[Report] Vendor "Chuseok is near," Customer "Will use frozen fish"... Contaminated Water Discharge at Noryangjin Fish Market

Complaints Over Declining Sales Since Early This Year
Customers Freezing Fish Ahead of Chuseok
Merchants "Helpless in an Unavoidable Situation"

"Japan's contaminated water leaked 12 years ago too. It's already been circulating everywhere..."

At around 9 a.m. on the 23rd, one day before the release of Fukushima contaminated water, at the public auction hall of Noryangjin Fish Wholesale Market in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, middleman Kim (71, male) lamented this while talking with a sushi restaurant owner client who was anxious about the upcoming release on the 24th. After the auction ended, middlemen were seen sorting fish with ice in styrofoam boxes and opening the lids of styrofoam boxes to display seafood. Kim conducts the early morning auction and sells seafood by wholesale until 10 a.m. here.

Around 9 a.m. on the 23rd at the public auction hall of Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. After the auction ended, the place was filled with merchants organizing fish in styrofoam boxes and vendors selling seafood while sitting on mats.
Photo by Hwang Seoyul chestnut@

Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, Kim said he even read thick books to explain to customers that the contaminated water was safe. He pointed to each seafood item he was selling and explained fluently, saying, "Salmon and such are migratory and go to the Pacific and come back, but squid live only one year, and domestic mackerel live only in our country." Yet, the impact has become a reality. He sighed, "Since sushi restaurants and retail shops are not doing well, many regular clients have not come for several weeks."

Merchants like Kim said they have been suffering sales and business damage since early this year when Japan announced it would release contaminated water around spring or summer. Choi Seong-gyu (60, male), who was organizing Mokpo-originated croaker with ice in a styrofoam box, said, "The business is hugely affected. We work in this field, so we will eat it, but customers probably don't want to eat it."

Inside the auction hall, many stores were dark, with some closed displaying signs saying "On vacation" and others not yet opened. Jin (60s), who usually comes early, said, "When many goods are sold, I come out at 4 a.m., but these days I come out at 6 or 7 a.m. It seems the business is bad, so the start time is getting later."

Some merchants said they do not handle or have reduced Japanese products. Next to a darkened store was an aquarium labeled "Product name: Sea bream / Origin: Japan," with only three fish swimming inside. Merchant Kang (63, male) said, "Before, it was packed full, but since no one looks for it, we don't stock much." So Hwa-seop (67, male), who was at the public auction hall, explained, "If it's Japanese, there are scallops, but the image is bad, so many just leave without buying. Also, not much Japanese product comes in." Merchant Jung (55, male) nearby added, "We sometimes deliberately do not handle Japanese seafood, but as the quantity decreased and prices rose compared to before, we don't bring them in." Indeed, as they said, the import volume of Japanese products was 81,847 tons in 2010, but after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, it dropped 37.74% to 50,954 tons, and last year it was 32,588 tons. The import volume until July this year is 15,858 tons.

According to merchants, weekdays are usually slow, but on this day, customers buying fish could occasionally be seen. During the five minutes of conversation with Kim, three customers consecutively examined fish. Customers with wheeled shopping baskets came and went, and a merchant organizing croaker stopped to talk with a customer, exchanging fish and money.

However, from the merchants' perspective, the reason customers visited the market was not positive. Most came to buy in advance before Japan releases the contaminated water. Jang (61, female), who came shopping with her husband, pointed to him and said, "He said he will eat sashimi only until today and from now on only freshwater eel." She added, "I came to buy other fish today to freeze them in the refrigerator." Jang said she had already bought four boxes of yellow croaker at a large mart and frozen them. Baek (70, female) also said, "Before Chuseok, I plan to buy and freeze flatfish or croaker today. Even if domestic, I am afraid it might be contaminated after tomorrow, so I plan to buy a few more varieties."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Although the government says the contaminated water release is scientifically safe, it was insufficient to ease public anxiety. Jo Young-ja (72, female) said, "The nuclear plant is huge, and the ocean current returns to our country last, but seawater is liquid, so it might leak sideways. Right now, nothing feels trustworthy, and it seems only time will make it okay." Lee Hee-seop (53, male), carrying a styrofoam box with croaker, said, "I run a sushi restaurant, but there are no customers or reservations, so sales have dropped sharply. Since it has been exposed a lot in the media, many people are worried."

Merchants expressed helplessness in an unchangeable situation. Jung said, "We even held protests, but only we suffered. Ordinary people have no choice but to follow policies," showing resignation. Choi also sighed, "Even if the government explains safety, people don't listen. We have no choice but to live as the world goes." Kim said, "I hope it stays quiet at least until Chuseok."

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