Homegrown shrimp fermentation losing luster
Forty homemade shrimp paste producers are operating businesses in Ongam-ri in the midwestern fishery town of Gwangcheon. In its golden days, ships loaded with fresh shrimp gathered at the port in Ongam-ri _ better known as Dogbae Village (bedrock village) named after the large jar-like rock standing in the middle of the village _ where a large fishery market appeared every five days. / Korea Times
Facing cheaper Chinese imports, fish sauce producers lose appetite for tunnel-based fermentation
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Gwangcheon, South Chungcheong ― Fermented in long, narrow mountain tunnels that stay at a constant temperature of 13 or 14 degrees Celsius all year round, nutrient-rich shrimp paste and fish sauce produced in the midwestern fishery town of Gwangcheon has long been considered premium.
Tunnel-based fermentation is a storage method invented by a local homemade shrimp paste producer in the 1960s.
Due to the high summertime temperatures, though, shrimp spoiled and local producers struggled with preserving premium shrimp caught in June for a sauce called “yuk-jeot.”
Tunnels, which are cool all year round, helped local fish sauce producers end their decades of struggle. The cool temperature inside the tunnels help the salted shrimp ferment gradually for three months, bringing out a great-tasting sauce rich in minerals, amino acids and other nutrients.
Fermented shrimp from Gwangcheon were a big hit in the past.
Today, however, local fish sauce producers say the good old days are gone.
“Tunnel-based fermentation has no merit in terms of profits,” said Hu Nyui, a producer of homemade fermented shrimp paste in Ongam-ri. “An increasing number of people in this town are giving up the fermentation method because it's not money-smart.”
Hu, 59, is a second-generation homemade shrimp producer.
He said he has weathered tough times. “I have been involved in this business for 35 years since I took over my father's family business,” he said. “I didn't make much money. If you only think about profits, you are not supposed to keep doing this because fermented shrimp doesn't yield much profit.”
Fermented shrimp / Korea Times
Gwangcheon had been a thriving fishery town on the west coast for decades through the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule of Korea until the 1980s.
In its golden days, ships loaded with fresh shrimp gathered at the port in Ongam-ri ― better known as Dogbae Village (bedrock village) named after the large jar-like rock standing in the middle of the village ― as a large fishery market appeared every five days.
The entire town was bustling.
Retailers and tourists from all around the country visited the area to shop for fresh fish and premium shrimp sauce. Because of the clean waters and rich marine ecosystem in the seas off the west coast, locals proudly say Ongam-ri was home to the most delicious fish in the nation.
Tunnel-based fermentation ― the product of Gwangcheon's local ingenuity ― was born to such a booming fishery business.
Unlike salting designed to prevent seafood from rotting, fermenting shrimp is more science-based and nutrient-rich. Fermented shrimp have a better taste as well as solid texture.
Fermented shrimp paste continued to be the main income source for locals since the mid-1990s when a seawall was established in Ongam-ri which led to the shutdown of the port.
The luster of the thriving fishery town has since faded.
Competition for salted shrimp has become tougher year after year, partly because of the influx of cheaper imports from China, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Han Geom-taek, a docent working with the division of interpretation at Gwangcheon County Office, said salted shrimp made with imported seafood is available anywhere, even in port cities, such as the southwestern port city of Gunsan and Sorae Village near Incheon along the west coast.
“Some are saying an increase of kimchi producers and their mass production offer an opportunity for homemade producers of shrimp paste because kimchi producers are their main customers. This is wishful thinking,” he said. “Kimchi producers are businesspeople. Their priority is cutting production costs. The question is, would they use expensive premium fermented shrimp sauce made in Gwangcheon? Many of them will opt for cheaper salted seafood sauces because they want to lower prices to sell their products.”
A decrease of kimchi consumption also poses a threat to homemade shrimp paste producers.
A woman checks fermented shrimp in a tunnel in Ongam-ri. Salted shrimp is fermented for three months in the tunnel which stays at a constant temperature of 13 degrees Celsius to 14 degrees Celsius all year round. / Korea Times
A recent report on Koreans' kimchi consumption over the past decade shows it has decreased 22 percent.
Lee Hae-jung, professor of the department of food and nutrition at Gachon University who traced the kimchi consumption patterns of 15,000 people between 2005 and 2015, found an average Korean consumed 123.9 grams of kimchi per day in 2005 but the figure fell to 96.39 grams in 2015.
The surging shrimp price over the past five years is another headache for shrimp paste producers.
Five years ago, Hu said he could buy 250 kilograms of fresh shrimp if he paid 500,000 won before tax at a fishery market in Sinan, South Jeolla Province. “Now we have to pay 4.5 million won to purchase the same amount of fresh shrimp, a 900 percent surge compared to five years ago.”
A decrease of shrimp production, caused by sea contamination and climate change, is a major driver behind the soaring prices of fresh shrimp.
Such a tough business environment has led to a decrease of producers sticking with tunnel-based shrimp fermentation.
There are 50 tunnels that were dug in Ongam-ri. But currently only 36 of them are active, meaning tunnel-based fermentation has been decreasing gradually as times got tougher.
Most of those tunnels were dug in the 1960s when tunnel-based fermentation first began.
Tunnel-based fermentation is the brainchild of the late Yoon Myung-won, who ran his own homemade shrimp business until his death. Back then there were no modern appliances that shrimp paste producers could use. Refrigerators became more widespread only in the 1980s. Like other shrimp producers, Yoon was struggling to store salted shrimp during summertime. Shrimp caught in June is considered premium for its quality taste and solid texture. Summertime heat was a barrier for preservation of salted shrimp as it went bad.
After much trial and error, Yoon came across a tunnel nearby that was dug during the Japanese colonial period, and put the shrimp jars in there. Three months later, he found fermented shrimp having a great taste and texture different from salted shrimp. His breakthrough spread by word of mouth and his neighbors one after another dug tunnels.
The success of Gwangcheon as home to premium shrimp paste is largely credited with tunnel-based fermentation.
After Yoon passed away, his adopted son Yoon Se-won succeeded his father's business. But the family business was forced to shut down years later as the son died in a tragic traffic accident.
The second boom for tunnel-based shrimp came in the 1990s when Hu came down to Ongam-ri to take over his father's business.
A business major, Hu introduced some marketing strategies into the family business.
Hu branded tunnel-based shrimp as an iconic, local premium fermented fish product and promoted it through the media. An annual shrimp paste festival held in October since the mid-1990s also propped up the homemade shrimp business.
During the festival, tourists from all across the country flock to the small midwestern town to purchase premium shrimp paste and sauce to prepare for wintertime specialty kimchi.
Ongam-ri is again crowded with visitors in October.
Since the 2000s, a rare boom of fermented shrimp paste has come after its health benefits were made public through media reports. Stories about people who successfully fought stage-4 cancer after eating fermented shrimp paste were regularly reported.
According to Kim Se-kyun, professor of chemistry at Bukyung University, shrimp paste helps curb the development of cancer cells.
The reported health benefits of fermented shrimp paste have prompted a surge in demand for the ingredient. Shrimp paste, which was once a seasonal ingredient for winter-time kimchi, has since become a year-round ingredient. People use it as a daily sauce. It goes well with meat as it helps digestion.
But cheaper imports began to replace premium shrimp paste, troubling homemade shrimp producers.