Hyundai Department Store Presents Premium Lunar New Year Gift Set Featuring 'Specialized Salted Gulbi'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Hyundai Department Store is launching a unique gulbi gift set in celebration of the upcoming Lunar New Year.

On the 5th, Hyundai Department Store announced that it will introduce four types of 'Specialized Salt Gulbi' sets, seasoned with premium salt, during the Lunar New Year gift set sales period.

The 'Specialized Salt Gulbi' set was first introduced in the industry during last Chuseok holiday gift set sales and sold out all 600 sets last year. The product consists of 10 fish over 20 cm each (total weight 1.2 kg), priced at 250,000 KRW. This year, a total of 1,200 sets have been prepared.

The 'Specialized Salt Gulbi' set is seasoned with three types of domestic salts (Jayeom, Jukyeom, Deep Sea Water Salt) and French Gu?rande salt. Hyundai Department Store explained that although these salts are up to 50 times more expensive than regular sea salt, they were developed to offer customers a variety of tastes and textures. Typically, gulbi is produced by salting yellow corvina with sea salt and drying it in sea breeze and sunlight.

First, the ‘Jayeom (13,000 KRW per kg) gulbi’ is made using a traditional method where mud from sun-dried tidal flats is filtered with seawater and boiled in a cauldron for about 10 hours while continuously skimming off foam, resulting in a strong umami flavor. The gulbi seasoned with ‘Jukyeom (7,500 KRW per kg)’, which is Shinan sea salt placed in bamboo containers and roasted in a loess kiln, absorbs the unique bamboo aroma that eliminates the fishy smell.

Additionally, the ‘Deep Sea Water Gulbi’ uses ‘Deep Sea Water Salt (15,500 KRW per kg)’ produced by collecting seawater from a depth of 605 meters, 6 km off the coast of Goseong, Gangwon Province, decomposing it into mist, and evaporating moisture through hot air drying. This salt has a milder salty taste compared to regular sea salt, making it suitable for customers who prefer low-sodium diets.

The gulbi seasoned with French Gu?rande salt (8,000 KRW per kg) offers a salty yet sweet flavor with a delightfully melting texture. French Gu?rande salt is a premium salt produced by the traditional method of salt beds (solidifying soil and then evaporating seawater) in the Gu?rande coastal region of northwestern France.

Hyundai Department Store also prepared practical specialized salt gulbi sets for customers seeking reasonably priced gift sets. These products reduce the total weight by about 25% and include two types: ‘Practical Jayeom Gulbi Set (10 fish, total weight 900g, 130,000 KRW)’ and ‘Practical Jukyeom Gulbi Set (10 fish, total weight 900g, 130,000 KRW).’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.