Mapo Naru Salted Shrimp Festival to be held from Friday

The 10th Mapo Naru Salted Shrimp Festival is to be held at Pyeonghwa (Peace) Park of the World Cup Park in Mapo District, Seoul, from Friday to Sunday. The festival aims to sell fine quality salted shrimp, one of the most widely used ingredients throughout Korean cuisine particularly for kimchi and dipping pastes, at a reasonable price and help farmers and fishers see their sales increase.

Mapo District, which has the longest range adjoined with the Han River out of a total of 25 districts in Seoul, served as a port and formed the rich culture of trading fishery products in the past. Located in Mapo-dong and Yonggang-dong at the northern tip of the Mapo Bridge, Mapo Naru was the place where fish and seafood were actively traded until the Korean War broke out in 1950. The most famous were salted shrimp and salt.

During the festival, you can buy salted shrimp locally made in well-known regions such as Gwangcheon, Ganggyeong, Sinan, and Ganghwa at prices 10 to 20 percent cheaper than market prices. Yuk-jeot, salted shrimp made with shrimp caught in June and regarded as having the most superior quality, will be priced at 60,000 to 70,000 won per kilogram while the price of Chu-jeot, made with smaller shrimp and mostly used as an ingredient for kimchi, will be around 15,000 won. There will also be various side events such as a challenge to make a 100-meter-long Gimbap, an event where foreigners can try making kimchi, and Nanta performances.

Jie-Hyun Roh isityou@donga.com