OSU-PNU 2006

This is one of the famous fish markets in Pusan. It stretches about 10 blocks and is located near the harbor. It was fascinating to see all the different kinds of fish being sold, some I had never seen before and didn't know what to call in English. There was one fish in particular - a sea creature - that looked like a pink sausage and had no distinguishable head or face. I asked one of the sellers for the Korean name for it, and she wrote it with her finger on the palm of my hand. I looked it up in my Korean-English-Korean dictionary, but wasn't able to find it. I also asked several Koreans and one Korean-American what it was in English. They didn't know. One Korean consulted her electronic translator, but was unsuccessful in finding the English word. In the end, we called it simply a sea worm. I find it fascinating when I'm introduced to new things in a foreign country and language that I don't know in my own language. It's interesting how my native language is being expanded through a foreign language.

When I asked one of my Korean friends about this sea worm, he said that he sometimes eats it raw, which immediately a look of disgust crossed my face. He then added that sometimes the se worm is still moving when he's eating it. Again, a look of disgust on my face. He pointed out that the movement is a sign of freshness. What a completely different construct of freshness!