"Chewy, tangy" is in season...Beolgyo Kkomak Festival Opens!

[Anchor]
As the cold wind began to blow, cockles were in season.

Along with green tea and kiwi, it is one of the three major specialties representing Boseong, Jeollanam-do,
The cockle festival began at Beolgyo Bridge, the home of cockles in
.

This is reporter Kim Bum-hwan.

[Reporter]
It is "Bulgyo" in Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, home to the novel "Taebaek Mountains" by Cho Jung-rae.

The novel depicts its chewy and cold taste well, and famous Beolgyo 'Kkomak',

Kkomak Bibimbap, which can be eaten by 1,000 people, marks the splendid opening of the 20th Kkomak Festival.

[Shin Soon-deok / Vulgyo Kkomak Festival Tourist: I'm here for lunch because I heard there's a Kkomak Festival. It's very delicious to eat cockle bibimbap.

The festival hall has several hands-on events, including cockle peeling competitions, delicious cockle cooking tastings, and cockle weighting.

a boat used to dig cockles in mudflats that are exposed when the sea water is drained,
You can also try riding a
wheeled boat.

[Kim Joae / Chairman of Boseong Hometown Housewives: Stir only one way like this. Just one side.... So you can take it out in about 3 minutes.]

There was also a cockle singing contest and Boseong's master singing performance of "The Holy Land of Pansori."

[Kim Chul-woo / Boseong County, Jeollanam-do] There are so many creatures living in the Beolgyo mudflat, which is listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. In the summer, there are bluespotted mud hopper and shellfish. Among them, the Beolgyo cockle, which captures the taste of the whole nation when the cold wind blows, is in season.

Kkomak, which is in season until March next year, is Korea's No. 1 geographical indication of marine products.The Beolgyo Kkomak Festival, which will feature various programs such as the 16th anniversary ceremony of the opening of the Taebaek Mountains Literature Museum

, will continue until Sunday.

I'm Kim Bum Hwan of YTN.