Noryangjin Fish Market.

Where do I start? Well, its an Asian fishmarket, so you know its going to be good. And it is. You smell it before you see it, the moment you step off the train 100 yards away. It is the weirdest and greatest combination of sea-foodie paradise, aquarium petting zoo, writhing horror show, and fishmonger showmanship.

Commercial buyers do their thing in the wee morning hours, but regular folks and tourists can buy from vendors and have a kitchen across the walkway prepare it for you.

First the selection. There is every type of shellfish, bivalve, mollusk, creepy crawly thing, fish, shark, ray, octopod, prawn, urchin, and crab you might want. Tanks of live fish? Check. Sea sprite or sea cucumber? Check.
Totally overwhelming? Check.

Now let’s haggle. We had been warned by locals that tourists get hit with premium prices. We were hungry for king crab, so we knew we’d need to haggle. Catch a fishmongers eye and they are on you, offering up basketball sized king crab, or Korea’s famous webfooted octopus, all of whom are as desperate as you are to escape but are putting more energy into it. After many promises to return after shopping around, we did and the bargaining commenced. I hate bargaining, but somehow its liberating when neither of you speaks a common language, besides the language of haggling. Eventually, with the help of calculators to show prices, and dramatic facial expressions and hand gestures to move things along, we had a deal. A giant king crab, two other crabs, and two web footed octopus were bagged up for about 60% of the original price. 

Now lets eat. Exhausted we retreated to a dank and sticky kitchen stall to have our spoils prepared. The octopus arrived sashimi style: Chopped into smaller portions that continued to writhe and wriggle about in their sesame oil coating. Delicious, but not for the faint of heart. 

The boiled crabs were as sweet and rich as they come. As a pure sensory experience Noryangjin market is amazing and immersive: Smells, colors, flavors, shrewd negotiation, it tickles every part of your brain, and will linger long after you leave in the smell of your clothes.