Noriyangjin Fish Market

The Noriyangjin Fish Market in Seoul is one of the largest in the world. We took a trip there when dad was here and had a great time. It was stalls and stalls of every kind of fish and ocean dwelling animal you can imagine and some you can't. It is not a highly touristy area so we got a lot of attention from all of the vendors, especially the kids. One of the highlights was turning the corner of a long row to find two fish mongers that evidently had gotten hungry and just cut open one of their fish to eat. They filleted it right there, dipped it in some sauce, and started eating. The funny part is that they offered us to join in. This is what we love about the Korean culture. They are very friendly and inviting. Well, they don't really "invite" you really. It's more like they pull up a stool and force you to sit. They also feed you. It is very impolite to say "No". So, there's dad being hand fed freshly cut raw fish dipped in some crazy Korean sauce and laughing at the predicament he is in. It is quickly followed by rice wine. It is definitely an acquired taste . . . something along the lines of mushroom juice. Dad takes it and drinks. This is one of the moments I never knew I would see my dad taking part in. It was awesome.

A tradition at the fish market is that you pick out something fresh from one of the vendors and take it to one of the restaurants to cook it up. We did this. Talk about knee deep in the culture! We found ourselves in some back alley hole in the wall restaurant surrounded by loud, happy Koreans eating their freshly prepared fish dishes and drinking lots of Soju (Korean vodka like liquid). They put this steaming pot on our table full of veggies and spices and stock and add our fish. It was so spicey. We hardly ate all of it. But it was a memorable experience!