■ Real Mori noodles must be eaten together with various seafood! The place we stopped by after leaving Busan along National Road No. 7 was Pohang Guryongpo, where the steel industry was developed. In the early 1970s, the Pohang Industrial Complex began to form, and from that time on, noodles enjoyed by not only sailors but also laborers were born. Mori noodles are a common food made with the cheapest and most abundant fish. Right now, crabs are in season in Pohang Guryongpo. Mori noodles are boiled with crabs caught on the spot. Nowadays, crabs are also added, but in the past, when people were hungry, noodles were boiled with fish that were not even considered fish. Still, when you eat it with people, it is a food that you eat once for the affection and twice for the taste. They say that Mori noodles taste better when you eat them together. That is why Mr. Kim Tae-il (57 years old) and his wife always call their neighbors, Ms. Woo Ok-ja (52 years old), whenever they boil Mori noodles. They serve monkfish stew with monkfish caught while fishing together. It is a happy time that strengthens the bonds of neighbors. ■ Noodles were the staple food in the barren land and harsh environment. Gangwon-do is mostly mountainous, and the ratio of farmland is very low at 10%. Therefore, in Gangwon-do, famine relief crops grown in the mountains were useful in the winter. Acorns are known as a famine relief crop, just like buckwheat. Acorns contain a lot of carbohydrates and are rich in calories. This is proven by the record in the Annals of King Sejong that says, “In preparation for a famine, a certain amount of acorns were reserved.” It is said that in Taebaek, Gangwon-do, noodles were made with these acorns and enjoyed instead of rice. Joo Gil-ja (71 years old) grinds acorns herself to make noodles and mixes her father-in-law’s favorite soybean paste into the noodles. She put her longing for her father-in-law into the acorn soybean paste noodles and the seasoned soybean paste with dried radish greens. ■ Taste the noodles caught in the East Sea of ​​Gangwon-do. The road that goes up along the coast of Aninjin-ri, Gangneung is National Road No. 7 that runs parallel to the Yeongdong Line. While on a noodle tour along the national road, I came across the East Sea of ​​Gangwon-do. Mr. Lee Won-gyu (45 years old), who went out to sea to fish, returns with a boat loaded with flounder. When the boat arrives, he prepares the nets at the port, and the noodles he enjoys at that time are Imyeonsu-eo-guksu. Unlike Mori-guksu, which is boiled with various seafood, Imyeonsu-eo-guksu only uses dried radish greens and Imyeonsu-eo, and is seasoned with soybean paste. In the days when people had to sell all the fish they caught to make a living, boiling various types of meat was a luxury. Flounder-hoe-guksu, made with flounder freshly caught from the sea, is similar to Hamheung Naengmyeon, which is made with noodles made with potato starch and mixed with flounder sashimi. Simtong-i is in season now. Dochiduruchigi, made with dochi, which is called simtungi because it looks like a heart, is a delicacy when mixed with somen. ■ Why did dongchimi and buckwheat meet? Buckwheat, the main ingredient of makguksu, came over from the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s. It was introduced as a relief crop due to the food shortage caused by the continuous famine following the Imjin War. Buckwheat, which relieved hunger as a relief crop, has a unique toxicity that requires radish to be neutralized. That is why dongchimi and buckwheat make a fantastic combination. Food also contains people’s wisdom and wit. Isn’t that why dongchimi makguksu was born? Dongchimi makguksu was a special dish that King Gojong enjoyed in the winter during the Joseon Dynasty, but Gangwon-do’s makguksu was influenced by the northern noodle culture of eating cold naengmyeon in the middle of winter. It is said that the people of Haesang-ri, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do gather together in the winter and press buckwheat themselves, take the frozen dongchimi out of the crock, and roll it up to eat. The villagers endure the cold winter together with Dongchimi Makguksu and crunchy buckwheat pancakes. They take a bite of noodles to miss their families and another bite to miss their hometown. Danimgol, Bukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do. In this remote area, there is Lee Young-kwang (68 years old) who misses his hometown and goes to the mountain once a day to look at it. Lee Young-kwang’s hometown is Hamgyeong-do in North Korea. He personally prepares the North Korean style noodles that were introduced to Gangwon-do with the taste of his hometown. The noodles topped with bean sprouts and mustard kimchi that Lee Young-kwang enjoyed in his hometown contain the meaning of long noodle strands and living long like bean sprouts. Korean Table (Thursday 7:40 p.m. KBS1) “Noodle Journey Part 2 - The Power of Noodles” (Aired on January 24, 2013) #KoreanTable #Noodles #Noodles #Cooking #Documentary