Jagalchi Fish Market

Jagalchi runs along the Busan waterfront at Nampo-dong and is the largest seafood market in Korea. The modern hall with its curved roof holds rows of tanks: flatfish, rockfish, octopus, abalone, sea squirts, hagfish, crab in season. Outside it the older open market spreads along the street, where women sell dried anchovy, seaweed and gutted fish laid out on trays. The system is that you choose a fish downstairs, agree a price, and it goes upstairs to a small kitchen that slices it and brings it out with side dishes and a soup made from the frame. The traders are known as jagalchi ajumma and they run the place.

What you actually see

• The live tanks - flatfish, octopus and sea squirts sold by weight.
• The dried fish street - anchovy, seaweed and salted goods in the open market.
• Upstairs preparation - your fish sliced raw, the bones turned into soup.
• The waterfront - boats unloading directly in front of the hall.

When to go

Autumn is the best season for range and quality. Mornings belong to the trade, when the market is busiest and most interesting to watch; eating is easier from late afternoon on. The market takes scheduled closing days each month, so check before making a special trip. Weekends bring heavy domestic crowds.

Honest expectations

The smell is strong and the floors are wet, which puts people off before they order. Prices are negotiated rather than posted, and visitors regularly pay more than locals, so agree the total, including the upstairs preparation charge, before anything is killed. Portions of raw fish are large. Live octopus is served still moving and is a real choking risk.

Nearby

BIFF Square, the Gukje market lanes and Yongdusan park are all within walking distance.