Traditional Korean Food Market

The last weekend in September my department visited Hoengseong 횡성, the hometown of one of one of our co-workers. It happened to be on a market day. Korea's market days are traditionally every five days, which are known as 4/9 days. In other words, everyday in the month with either a "4" or a "9" in it; therefore on the 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th and 29th. These traditional markets are known for their variety in traditional foods. The foods are usually quite fresh, and also relatively cheap. Typically one can buy all kinds of fruits and vegetables at these markets. But then there are a whole array of other obscurities that just delights (or distresses) the senses.


The photo above shows a typical street in a traditional Korean food market. Note the fresh vegetables and other produce in buckets and crates displayed on canvasses on the side of the street. The colourful umbrellas are also typical.


Above you can see traditional sweets and snacks. Apart from these sweet snacks, there are also some savoury snacks, like the dried sardines shown below.

The main produce sold at these markets are vegetables and fruits. I forgot to take pictures of the fruits which are very impressive in size and quality. Below are pinenuts, beans, and other greens.



Red chilli pepers (above) are a main ingredient in most Korean dishes and can be bought in bulk either fresh or dried. Some wild fruits, such as the berries below, are also available at these food markets. Such wild berries will be very expensive to buy in the city, and difficult to find at normal grocery stores.


Below are fresh ginger root. Notice the richness in colour. The ginger one usually buy in shops are much darker, which is a sign that they are not as fresh as the beautiful specimens below. The picture below that shows fresh ginseng. A wet cloth is placed over the roots to keep them fresh.


But it is here where the "normal" foods stop and the weird foods start. Available at these markets are fresh fish . . . and fresh octopi . . . and fresh squid . . . and fresh baby shrimp.





Also available are fresh water snails.


You can even buy live crabs. The crabs are put in a bucket with saw dust to keep them comfortable while they await to be purchased.


Fancy grasshoppers for dinner? You can buy them here by the handfulls.


A famous Korean snack is chrysalides (below) -- yes, the pupa-phase when catapillars change into moths or butterflies. Sometimes one would walk in the streets and suddenly smell a very funky (in the bad sense of the word) odour, and there would stand an old "ajussi" (uncle) roasting chrysalides in a big basen and then selling it to the passerbys. In all my years in Korea I am yet to taste them and am very doubtful that I will ever garner the courage to try.

Not one for insects? How about boiled pig's ankles (below)?


Or something more familiar -- chicken . . . baby chickens BBQ'ed on an open fire. There were also developed chicken eggs steamed; unfortunately I failed to get a photo.

Shortly after our traditional market experience we all went to our co-worker's parent's house for dinner.