From sea snails to barnacles — here are some of Korea's lesser-known delicacies from the deep

Koreans eat a lot of seafood — especially when the weather turns cold and their freshness peaks.

Top shells, turban shells, geobukson and limpets [JOONGANGILBO]

Koreans eat a lot of seafood — especially when the weather turns cold and its freshness peaks.

In 2019, the country recorded the world’s second-highest per capita seafood consumption at 56.6 kilograms (128 pounds) — more than double the global average of about 20 kilograms — according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

Yet some of the seafood dishes Koreans cherish remain largely unknown beyond the peninsula. Sea snails, called golbaengi in Korean, are a representative case. While the species is largely shunned in other countries — except for a few like France and Japan — Koreans just can't get enough of them. According to industry sources, 90 percent of the world's golbaengi production is consumed in Korea, while imports of frozen, pre-boiled sea snails in January increased 33 percent from a year earlier, according to Union Forsee, Korea's largest seafood platform.

The enduring appeal of the rare seafood options in the country lies not only in easy access to surrounding waters but in the way these ingredients have been woven into everyday cooking and even evolved into signature dishes of their own.

From shellfish that resemble a turtle's foot to black, bumpy, squishy creatures, these seafoods may look unfamiliar — even intimidating — but in Korean kitchens, they are dishes prized for their flavor, texture and seasonality.

Sea snails (golbaengi)

In central Seoul, there is an entire alley devoted to one humble seafood: golbaengi. Tucked around Euljiro 3-ga Station in central Seoul, rows of eateries serve golbaengi-muchim — spicy, tangy seasoned sea snails mixed with vegetables like cucumber and onion.

Golbaengi-muchim, spicy seasoned sea snail salad [JOONGANGILBO]

In the 1970s, as draft beer grew in popularity, laborers’ preferred paired snack was golbaengi-muchim, according to food writer Hwang Gyo-ik. Early versions of the dish were rather simple — canned sea snails mixed with gochugaru (pepper powder), vinegar and sugar.

Over time, golbaengi-muchim found its place as a national bar snack. It has since evolved, now featuring more intricate sauces, a wider variety of vegetables and a serving of wheat noodles. In its evolution, it has maintained its status as a perfect dish to enjoy with drinks.

Its popularity and heavy demand, however, led to overfishing in the East Sea, depleting local stocks. Beginning in the early 1990s, Korean canneries looked to overseas imports — particularly from Britain, where fishermen are known to head out each November, harvesting sea snails destined almost exclusively for Korea.

Today, Korea imports an average of about 4.5 million tons of sea snails annually, according to a 2024 report by the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy. Britain accounts for 73 percent of imports, followed by Ireland at 22.9 percent.

Sea squirt (meongge)

At Korean sashimi restaurants, the dishes extend beyond what diners order. Complimentary plates are often served, and among them, the most common is meongge, or sea squirt.

Meongge [JOOGANGILBO]

Meongge is typically served sliced and eaten raw, dipped in chogochujang, a sweet and spicy chili sauce with vinegar. The sauce cuts through the seafood’s strong marine notes, creating a balance many Koreans find refreshing.

And those who love its unique aroma often go further, enjoying it as bibimbap. Chopped vegetables such as lettuce, perilla leaves, water parsley and onions are combined with a gochujang (chili paste) sauce enriched with minced garlic. Mixed with rice, it turns into a satisfying meal.

That distinctive flavor, combined with its off-putting appearance — a bumpy mass of orange and red — and its briny aroma, can be challenging even for seasoned diners, which explains its limited appeal beyond Korea, with only niche consumption in Japan.

Meongge bibimbap [JOOGANGILBO]

Meongge is especially favored by Korea's older generations who grew up eating it, and the average per capita consumption stood at 0.11 kilograms, according to data from the Korea Health Industry.

Freshwater snails (daseulgi)

On a lucky day, snack carts near coastal attractions can be seen ladling warm daseulgi — freshwater snails resembling miniature conch shells — into paper cups.

Served hot and lightly salted, daseulgi is eaten with toothpicks, with each tiny piece pulled from its shell.

“They were very popular among ordinary people in the 1970s and 1980s,” said Kang Choon-ja, who sold daseulgi for more than 30 years at a market in Daegu, where they were known as godi and sourced from local gatherers.

Dasuelgi soup [JOONGANGILBO]

Today, daseulgi is still enjoyed in various forms, most commonly in soup with doenjang (soybean paste) and seasonal vegetables — chives in spring, mallow leaves in autumn and spinach in winter.

Often confused with daseulgi for its similar appearance is bomal, a top shell sea snail native to Jeju Island. Bomal has a deeper, more briny flavor and a firmer, chewier texture.

Common dishes include bomal soup and bomal kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) — must-tries for visitors to Jeju.

Bomal rice porridge [JOONGANGILBO]

Bomal comes in several varieties, with suduri-bomal most commonly used in cooking. Plumper and less bitter, it offers a milder taste. Historically, bomal was an important source of protein and is still valued for its nutritional benefits, particularly for liver health, which explains the popularity of bomal rice porridge.

Goose barnacles (geobukson)

Sometimes, a special ingredient needs a little help from presentation to be fully appreciated.

Geobukson [GETTY IMAGES BANK]

While long enjoyed in coastal islands, geobukson, or goose barnacles, briefly captured national attention in 2015 after actor Cha Seung-won harvested them on the TV program "Three Meals a Day" (2014-24) and used them in porridge.

Named for their resemblance to a turtle’s hand, geobukson cling stubbornly to wave-battered rocks. Harvesting them is dangerous work, requiring one to move with precision to dart between crashing waves.

What was once a regional food has gained wider recognition. One way to enjoy it is geobukson-muchim from Dokgeodo Island in Jindo County, South Jeolla, where residents mix boiled geobukson with fresh vegetables like water dropwort, onions and carrots with cho-gochujang.

Geobukson-muchim [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Typically boiled or steamed, the edible portion lies inside the elongated brown stalk, not the claw-like tip. Once peeled, the flesh reveals a reddish hue and a flavor often described as somewhere between clams and chicken. They also appear in mixed rice bowls and doenjang stew.

BY WOO JI-WON [woo.jiwon@joongang.co.kr]