PYEONGCHANG - While athletes are busy competing in the cold at the 2018 Olympic Games, Kim Su-Lei spends her frigid winter mountain days surrounded by millions of fish.
“They usually dry it out in the mountains - that’s the traditional way to do it,” Kim said.
At the Pollock Promotional Center where Kim works, there are about 3 million fish hanging out to dry in a labor-intensive Korean tradition where fish are left outside to freeze and thaw for 4 months.
“Drying it out under 17 degrees Fahrenheit to make a very soft-dried Pollack people will enjoy,” Kim explained.
There are markets in Seoul where you can grab live fish fresh from aquariums and eat them right after buying them, but out here it’s all about the hanging fish and months of the drying process.
“Drying them naturally in the sun and freeze it during the night and with this process, they continue the process more than a 1000 times,”’ said Kim.
It’s a process that pumps up the protein content in the fish to 60 percent and, by doing so, the fish gets more protein. One reason why she might spend her days around millions of fish and isn’t even close to being sick of them yet, “it’s better and it’s really helpful for my skin,” said Kim.
