A State Wholesale Market Formed by Merging Three Markets

Noryangjin Fish Market's roots trace to the Gyeongseong Central Wholesale Fish Market, created in 1927 when Japan's colonial government merged Seoul's three fish markets under the banner of sanitary control.

Key takeaways

Noryangjin Fish Market traces its origin to Chilpae, an unlicensed street market that formed outside the old Seoul city walls in the late Joseon Dynasty, believed to have taken root in the Seosomun area during the 17th century. Fact In the modern era, three separate fish markets operated: the Gyeongseong Fish Market near Namdaemun Station starting in 1905, the Hwangu (Hinomaru) Fish Market in Hoehyeon-dong starting in 1908, and the Yongsan Fish Market in Wonhyo-ro starting in 1909. Fact Citing sanitary control and administrative oversight, the colonial government merged these three markets, opening the Gyeongseong Central Wholesale Fish Market (operated by the Gyeongseong Fish Market Corporation) on Uiju-ro in Seodaemun-gu in 1927 — Korea's first case of a market organized under the Central Wholesale Market Act. Fact

What to look for on site

Maps showing the locations of the three original markets (see reference materials)
The background behind their reorganization into a single state-run wholesale market
Traces of colonial-era market policy justified by sanitary control

Editorial note

It's inaccurate to say "Noryangjin Fish Market grew naturally out of a traditional market." Establish its origin as a policy-driven, colonial-era state merger.