Noryangjin Fish Market: How to Enjoy Fresh Sashimi Without Overpaying

Located at 674 Nodeul-ro in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, the Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market is Korea's largest seafood wholesale market and is a short walk from Noryangjin Station on subway lines 1 and 9. Retail and wholesale seafood sales run year-round with no closed days, though the pre-dawn auctions do not take place on Sundays, New Year's Day, or during the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays, s

o check the calendar if you want to watch the auction itself. Since 2017, Dongjak-gu has stationed tourist interpreter guides fluent in English, Chinese and Japanese at the market from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to help foreign visitors communicate with vendors, making the market accessible even without much Korean. A typical visit starts on the first floor, where you choose seafood at the live-fish and se

afood stalls. Prices differ slightly from stall to stall, so it's common to compare two or three vendors before buying. What you buy isn't eaten on the spot -- you carry it upstairs to one of the dining restaurants, where staff will slice it into sashimi or cook it as a stew or grilled dish. A separate table-setting fee applies there: the basic charge, which includes chogochujang dipping sauce and l

ettuce wraps, generally runs around 4,000 won per person, though some restaurants raise it to 6,000 won if you don't also order the spicy fish stew (maeuntang) -- so it's worth confirming the charge before ordering. Because seafood prices change daily with the market, the final total should be confirmed on-site, and visitors worried about the language barrier can ask the tourist interpreter guides f

or help with bargaining and ordering. Korea Tourism Times Editorial Desk