Jeju is famous for its lady divers who seek a living for themselves by diving for octopus, abalone and sea cucumbers. I was told that most of them are over 70 years old and may therefore be extinct someday. They lead very ‘risky’ lives as they dive without the aid of any breathing apparatus. You may wonder why they do it, especially in such a male-dominated economy such as Korea. Well, the answer is because of circumstances i.e out of necessity. Most of them are the sole bread winner as their husbands died at sea whilst they were still young. So, in order to bring up their children, this was what they did….and they continue to do so until a very old age.
Hence, my meal of abalone porridge - eaten with side dishes at this restaurant.
Well, if you expect to see an entire abalone in your bowl of porridge (just like what I initially did) then sorry…..the abalone has been chopped into tiny pieces..so tiny and fine that it is no longer visible to the naked eye…anyway, I was told that all parts of the abalone is used in making this porridge i.e even all the internal organs are used and not thrown. After such a nutritious meal for breakfast I feel totally energetic.
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| Side dishes - this time with a fried egg! |
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