Muan-gun Hosts 'Winter Mugil Festival' with Attractions and Activities

Published 12 Jan.2024 10:57(KST)

Unfolding the Enticing Winter Feast of Muan Mullets

Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Kim San) will hold the ‘2024 Muan Winter Mugil Festival’ from the 20th to the 21st at the Haeje-myeon Resident Multipurpose Center and the Yanggandari Fish Market area.

According to the county on the 12th, this festival, held for the second time this year following last year, will be themed ‘A Feast of Muan Winter Mugil that Draws the Eye.’ It will promote not only mugil but also local specialties, and showcase various attractions and activities linked to local tourist resources such as Hwangto Mudflat Land, Doripo Pine Forest Trail, Doripo Sunrise and Sunset, and Chilsan Bridge.

During the festival, five categories with 22 diverse programs will be operated, including celebratory performances, sales of local agricultural and marine specialties, local win-win events, various mugil dishes, and a grilling zone using local agricultural and marine products, all aimed at revitalizing the local community.

In January last year, Kim San, the head of Muan County (third from the left), and Kim Kyung-hyun, the chairman (second from the left), performed a mudfish catching performance to mark the start of the festival.
[Photo by Muan County]

In particular, the popular festival programs ‘Catch the Golden Mugil’ and the one-day class ‘Making Mugil Sushi’ will be held 3 to 4 times a day. The mugil catching experience will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis at the site, and participants who catch the largest mugil each time will be awarded 1 gram of gold.

Mugil is a fish that inhabits all over Korea and has been commonly eaten since ancient times. It was called Suo (秀魚), meaning ‘excellent fish,’ due to its exquisite taste, and also called Sung-o (崇魚) for its outstanding appearance as well as flavor.

The plump mugil is rich in various vitamins, and its skin contains niacin, which is involved in cell regeneration. It is also high in iron and contains unsaturated fatty acids beneficial for blood vessels, helping to prevent arteriosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke.

Mugil sashimi, with its white flesh tinged with red, boasts the most chewy and savory taste every January.

Muan mugil is known for its exquisite flavor because it feeds on the clean mudflats of Muan, so much so that it is said ‘even eating the pearl is sweet.’

Since ancient times, Muan mugil has been one of the main tribute products presented to the king. It is recorded as a major local product in old documents such as the Annals of King Sejong, Sinjeung Dongguk Yeoji Seungnam, Yeoji Doseo, and Muan Eupji, indicating the long-standing prestige of Muan mugil.

Governor Kim San said, “I hope visitors to Muan in January of the Gapjin year enjoy the winter delicacy and healthy food, mugil, taking care of their health and taste, and fully enjoy the beauty of the winter sea embraced by Muan’s clean mudflats and the golden sunset of the West Coast.”

For detailed festival information, please refer to the Muan tourism website.