Squid drying at Kyong Po Beach (May 2000).
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In the States, the barkeep is apt to bring you peanuts or popcorn with your Bud. In Korea, you're more likely to get shredded dried squid with your Hite, makkoli, or soju.

Found on a Nong Shim Champong Noodle package. Yes, dried squid. No faces, now, at least not until you've tried it. It's not that bad.

Squid are everywhere in Korea. They even show up in the packets of salty powder for instant ramyan noodles. There's one over there to the left. Quite the character, isn't he? (Ramyan are about as popular in Korea as ramen in the US, but they come in a larger package and have more packets with extra goodies, such as dried vegetables and a bit of oil. They also cost more, but they're hardly what you'd call expensive.)

In the photo above, squid are drying in the sun along the road near Kyongpo Beach (Gyeongpodae). You can just see the ocean through the trees. In Korea you often see public rights-of-way used for drying fish (or peppers or straw or what-have-you). This is just the way things work in a small nation where there isn't a lot of land available for private use.

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