On the morning of the 20th at around 6 a.m. in Donghae-myeon, Nam-gu, Pohang, Gyeongbuk, it was a dark dawn illuminated only by the moonlight, but bright lights shone from the dried fish processing place. Here, four Vietnamese employees wearing white headscarves and masks, slippery aprons, and rubber gloves were busy processing Pacific saury. The time taken to split the saury in half, remove the bones and innards, and gather them was only 10 to 15 seconds. When asked how long the work takes, the reply was, "It takes about 7 hours for each person to process 1,500 sauries."
There is no difference between day and night at the dried fish processing place. Those who started working at 2 a.m. quietly processed sauries and, when feeling sleepy, chatted in Vietnamese to keep their drowsiness at bay. Although they sit and work all night, they said, "It's not difficult at all." When asked if they feel lonely away from home, Mr. Long, 50, noted, "I came to work with my family," adding, "It's been five years since I started this job, so it's not too hard, and the salary is good."
At 8:30 a.m., the cleaning team came in. There was one Korean Head of Team and two Vietnamese youths. After the two youths rinsed the split sauries several times with clean water and handed them over, the Head of Team arranged the sauries evenly on a stainless steel drying rack. The thousands of sauries placed on the drying rack will turn into what we know as "badegi gwamegi" after being exposed to the wind for 24 hours. Then, after the packaging team employees remove the skin and cut off the tails, the products are ready to be presented to consumers.
Guryeongpo is a seaside village about a 40-minute drive from Pohang Station, known as "the home of gwamegi." Upon entering the village, one can encounter gwamegi restaurants, processing sites, and even a gwamegi cultural center, forming a "gwamegi special zone." Approximately 80% of the national production of gwamegi comes from Guryeongpo, making it a representative specialty of Pohang. During the gwamegi season when the cold winds blow, tourists flock to the Jukdo Market in Pohang to eat gwamegi. In the past, children in Guryeongpo used to say, "When winter comes, my mother is taken away by gwamegi," indicating the thriving gwamegi industry.
However, the situation in Guryeongpo has changed recently. Young people are leaving for jobs in the metropolitan area, and labor shortages have arisen due to aging. The population of Guryeongpo has decreased from 10,552 in 2010 to 6,629 last year. The average age is 61.5, which is high compared to Pohang's average age of 46.6. With a shortage of labor and no successors to take over gwamegi processing, the number of processing sites has decreased from 400 in 2010 to 174.
Now, the gwamegi processing sites are supported by foreign workers. Since 2017, Pohang City has been implementing a seasonal foreign worker program targeting gwamegi processing sites. These workers are usually family members or relatives within the fourth degree of immigrant families who have come to Korea through marriage, primarily from Vietnam, the Philippines, China, and Cambodia. Typically, siblings or couples enter Korea together in October and return to their home countries in March of the following year.
The number of foreign seasonal workers has been increasing annually. In 2017, 107 workers were assigned to 41 seafood companies, whereas this year, 368 workers are working at 83 companies. When the entry of foreign workers was restricted due to COVID-19, there was even a cry of "We don't have enough workers." Choi Suk-hee, 54, who has been working at a gwamegi processing site for 19 years, stated, "Ten years ago, all the employees were Korean, but now most of them are foreigners," adding, "These friends are also learning Korean, and I'm learning some basic Vietnamese to communicate."
The amount paid to foreign workers at gwamegi processing sites is similar to what is paid to Koreans. Additionally, companies must provide accommodation and meals, which can make it more expensive than hiring Korean workers. If rumors circulate that "a certain company offers better pay," workers may be poached, so companies are competitively raising labor costs.
Given the current situation, some companies are attempting to automate the manual processes. However, it is not easy due to the nature of fish, which often have many small bones. To process saury into gwamegi, the work must be done without breaking the tails, making it a challenging task.
◇ Gwamegi loses its title as a commoner's food, sales also decline
The concerns of Guryeongpo fishermen do not end here. The biggest issue is the "shrinking and more expensive saury." Global warming has caused the sea temperatures to rise, leading to a sharp decline in saury populations and a reduction in size.
According to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the catch of saury off our coast has decreased sharply from 19,884 tons in 2000 to 256 tons in 2023. The catch in the North Pacific has also declined from 24,457 tons to 3,107 tons. As the catch of saury decreased, prices inevitably rose. According to the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT), the price of five imported frozen sauries was in the 3,000 won range in January 2020, but it now exceeds 7,000 won.
As the price of gwamegi has risen, consumers are saying, "It is no longer commoner's food," creating a trend of avoiding gwamegi. The lack of increase in gwamegi consumers, due to the younger generation's disinterest, is also a concern for gwamegi fishermen. The revenue of gwamegi companies in Pohang Guryeongpo last year was 57 billion won, a 24% decrease from 75 billion won a decade ago. Jang Cheon-soo, representative of Boseong Seafood, noted, "Gwamegi has become not commoner's food but a luxury food," adding that the size of saury has also reduced, making sales more difficult.
Pohang City and gwamegi processing sites are exploring various measures to overcome the decline in sales. They are conducting diverse promotional events targeting young consumers and introducing various dishes using gwamegi, such as gimbap. They also aim to improve the quality of gwamegi, produce high-end gwamegi in small quantities for branding, and diversify exports to increase sales.
A Pohang City official stated, "We aim to improve the quality of gwamegi and produce high-end versions even in small quantities for branding," adding, "We are reviewing export plans for seafood, including gwamegi, with the distribution industry and in the U.S. region."