Jagalchi Market

Located on the edge of Nampo port in the Jung-gu district, the market is a sensory overload of sights, smells, and sounds. The massive main building, built to resemble the shape of a seagull, along with the sprawling outdoor stalls that line the waterfront, is packed with tanks of live squid, octopus, crabs, and fish of every description, freshly unloaded from the fishing boats docked just meters away.

The market’s name is derived from jagal, meaning gravel, because the site was originally a gravel beach before it was developed into a port. Its history is inextricably linked to the Korean War. When refugees flooded into Busan, many women turned to selling fish on the streets to survive. These vendors became known as the “Jagalchi Ajumma” — middle-aged and elderly women known for their immense resilience, strong work ethic, and white rubber boots. They are the icons of the market, famous for their boisterous sales tactics and their use of the thick Busan dialect. Their slogan, Oiso, Boiso, Saiso (Come, See, Buy), is practically the unofficial motto of the city. These women represent the backbone of Busan’s working-class history, having managed the market through wars, economic depressions, and modernization.

For visitors, Jagalchi is not just a place to observe, but to participate. The market operates on a unique system that connects the ocean directly to the plate. A common practice is to walk through the wet aisles of the ground floor, select a live fish or crab from a tank, and purchase it directly from a vendor. You then take your purchase to one of the chojang-jip restaurants located on the second floor. For a small cover charge, the restaurant will prepare the seafood immediately slicing the fish into raw hoe (sashimi), grilling the clams and cooking the leftover bones in a spicy soup known as maeuntang.

The market is split into two distinct sections. The modern, seven-story building offers a cleaner, more organized experience and features a rooftop observatory that provides panoramic views of the busy port and the Yeongdo Bridge. The outdoor section offers a more chaotic and authentic atmosphere. Here, under colorful parasols, vendors sell dried fish, sea squirts, and whale meat — a regional specialty. In October, the market hosts the Jagalchi Cultural Tourism Festival, celebrating the local fishing culture with parades and free tasting events. Ultimately, Jagalchi is a raw, unfiltered experience of the commercially mediated space between land and sea.