'Winter Delicacy' Muan Winter Mullet Festival Opens on the 24th

A Winter Feast with Silver Mullet

Muan Winter Mullet Festival Poster. Provided by Muan County

Muan County in South Jeolla Province will host the '2026 Muan Winter Mullet Festival,' celebrating the winter delicacy mullet, for two days from January 24 to 25 at the Haeje-myeon Community Multipurpose Center and the Yanggan Bridge Fisheries Market area.

This annual winter festival, organized by the Muan County Festival Promotion Committee, aims to promote the excellence of Muan mullet raised in clean mudflats, boost the income of local fishermen, and revitalize winter tourism in the region.

The festival's signature hands-on program, "Catch the Silver Mullet," allows children under 13 to catch mullet with a dip net. This year, to broaden participation, a new "Bare-Handed Mullet Catching Experience" has been added for adults.

At the Haeje-myeon Community Multipurpose Center, the "Mullet Cooking Experience Class," where participants can make mullet sushi and mullet cup noodles, will be held four times each on Saturday and Sunday. In addition, programs such as air bouncers and coloring activities for children will be offered for families visiting the festival.

Notably, this year the number of mullet catching experience sessions has been doubled compared to last year, and the number of participants has been increased more than threefold, significantly strengthening the hands-on programs. The mullet cooking experience class will also be expanded from six to eight sessions.

There will also be a variety of participatory programs, such as mullet shoe throwing and hopscotch games, designed so that everyone, regardless of age or gender, can enjoy the festival.

At the grilling area within the venue, visitors can grill and eat fresh mullet and oysters purchased from the Yanggan Bridge Fisheries Market on the spot, while a food court will provide a space to enjoy winter delicacies.

In the mullet dish sales zone, a variety of mullet dishes such as mullet cutlet, mullet fish soup noodles, and mullet sashimi rice bowls will be offered. Local specialties such as pumpkin porridge and gamtae pancake will also be sold at the Saemaul Women's Association local restaurant. In addition, a sales zone will be set up where visitors can find Muan's agricultural and marine products, including sweet potatoes, pole-cultivated seaweed, gamtae (seaweed), and eel, all in one place.

Park Moonjae, Chairman of the Muan County Festival Promotion Committee, stated, "We have prepared programs so that visitors can see, catch, and taste Muan's representative seafood, mullet, firsthand," adding, "We hope this festival will serve as an opportunity to invigorate the local economy."