Cheap King Crab at Yeongcheon Market, Seoul
Snow crab. It's the kind of food where, after you eat it, the crab meat comes right back up the next day when you see your credit card bill. But as we all know, it's incredibly delicious. That tasty snow crab is in season for about three months starting in mid-December. I asked around and searched online to find a slightly cheaper place to eat, but that next-day credit card bill was still a worry. Resigning myself to the fact that the ingredients themselves are just inherently expensive, I set out to find the most affordable place possible.
Dongnimmun (Independence Gate)
The place said to have the cheapest snow crab and king crab in Seoul is Yeongcheon Market, located near Dongnimmun (Independence Gate). If you come out of Exit 4 at Dongnimmun Station on Line 3, walk past the gate, cross the street, and walk just a bit further, you'll find the market. Since I was in the area, I checked out Dongnimmun for the first time before heading to the market. Honestly, because I slacked off in history class, I always thought Dongnimmun was built to commemorate independence from Japanese rule (probably because of the famous "Hurrah for Korean Independence" chant), which was an incredibly ignorant thought. I really need to read more books. The most absurd thing I read about Dongnimmun's history is that they actually moved the gate just to build a tunnel. When it comes to sheer ignorance, that really takes the cake. We're probably the only country in the world that would do something like that.
Dongnimmun - Namuwiki is honestly more fun to read than Wikipedia.
Yeongcheon Susan Inside Yeongcheon Market
I read that they renovated this traditional market to tidy it up, and it really is set up nicely for shopping. There seems to be a great variety of goods, and the aisles are wide enough for motorcycles to pass through, which is very convenient. Today's destination, the crab restaurant, is visible when you walk almost to the very end of the market.
This is Yeongcheon Susan. The snow crab and king crab are all from Russia. I thought the snow crab would be domestic, but I guess it's hard to match the price point. Snow crab prices have gone up so much lately that they cost the same as king crab. The owner recommended the king crab, saying it was actually the better deal today. So I ordered 2kg of king crab, but a 2.5kg one ended up on the scale. 49,000 KRW * 2.5 = 122,500 KRW. On top of that, there's a 3,000 KRW steaming fee and an additional 3,000 KRW fee to have it cut up for easy eating. But, in true market fashion, I asked if he could give me a slight discount, and he rounded it to 123,000 KRW total.
The place where they steam and cut the crab is separate from the dining area. It's about 10 meters away, and as soon as I saw it, I got excited before the food even came out because it had such a retro market and pojangmacha (street tent bar) vibe. It looked exactly like a spot where characters would grab a glass of soju in a 70s or 80s period drama. I desperately wanted to throw back a cold glass of soju, but my body isn't in any condition to drink right now, so I held back my tears and just drank water. Take good care of your health if you want to eat and drink well!
