Food in the Gyeongsang provinces has a reputation for being dull compared to other regions. But the port city of Tongyeong is an exception, having developed a unique culinary culture based on the plentiful fresh seafood available year round.

“Tongyeong’s seafood tastes better than other coastal cities in Korea,” claimed a stall owner of a local fish market. 

Sea squirt tastes best in the spring and summer, and one of the best ways to try the seasonal exotic-looking delicacy is by way of bibimbap. Instead of the better-known traditional ingredients of bibimbap such as beef and vegetables, meonggae bibimbap features fresh sea squirt, shredded salted laver and sesame seeds. Easy to make, it has become a famous dish nationwide but it is in Tongyeong that one can have the freshest and the best from May to August.

Chungmu kimbap is another local delicacy one can’t miss in Tongyeong. The seaweed roll stuffed with just rice is served with spicy radish and boiled squid. They are different from the traditional cylindrical kimbap rolled with rice, vegetables and other ingredients.

Chungmu kimbap had humble beginnings, sold to ferry passengers who stopped in Tongyeong on their way to other cities such as Busan and Yeosu.

Created to be eaten onboard, ingenious food vendors prepared rice rolled with laver and side dishes so that they didn’t have to worry about the food quickly going bad.

There are many eateries claiming to be the “original” maker of chungmu kimbap, but most of them have the same menu served with a soup. It’s just how each place marinates the squid and radish kimchi that makes them taste slightly different from one another.

By Lee Woo-young (wylee@heraldcorp.com)