Gunsan’s Spicy Red Blowfish Stew and Golden Tongue Sole
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
Gunsan, a West Sea port near the Geum River estuary, is known for its spicy red blowfish stew (bogeotang) that’s cooked with red chili seasoning and served boiling hot. Unlike the clear-style blowfish soups influenced by Japanese methods in southern coastal areas, Gunsan’s version highlights a robust, spicy broth often loaded with water parsley (minari) and radish—popular as a hangover cure. Historically abundant because the yellow blowfish (hwangbok) moved up brackish and freshwater areas to spawn, modern Gunsan now uses other blowfish species like tiger puffer (chambok) due to scarcity. The city is also famous for the local tongue sole (bangdae, called “tongue sole” in English), often half-dried and grilled; its golden, chewy flesh with few small bones makes it a regional specialty served as a main or common side dish.
