Guryongpo Gwamegi Culture Street

The fish changed before the name did

Gwamegi did not begin with saury. The older fish was herring, dried whole through winter as cold air repeatedly froze and thawed it. When herring catches collapsed after the 1950s, Guryongpo producers began using Pacific saury instead, keeping the winter-drying idea while changing the fish itself

The name still carries the older herring history. One widely accepted explanation traces gwamegi to gwanmok-cheongeo, “herring pierced through the eye,” after fish were strung for drying. The fish changed; the word survived

The fish is opened before it reaches the rack

The production method changed too. Traditional tongmari gwamegi was dried whole and could take weeks. From the 1970s and 1980s, producers increasingly shifted to baejigi: the head, guts and bones are removed, the fish is split, washed and hung open on drying racks

That cut drying time and reduced the risk of spoilage. It also made the finished fish easier for outsiders to handle because the odor was milder and no cleaning was needed at the table. The Guryongpo culture museum still builds its main gwamegi display around the drying rack, fishing boat, old tavern and the processing industry rather than presenting the food as a single finished dish

Gwamegi is usually eaten with seaweed or dried laver, raw garlic, chives and a sharp red-chili-vinegar sauce. The finished fish stays soft and chewy because enough moisture remains after drying

The street came after the industry

Guryongpo’s dedicated Gwamegi Culture Street is much newer than the food. Pohang completed the public-space project in 2011, spending about 3.4 billion won on the port-side area and creating Mir Square and Ara Square with marine-themed installations

Ara Square became the visible center of the street. Gwamegi festivals and seafood events have used the square, while the nearby Gwamegi Culture Museum turns the production history into a four-floor visitor attraction with a sales area, drying-rack and industry displays, an actual fishing boat, marine exhibits and a rooftop view over the port

The working port, food shops, Ara Square and museum sit within the same central Guryongpo area. Gwamegi production had already changed fish and drying method before the first plaza was laid out

Before you go

Winter gives the street its clearest connection to the food itself because gwamegi is a cold-season product and local drying traditionally runs through the colder months. Ara Square serves as the public and event center. Permanent food sales and dine-in service are spread across separate businesses and facilities. The clearest fixed place to buy and sample gwamegi is the first-floor specialty sales hall inside the Guryongpo Gwamegi Culture Museum, which sells local products and offers tastings. Around the port, restaurants and vendors operate independently, so dine-in service varies by business. When buying, the useful distinction is between saury and herring, and between the common split baejigi style and the older whole-fish tongmari style when it is available