Korea’s snow crab capital a winter tourist draw with festival celebrating the crustacean
The Uljin Snow Crab Festival draws thousands of food lovers to the port town every winter. A new railway line makes getting there easier
By Lee Hae-rin
“This is how you cook snow crabs. Have them turned upside down and steam them. Never cook them in boiling water, you have to cook them in hot steam,” Lim Hyo-chul, 57, says at his snow crab restaurant near Hupo Port in Uljin, North Gyeongsang province, South Korea.
When Lim lifts the lid of a massive iron pot at his restaurant, dozens of boiled snow crabs emerge from a cloud of steam. The crowd of customers gasp in delight, quickly snapping pictures with their smartphones.
“Snow crabs used to go on the king’s table, and this is the best time to taste them – when the cold wind blows,” Lim said.
On Korea’s east coast, the picturesque seaside town of Uljin is renowned as the country’s largest snow crab supplier, harvesting between 7,000 and 12,000 tonnes of the crustaceans annually.
Every winter, food enthusiasts from across the country, particularly from inland areas, gather in Uljin to indulge in the snow crabs at their peak, when the crabs are at their juiciest and most flavourful.
