Seogwipo Fisheries Cooperative offers up to 30% off Jeju silver hairtail, opens dawn auction venue

【Financial News | Jeju = Jeong Yong-bok, reporter】 A seafood festival promoting consumption and hands-on experiences will be held at Seogwipo Port, where visitors can see Jeju silver hairtail, one of the island’s signature seafood products, at the auction market, take part in an auction or buy it at up to 30% off.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province on the 7th, the 7th Seogwipo Silver Hairtail Festival, hosted and organized by the Seogwipo Fisheries Cooperative, will run for three days, from the 8th to the 10th, around the East Pier of Seogwipo Port. Jeju Province and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives are sponsoring the event.
At the heart of the festival are programs that let visitors experience firsthand how Jeju silver hairtail makes its way from the sea to consumers.
The “Silver Hairtail Dawn Auction Market Experience” will be held at the Seogwipo Fisheries Cooperative’s auction market at 8 a.m. on the 9th and 10th. Visitors will be able to see firsthand how seafood brought in by fishing boats is traded at the market. The festival site will also host a live silver hairtail auction experience with professional auctioneers. The program connects local seafood production, auction sales and consumption with tourism content.
Discounts are another way the festival aims to boost consumption. Seafood will be sold at up to 30% off at the event through the Seogwipo Fisheries Cooperative’s seafood sales event. There will also be food events featuring Jeju silver hairtail. The festival is designed to go beyond simply showcasing local seafood and lead to actual purchases and consumption.

Hands-on activities for families are also planned. These include conch fishing, a silver hairtail-themed yutnori game, a women’s arm-wrestling competition and a silver hairtail song contest.
On the first day, the 8th, a haenyeo procession and a Navy band performance will lead into the opening ceremony at 6 p.m. After performances by invited singers, a fireworks show against the backdrop of Seogwipo Port is scheduled for 9 p.m.
Now in its seventh edition, the Silver Hairtail Festival is significant as a local event that combines consumption of Jeju seafood with tourism. In particular, by including an early-morning auction market and live auctions, it gives tourists a chance to experience both fishers’ workplaces and the seafood distribution process.
Jeju Province plans to use the festival to boost consumption of silver hairtail and develop it into a seafood festival that brings together fishers, local residents and tourists.
Kim Jong-su, head of Jeju Province’s Ocean and Fisheries Bureau, said, “I hope the festival will allow local residents and tourists to experience firsthand the taste and value of Jeju silver hairtail and help boost consumption of local seafood.”


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