After a long time, padyatri visited Gampo 감포 Port on the East Sea coast near Gyeongju 경주 with a senior. The weather was chilly, with temperatures dropping below freezing, but under a cloudless, clear sky, the sunshine felt warmly comforting. We arrived around lunchtime, and the restaurant district was crowded with visitors.
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In cold weather, fish don’t bite very well, so most fishing boats were moored at the pier. Even the hagfish in the restaurant aquariums were curled into tight circles, huddled up, and gazing outward.
Gampo was developed into a fishing port during the Japanese colonial period, when many Japanese people moved there. Even today, Japanese-style houses are preserved near the market.
For lunch, we had Mulhoe 물회, usually translated into English as “cold raw fish soup,” at a fish restaurant near the breakwater. However, considering the price of 25,000 won per person, the food was rather disappointing. The restaurant owners seemed to view customers as one-time passersby, so the food felt overly commercial and profit-driven. Of course, not all restaurants were like that, but even the senior—who is a gourmet—was visiting after a long time and tried to jog his memory; unfortunately, he couldn’t find the restaurant.
Despite the bitter cold, people were fishing at the pier. Some of them were women. They say that the fresh taste of fish caught in clear, cold water, along with the calm and quiet fishing environment, makes winter fishing so appealing.
