■ Documentary Day 3 - Daegu (Big Mouth) is a Jackpot! Geoje Oepo Port 72 Hours Every winter, Geoje Oepo Port is busy with cod fishing. Thanks to cod that return to the sea off Geoje for spawning season for only two months a year, Oepo Port is considered the best distribution center in Korea, responsible for 30% of the nation's cod shipments. Cod, a migratory fish, live in the cold, deep waters of the North Pacific Ocean and return to the clean Geoje Jinhae Bay from December to early February of the following year during the spawning season. Oepo Port is the hometown where cod is born and returns. Not only does it boast a majestic large mouth, like the Chinese characters for "big" (大) and "mouth" (口), but Geoje cod boasts a size of up to 1m, and is the pride and filial son of Oepo Port. In addition, kon-i and milt, which can only be tasted in cod during the spawning season, are delicacies that attract tourists from all over the country to Geoje. The fishermen of Oepo Port spend the winter busier than anyone else to provide fresh cod to customers from all over the country. From the auction held at 7 a.m. every day to the endless cod cleaning and packaging, and fishing day and night. The fishermen of Oepo Port fill their 24 hours with cod, forgetting even the holiday season. ■ Protecting and adapting to nature, and another bumper crop Until now, the fishermen’s efforts to protect nature have been the reason why cod has become the symbol of Oepo Port. In the 1980s, Oepo Port had a bumper crop of cod, to the point where it was said that “even a passing dog would carry a cod,” but as the catch increased, the cod stock gradually dried up. As a result, in the 1990s, we faced the era of “golden cod,” each of which was worth 300,000 to 400,000 won. In order to follow the order of nature, the fishermen implemented a release project with the Geoje Fisheries Cooperative in 1987. And after designating January as a closed season, they decided to catch only a set amount. They began to lay the foundation for cod to return later through artificial insemination. Thanks to the release project and closed season that continued for about 30 years, cod began to return to Geoje little by little in the early 2000s, and they were able to return to the tables of the common people. ■ Just like cod returning to their hometown, cod is not the only one who has returned to their hometown. Fishermen who returned to their hometown of Geoje to continue their parents’ business or who were tired of city life and work brought a young wind to Oepo Port. Mr. Bok-bok, who has been back to fishing for four years, is learning fishing day by day from his father who has 40 years of experience. Having experienced the bitterness of living in Seoul in pursuit of his dream, he feels the small happiness in his hometown more clearly than anyone else. His father’s hardships, which he can now feel in his bones, have become a valuable lesson to him who will become another father. Even so, Jeong-on is in his seventh year of returning to fishing. The 10 years of city life he had after leaving his hometown were meaningless in front of his father who has passed away. When she returned to her hometown, Jeong-on met her husband, Dae-sam. Although she couldn’t even handle fish, she desperately needed time with her family, so she first suggested a fishing village life to her husband. Now, she is a proper Geoje woman who spreads the happy virus to everyone. Jin-seon, who came from a mountain village in Hadong to the seaside village of Oepohang, has been living in the fishing village for 16 years and is a veteran without a single flaw. With her strong physical strength to carry cod every day and her ability to easily raise four children, she is the envy of any sturdy male fisherman in Oepohang. She embraces Oepohang as her second hometown and continues to deliver fresh cod to all parts of the country today. On the other hand, there are rookie merchants who are still confused. Se-yeon, who respected her husband’s decision to quit her 20-year shipyard career and return to fishing overnight, is a self-proclaimed rookie in this industry. She still has a hard time handling cod, so she only handles dried cod. I regret that the fishing village life was harder than I expected, but I decided to fight and win. I am learning the know-how of handling cod and doing business by asking my next-door neighbors every day. The hot winter of the fishermen with the returned cod, the lively scene contained in 'Daegukga dae~bak!' Geoje Oepohang 72 hours. ※ This video is [Documentary 3 Days] aired on January 10, 2020. 20200110 #Geojedo #Sea #Market ✔KBS Documentary KBS Official YouTube Channel [KBS Documentary] ????Subscribe????Like➡️ / @kbsdocumentary ????Inquiries: [email protected] Copyright ⓒ KBS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use (including AI training) are prohibited. ∙Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and