Although Pohang is known as the home of Posco Steel- a major player in worldwide steel industry-this coastal city has its origins in the sea. Its harbors are populated with boats of all sizes and in the horizon you can see traversing the oceans.

If you go to Pohang in November through February, you’ll probably encounter the city’s famous food: Gwamaeggi. Gwamaeggi is mackerel that has been dried in the cool sea air to concentrate the flavors and oils of the fish. Gwamaeggi looks like dried venison and has a texture that is similar to dried herring. In your mouth, there is a pop of rich mackerel flavor mixed with sea salt. This flavor is heightened by its velvety texture.

Gwamaeggi’s savory flavor and color is very similar to broiled eel but with a firmer texture. In fact, I could see this dish replacing beef jerky as a snack for it is rich in flavor, high in DHA and Omega-3, and easily transportable.

Now Koreans often enjoy gwamaeggi with Korean Soju. In Pohang, you’ll find hundreds of these restaurants. The local way to eat this dish is to make a veggie wrap with the cabbage, mackerel, garlic, chives, and a healthy dose of the vinegared chili sauce. The wrap is a harmony of flavors: the crisp cabbage and green onion tugging against the sharp garlic, the savory gwamaeggi, and the cool taste of the vinegary chili paste.

According to Mr. Jeom-dol Kim, the manager of the local Gwamaeggi Association, the dish has only been around for many years but only has gained commercial popularity in the last 10. When I asked him who made the original gwamaeggi, he told me “nobody knows for sure.”

According to Ms. Jin-hee Kim, the origin of gwamaeggi was a happy accident. Long ago, Pohang’s harbors were famous for herring. As the men pulled up nets of fish, a few would slip out on to the deck. The the herring would naturally dry out from the sun. One sailor decided to taste it. Surprisingly, it was good, so fishermen would leave the fish out on purpose.

Over time the preparation of the fish evolved. Herring was replaced with mackerel for flavor. Originally, they would take straw and loop it around the heads of 5 to 10 fish and hang them in the kitchens. The dry heat and the wood burning cauldrons for soups and rice would slowly dry and smoke the fish. After it was dried, it would then be deboned and sliced.

These days the fish is air dried on the sea coasts at large production centers.
At Jin-hee Kim’s Buemjin Farm, I was able to see the modern way of making artisanal dried mackerel. The whole mackerel is first sent to the mackerel cutting room. The skilled workers intricately cut the fish from the head to the tail along the bone, making sure not to cut through the tail. They then flip the fish and slice along the bone on the other side to the head. Finally, they cut away the intestines and the head and you are left with two boneless halves of a mackerel connected by flesh along the tail.

The fish is then taken to another room where it is washed in Pohang Harbor salt water- to help preserve it- and then rinsed in fresh water. It is dipped once more in salt water and fresh water, put on bamboo dowels, and then taken out to dry.

Luckily these days the catch from Pohang had made its way to Seoul. You can find gwamegi at many Korean restaurants throughout Korea.