Beolgyo Cockle Cuisine

The tidal flats at Beolgyo are unusually soft and deep, and the cockles taken from them - kkomak, mostly the ridged variety - are the town's identity. They are harvested through the cold months by women working the mud on wooden sledges, pushing themselves along with one leg, which is hard, cold work and is the image the town is known by. The eating is straightforward: cockles blanched only briefly so the shell opens but the flesh stays soft, eaten one at a time from the half shell; or seasoned with soy, chilli and sesame; or in a jeongsik, a set meal built around them with a dozen or more side dishes. The season runs roughly November to March, and outside it the restaurants serve them frozen or not at all. Beolgyo is also the setting of Jo Jung-rae's novel Taebaek Sanmaek, and a literature hall in the town relates to it.

What's there

• The mud sledges - how the cockles are actually gathered.
• The blanched cockles - opened barely, eaten from the shell.
• The jeongsik set - a full meal built around them.
• The tidal flats - the Beolgyo estuary at low water.

When to go

November to March, when the cockles are in season and at their best. Outside those months the town's restaurants have little to offer.

Practical notes

Strictly seasonal - going in summer is a wasted trip. Beolgyo is a small town with limited English. Prices for the full set are higher than they look for what is, in the end, shellfish and side dishes.

Nearby

Boseong's tea fields and Suncheon Bay are close.