corin because he had the hang of it in no time! Some of the creatures handed to Corin were even too wierd for him. He threw a few "unknowns" back into the tanks... unfortunately it was usually the wrong one. The vendors would simply laugh and look for something else to hand him!

Out the back doors of the market on the floor level, we stepped out onto a huge patio. It ran the length of the building and overlooked the harbor where both fishing and freight boats chugged along. Corin enjoyed looking through the railing at the boats before he discovered the seaguls... then he attempted to go through the railing! It was rather funny to watch all the older Korean women gasp and fret as Taylor held him by one arm and let him lean a bit over the rail. Before long it was time to make our way back to the entrance and walk to the nearby shopping district to meet up with our friends, but Taylor and I fully intend to go again! This is where I tend to think it would be nice to own a small video camera... but I think for now, pictures speak loud enough! :)The colors and variety in the sea life were amazing to me. It was such a vivid illustration of God's creativity and attention to detail through His creations!
LL