Tidal Flat Octopus Fishing: A Master's 40 Years of Know-How

Going in too early only makes the octopus hide deeper.

From September through December is the peak season for octopus fishing, and the octopus caught then are worth around 5,000 won each.

The gaeraesal Jeong Chae-jin uses is a special tool custom-made at an iron foundry, unlike an ordinary spade.

It costs in the 100,000-won range, which is expensive, but because it can catch octopus without harming them, a 40-year veteran has already more than earned back the cost.

The basics of octopus fishing are to insert the spade at a 45-degree angle, press down, and dig.

In particular, you must apply strong force with your right hand to steady the spade, and catching the slight movement of the octopus hole and inserting the spade precisely comes from a master's long experience.

He makes it a golden rule to clean all his equipment immediately after working on the flats.

Jeong Chae-jin's wife, Choi Young-ja, is known as an 'octopus fanatic' who loves octopus.

She has such a special love for octopus that she picks up the fresh live octopus her husband brings home and eats it right away with her hands.

Adding soy sauce and sesame oil brings out the octopus's flavor even more, and eating it with tangy-sweet vinegar dressing and crisp autumn cabbage is also considered a delicacy.

Jeong Chae-jin says the octopus is so tender it goes down without much chewing, and he firmly promises to keep catching octopus for his wife until he is 100.

The best time to hunt mudskippers is when they come up onto the tidal flats to sunbathe, and they are caught with the 'hurchigi' technique, using the hook at the tip of a fishing rod.

When mudskippers come up onto the tidal flats to sunbathe is the prime time for hunting; they are snatched with the 'hurchigi' technique, which uses the hook on the end of a fishing rod.

Hwa-seong skillfully catches mudskippers using this traditional technique, which he picked up over 40 years by watching others.

Cleaning the mudskippers is the specialty of his wife, Jeong Sun, and in her hands they are neatly prepared and reborn as a dish.

Mudskipper soup made by simmering them with dried radish greens when the cold autumn wind blows is a delicacy the master couple enjoy, and autumn mudskippers, which have stored up nutrition before hibernation, are considered the finest tonic food.