Snow Crab Has No Price Tag: How to Pick and Steam Crab at Yeongdeok’s Ganggu Port, Plus the Blue Road Sea Walk

Featured photo: A vendor on Ganggu Port’s crab street, in bright yellow rubber gloves, holds up a meaty snow crab belly-first to show it off. Photo: Studio 4cats / KTO Photo Korea, December 2021, KOGL Type 1.

At Ganggu Port in Yeongdeok, you press a snow crab’s belly in front of the tank, watch it go on the scale, then carry it upstairs to a restaurant where you pull whole legs of freshly steamed meat out of the shell by a window over the sea. After a five-month fishing ban, Korean Yeongdeok snow crab went back on the auction floor on November 3, but not one tank on this street has a price tag, so all you need is to know how to ask for the per-kilo price and the steaming fee first.

At a glance

• Whose crab is on the table now: Yeongdeok snow crab fishing starts in early November with offshore boats, widens to coastal boats in December and runs until May (The Bike, November 4, 2026, citing Yeongdeok County). This season’s first auction was held on November 3 at the Ganggu Port auction hall, where 4,249 kg of snow crab sold for 246 million won (about $186,000). During the closed season (summer to fall), most of the crab filling Ganggu’s tanks is Russian, so November is when Korean Yeongdeok crab is back (Naver blog, October 2026).
• What it costs: The top bid at the first auction was 165,000 won (about $125) for a single 1.5 kg crab (Tour Korea, November 4, 2026). At the market, 2026 blog roundups put Korean snow crab at 60,000 to 100,000 won per kg (about $45 to $75) and meat-packed bakdal crab at 100,000 to 150,000 won per kg (about $75 to $113), and prices change every day (Naver blog, November 4, 2026).
• How you eat it: ① Buy crab by the kilo at a seafood stall on a market’s ground floor, ② carry it upstairs in the same building or to a restaurant nearby, pay the steaming and table fees and eat it there, or ③ skip the market and order a set course at a crab restaurant. Most roundups put the steaming fee at about 10 percent of the crab price and the table fee at 2,000 to 3,000 won per person (about $1.50 to $2.30) (Naver blog, November 4, 2026).
• Five questions before you order: Is the price per kilo or per crab? Where’s it from (Yeongdeok, elsewhere in Korea, Russia)? How much does it weigh? Is it full of meat (is it bakdal)? Are steaming, table and takeout packing charged separately?
• From Myeongdong or Incheon Airport: Long-distance buses leave from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal, next to Gangbyeon Station on Seoul subway Line 2. From Myeongdong, take Line 4 two stops to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park and switch to Line 2 for Gangbyeon, about 35 minutes. From Incheon Airport, take the AREX train to Seoul Station, then Line 4 and Line 2 the same way, about 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. From Dong Seoul, buses to Yeongdeok Terminal run seven times a day (7:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.), take 3 hours 29 minutes and cost 40,100 won (about $30.30) for a premium seat (Asamaru, updated November 1, 2026). From Yeongdeok Terminal, intercity buses to Ganggu Bus Terminal run 13 times a day and cost 1,700 won (about $1.30) (Asamaru).
• By train: Yeongdeok Station is on the coastal Donghae Line, where KTX-Eum trains have run between Gangneung and Bujeon (Busan) since December 30, 2025 (SBS, December 15, 2025, citing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport). From Seoul, the train means a transfer, so the direct bus is simpler.
• When to go: November and December bring the first crab of the season, and many posts name January to March as the time crab is fullest (Naver blog, November 4, 2026). The area around Ganggu Bridge jams at weekend lunch and dinner, so if you drive, a weekday or an early lunch is easier (The Fact, September 2026).

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Top 10 things to do at Ganggu Port in Yeongdeok

1. Watch the early-morning snow crab auction at the Ganggu Fisheries Co-op auction hall (see)

A day on Ganggu’s crab street starts at the auction hall. When boats that were out all night unload their catch, rows of snow crab with Yeongdeok certification bands on their claws are laid across the floor, and brokers call out bids with hand signals. Starting this year, the Ganggu Fisheries Cooperative prints the name of the boat that caught each crab on that band (The Bike, November 4, 2026). Look at the band on the crab you buy in the market and you can tell which boat brought it in.

• When: Early morning, after the boats come back overnight (Kyongbuk Maeil, November 2025). On days the boats stay in because of weather, there’s no auction.
• Tip: The auction hall is a working floor. Don’t walk between forklifts and crates; watch from the edge.

• Sources: The Bike, November 4, 2026: Yeongdeok snow crab’s first auction, Tour Korea, November 4, 2026, Kyongbuk Maeil, November 2025: first auction at dawn

2. Press the belly and haggle over the per-kilo price on crab street (experience)

Ganggu’s crab street runs about 3 km along the harbor (e-Science). Every shop has tanks stacked with snow crab out front, but there are almost no price tags: the price appears only after the crab goes on the scale. To pick one, press the belly to see if it’s firm, feel whether it’s heavy when you lift it, and check that all the legs are attached and moving (Naver blog, November 4, 2026). Koreans call a crab packed with meat bakdal daege and a hollow, watery one mulge (water crab). Knowing those two words is enough to hold a conversation.

• Price: Korean snow crab 60,000 to 100,000 won per kg (about $45 to $75), bakdal crab 100,000 to 150,000 won per kg (about $75 to $113), and Russian crab 60,000 to 90,000 won per kg (about $45 to $68), by 2026 blog roundups (Naver blog, November 4, 2026). One reviewer paid about 55,000 won per kg (about $41.50) for Russian bakdal crab during the closed season (Naver blog, October 2026).
• How much: Blog roundups suggest 800 g to 1 kg per adult; 2 kg is a common order for two. A worked example in the same roundup: 2 kg of Korean crab at 80,000 won per kg, plus a 10 percent steaming fee and 3,000 won per person for the table, comes to 182,000 won (about $137) (Naver blog, November 4, 2026).
• Tip: Read the origin sign first. Russian crab isn’t bad; buying it without knowing is the problem. Many people compare per-kilo prices at two or three shops before buying.

• Sources: e-Science: places to go in Yeongdeok, Naver blog: how to read snow crab prices (November 4, 2026), Naver blog: Donggwang Fish Market review

3. Buy it downstairs, eat it steamed upstairs (experience)

Donggwang Fish Market, right next to Haeparang Park, has seafood stalls on the ground floor and restaurants on the second. Take the crab you bought downstairs up to the second floor, pay the table fee, and they steam it and serve it with side dishes (Naver blog, October 2026). Steaming takes a while, so you watch the harbor out the window in the meantime. When it’s done, snap a leg at the joint and pull, and the meat slides out in one piece.

• Price: Most roundups put the steaming fee at about 10 percent of the crab price and the table fee at 2,000 to 3,000 won per person (about $1.50 to $2.30); it varies by shop (Naver blog, November 4, 2026).
• Hours: The ground-floor stall in that review opens about 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. (Naver blog, October 2026).
• Tip: Ask the stall first, “Which restaurant steams it?” Each stall works with a restaurant.

• Sources: Naver blog: Donggwang Fish Market review, Naver blog: snow crab prices (November 4, 2026)

4. Steamed, raw, fried and cheese-baked crab in one restaurant course (eat)

If picking and haggling sounds like too much, sit down at a crab restaurant from the start. At many Ganggu crab restaurants, the course brings steamed crab with raw crab legs, fried crab legs, crab baked with cheese, mulhoe (cold raw-fish soup) and soy-marinated crab (e-Science, Joongang Economy News). Some restaurants say they serve only bakdal crab with a meat yield of 90 percent or more from November to May (e-Science).

• Price: Blog roundups put restaurant courses at 50,000 to 80,000 won per person (about $38 to $60), mostly based on last season, and it depends on crab size and count (Naver blog, November 4, 2026).

• Tip: Some restaurants sell both “Yeongdeok bakdal” and “Russian bakdal” crab (Joongang Economy News). Confirm the origin again when you order.

• Sources: e-Science, Joongang Economy News: Yeongdeok in winter, Naver blog: snow crab prices (November 4, 2026)

5. Finish with crab-shell fried rice and spicy crab stew (eat)

When the legs are gone, ask them to fry the innards left in the top shell with rice. Nutty crab-shell fried rice and a spicy stew made from what’s left of the crab are the dishes that most often come with “order this, trust me” in Ganggu reviews (Naver blog, October 2026). Some places cook it with ramen noodles added (e-Science).

• Price: Fried rice or ramen adds about 10,000 to 20,000 won (about $7.50 to $15), and whether it’s included varies by restaurant (Naver blog, November 4, 2026).
• Tip: You need the top shell to make the fried rice, so don’t let it get thrown out. Mention it when you hand the crab over for steaming.

• Sources: Naver blog: Donggwang Fish Market review, e-Science

6. Crab bread and crab burgers to eat while you walk (eat)

If a whole crab spread is too much, Ganggu has street snacks. Crab bread and crab burgers made with crab powder are billed as snacks you only find in Yeongdeok (Gukje News, April 2026). They’re good for eating on the walk toward Haeparang Park after a meal.

• Source: Gukje News: Yeongdeok’s Blue Road and snow crab food trip

7. Night photos under the giant crab gate (photo spot)

The huge crab sculpture over the entrance to crab street glows gold after dark. The orange crab models perched on every restaurant sign are the street’s other trademark. Walking out after dinner and taking a photo under the gate is the most common last scene of a Ganggu trip.

• Tip: Traffic doesn’t stop on this road. Take the photo from the sidewalk across the street.

• Source: KTO Photo Korea, “Yeongdeok crab street” photo description

8. A sea walk at Haeparang Park with the new Ganggu Sea Bridge in view (see)

Haeparang Park, at the sea end of crab street, is where you walk by the water before or after eating. On September 22, 2026, the Ganggu Sea Bridge opened across the water in front of it, linking Ganggu Port with Samsa Marine Park. It’s 1.5 km long, 527 m of it over the sea (The Fact, September 2026). Local reports have pointed out that traffic is light for a bridge that cost 51.6 billion won (about $39 million) (same article), but for travelers it’s a new way between crab street and Samsa Marine Park that skips the jammed Ganggu Bridge.

• Tip: Residents say the Haeparang Park parking lot shrank because of the bridge construction (The Fact). On weekends, find parking first.

• Sources: The Fact, September 2026: Ganggu Sea Bridge, Segye Ilbo, September 21, 2026: Ganggu Sea Bridge opens on the 22nd

9. Walk out over the sea on the Samsa Sea Walkway (experience)

Off Samsa-ri, south of Ganggu Port, a fan-shaped walkway reaches out over the water. Rocks and waves show beneath your feet, and at the end there’s nothing around you but the East Sea. It’s three minutes by car from Samsa Marine Park, so the two pair well (Gukje News, April 2026). On the hill at Samsa Marine Park stands the Gyeongbuk Bell, built for the province’s 100th anniversary, with Ganggu Port and the sea spread out below (same article).

• Source: Gukje News, April 2026

10. Watch the sun come up over the East Sea at Changpomal Lighthouse in Haemaji Park (photo spot)

Follow the coastal road north from Ganggu Port and you reach Yeongdeok Haemaji Park. More than 1,500 wooden steps lead up and down between two observation decks over the sea (e-Science), and at the seaward end stands Changpomal Lighthouse, wrapped in a giant crab claw. If you spent the day on crab, spend the next sunrise here.

• When: Sunrise on this coast comes at roughly 7:05 to 7:30 a.m. from late November through December, so check the exact time for your date.
• Tip: The coastal road overlaps with Blue Road Course 3. From the lighthouse you can keep walking down along the sea.

• Sources: e-Science: Haemaji Park, Joongang Economy News: Haemaji Park

Nearby

• Yeongdeok Wind Farm: Giant wind turbines line the hill behind Haemaji Park, next to a renewable energy exhibition hall. The East Sea seen between the turbines on the ridge is one of this coast’s signature views.

• Jukdosan at Chuksan Port and Blue Road Course 5: The Yeongdeok Blue Road is a 64.6 km coastal walking trail. Its roughly 9.5 km stretch from Chuksan Port to Goesiri Traditional Village, called the “Mogeun Contemplation Trail” (Course 5), passes the Jukdosan observatory and an old beacon mound and is rated the best part of the Blue Road (Gukje News, April 2026). Some sections are still being restored after the spring 2025 Yeongdeok wildfire, so check the official website before you set out (same article).

• Goesiri Traditional Village and the Beolyeong-ri metasequoia forest: At the end of Blue Road Course 5, Goesiri Traditional Village gathers dozens of tile-roofed hanok houses. One reviewer walked the nearby Beolyeong-ri metasequoia forest and then had a stone-pot rice set meal in Yeonghae-myeon (15,000 won per person, about $11.30) for lunch the day after crab (Naver blog, October 2026).

• Pohang, down the coast: If you come up the coast from the south, Pohang’s Space Walk and fireworks guide makes an easy first stop, and the Donghae Line runs on down to Busan, where the Gwangalli fireworks seats guide covers the beach.

Where to stay

The plan is crab at dinner and sunrise in the morning, so sleeping by the sea at Ganggu Port or near Haemaji Park is easiest.

Stay	Location	Why
Panark Operated by Sono	Ganggu Port	Ocean-view resort, good for families
Yeongdeok Ganggu Port Hotel Cloud 9	Ganggu Port	Walk to crab street for dinner
Privia Hotel	Yeongdeok	Newer hotel that shows up often in blog reviews
Yeonhwamun Hotel	Near Jangsa Beach, Namjeong-myeon (south of Ganggu)	For road-trippers coming up from Pohang
Ganggu Port motels and pensions	Behind crab street	Cheapest and closest

• Check room rates by date on booking sites; weekends in crab season fill first.

A sample two-day trip (from Myeongdong, by bus)

• Day one, 8:20 a.m.: Myeongdong Station, Line 4 to Dongdaemun History & Culture Park, then Line 2 to Gangbyeon (Dong Seoul Bus Terminal). From Incheon Airport, allow about 2 hours to reach the terminal.
• 9:10 a.m.: Dong Seoul Bus Terminal → 12:39 p.m. Yeongdeok Terminal, then an intercity bus or taxi to Ganggu Port
• 1:30–3:00 p.m.: Compare per-kilo prices and buy crab on crab street (No. 2), have it steamed upstairs (No. 3), crab-shell fried rice (No. 5)
• 3:30–5:00 p.m.: Haeparang Park and the Ganggu Sea Bridge (No. 8) → Samsa Sea Walkway (No. 9)
• Evening: Night photos at the crab gate (No. 7), crab bread (No. 6), a hotel at Ganggu Port
• Day two, 7:00 a.m.: Sunrise at Changpomal Lighthouse (No. 10), then the wind farm
• 10:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m.: Chuksan Port → part of Blue Road Course 5 → Goesiri Traditional Village, stone-pot rice for lunch
• Afternoon: Yeongdeok Terminal → Dong Seoul (seven buses a day back, first 6:40 a.m., last 6:40 p.m., Asamaru), then Line 2 and Line 4 back to Myeongdong

Even after one 1.5 kg crab hit 165,000 won on the auction floor at dawn on November 3, the snow crab in Ganggu’s tanks still has no price until it’s on the scale.

Sources

• The Bike, November 4, 2026: first auction, top bid and boat names on bands, Tour Korea, November 4, 2026: Yeongdeok snow crab is back, Kyongbuk Maeil, November 2025: first auction at dawn, The Fact, September 2026: Ganggu Sea Bridge, Segye Ilbo, September 21, 2026: Ganggu Sea Bridge opens, SBS, December 15, 2025: Donghae Line KTX-Eum
• Gukje News, April 2026: Yeongdeok’s Blue Road and snow crab food trip, e-Science: places to go in Yeongdeok, Joongang Economy News: Yeongdeok in winter
• Asamaru: Dong Seoul → Yeongdeok bus timetable, Asamaru: Yeongdeok → Ganggu bus timetable, Naver blog: how to read snow crab prices (November 4, 2026), Naver blog: Donggwang Fish Market and stone-pot rice review
• Photos: Korea Tourism Organization, KTO Photo Korea, KOGL Type 1 (photographer credited on each photo)
• Currency conversion: 1,324.6 won per dollar (Seoul FX market base rate, October 23, 2026). Market prices, steaming and table fees come from Naver blogs (2026) and change daily.