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Yeonggwang Dried Croaker
We need to know yellow corvina because the dried croaker is produced through salting and drying yellow corvina. Yellow corvina belongs to the sciaenedae family. A total of 13 species from five families are caught along the coast of Korea. However, the Yeonggwang dried croaker is made only with the fresh redlip croakers. The redlip croakers are called “stone head fish” because they have strong bones in their heads. The redlip croakers migrate to the Yellow Sea in Korea via Chuja and Heuksan Islands from the East China Sea to spawn. When redlip croakers pass through the sea in front of Chilsan around mid-March (a lunar month), the spawns are enriched, and the redlip croakers develop a golden luster. The dried redlip croakers at this stage are called Yeonggwang Dried Croakers.
History of the Yeonggwang Dried Croakers
They originated from the Goryeo Dynasty. Yellow corvina moves northward from the East China Sea, where they spend the winter season, to Yeonpyeongdo Island, to spawn at the start of the thawing season. They spawn at sea in front of Chilsan, near Beopseongpo in Yeonggwang, between April 10 and 30, while moving northward. At that time, they are very tasty and have rich eggs in bulk. The yellow corvina caught at this stage has true taste of Yeonggwang dried croaker. The Yeonggwang dried croaker has been a specialty from Beopseongpo, and was presented to the kings in the ancient times. The name “Gulbi” in Korean has the following story. Lee Ja-Gyeom gave his daughter, Sun-deok, in marriage to King Yejong of the Goryeo Dynasty in the 16th year of King Yejong’s reign. Their son became King Injong. Then Lee Ja-Gyeom gave his third and fourth daughters in marriage to the king to hold on to power through continuous kinship. He had ambitions to be king one day. However, Choi Sa-jeon corrupted Cheok Jun-Gyeong, Lee Ja-Gyeom's aide. Lee Ja-gyeom was arrested and exiled to Beopseongpo in Yeonggwang. Lee Ja-Gyeom had dried croakers in exile. Then, he caught yellow corvina from the Chilsan Sea, and presented it to the king. He named the yellow corvina, Gulbi, meaning that the present was not intended to elicit mercy from the king for his faults, but signified never bending his will out of honesty.
Since then, the Yeonggwang dried croaker was presented at a king's table, and became a special delicacy in the royal palace.
