What is a peeled marsh snail?

Peeled marsh snails are marsh snail meat obtained by harvesting snails that have grown in the clear waters of the Donggang River in Gangwon-do, going through a desalination and cleaning process, and then boiling them to remove the shells. The flesh of the marsh snail has a greenish tint, making it famous as a blue Color Food. Prepared for immediate use in cooking, peeled marsh snails can be used in a wide variety of dishes, including hangover soup, porridge, noodles, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup), soybean paste stew, spicy vinegar salad, pancakes, seaweed soup, and hot pot.

Desalination (haegam) is the process of removing foreign substances from inside creatures living in the sea or river. In the context of marsh snails, this means flushing out river sediment from inside their shells. By placing the marsh snails in water and keeping it dark, the nocturnal snails extend their flesh out of their shells to move, causing the foreign matter inside the shells to be expelled.

The manufacturer of the marsh snail products, Yeongwol Pyeongchang Marsh Snail, is HACCP-certified by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, making their peeled marsh snail products more hygienic and safe. Here is a brief introduction to the marsh snail.

Marsh Snail

The marsh snail is one of Korea’s representative seafood items of early summer and can be found relatively commonly in streams with clear flowing water. Marsh snail flesh is nutritionally excellent, being very rich in protein while also containing a balanced amount of carbohydrates, minerals, and fats. Because they are rich in the amino acid taurine, they are widely used as an ingredient in hangover soups today.

Marsh snails are known by many different names depending on the region, such as olgengi, freshwater marsh snail, freshwater snail, snail, doseulbi, godi, godong, freshwater conch, conch, daesari, kkolpaengi, and golbaengi. Because marsh snails have long been a familiar food source for our ancestors, there are many regional dialects used to refer to them. Marsh snails inhabit most rivers and streams on the Korean Peninsula, with the exception of the far north.

Marsh snails are distributed in Korea, Japan (south of Hokkaido), Taiwan, and China. They are mollusks that live in rivers, lakes, streams, and ponds. The Sino-Korean word is wara(蝸螺), composed of the characters wa(蝸) for snail and ra(螺) for conch. They are referred to differently in various regions: wara(蝸螺) in Korea, senken(川蜷) in Japan, and danguguan(短溝蜷) in China.

In Korea, there are a total of 9 species within 3 genera: common marsh snail, true marsh snail, wrinkled marsh snail, small wrinkled marsh snail, beaded marsh snail, striped beaded marsh snail, rosary marsh snail, Kkotche marsh snail, and bag marsh snail. North Chungcheong Province in Korea is a region where marsh snails are abundant, and olgengi hangover soup is famous there. There are many rosary marsh snails and beaded marsh snails in the Yeongwol Donggang River area.

Marsh Snail Farming

In December 2010, marsh snail farming was successfully achieved for the first time in the world in Yesan, Chungnam. However, it is still too early to mass-produce marsh snails through farming to supply the food industry. While the National Institute of Fisheries Science in Yesan did succeed in farming marsh snails using formulated feed, industrialization is difficult due to the cost of feed.

Humans still do not know much about the ecology of the marsh snail. Currently, small-scale marsh snail farming is being attempted in about 15 places across Korea. The method involves hatching snails at a farm, raising them into young snails, and then releasing them into streams to grow into larger snails. Even this method of farming is said to be quite difficult.

The demand for marsh snails in Korea is about 6,000–7,000 tons per year, consumed for food in large cities, while domestic production is only about 2,000–3,000 tons per year, so the remainder is imported from abroad. Naturally, the imports are also all wild-caught, as they cannot be farmed abroad either.

Why Marsh Snails Are Famous

The reason marsh snails became famous is due to the folk medical practitioner Kim Il-hoon, who lived in Hamyang, Gyeongsangnam-do. During his lifetime, Kim developed Insan Bamboo Salt, which is made by putting salt into bamboo and roasting it nine times.

Kim was famous for helping many people by processing common animals and plants found around us using unique methods. His descendants and folk medicine enthusiasts have established the Insan Oriental Medicine Clinic, Insan Bamboo Salt Co., Ltd., and the Insan Philosophy Association to uphold his legacy.

Kim treated marsh snails based on the energy of the color of objects. Just as he developed bamboo salt by using the white energy of salt (白) and the red fire energy of high temperatures (火), he used the blue energy of marsh snail flesh (靑) and the red fire energy of high temperatures (火) to create marsh snail oil. As the marsh snail oil he developed became extremely famous, the reputation of the marsh snail itself also rose. Today, more than 40 years after marsh snail oil was developed, marsh snail extract, peeled marsh snails, and marsh snail broth have been commercialized and are consumed nationwide. Below is the appearance of the flesh of the marsh snail, which possesses blue energy.

Composition of Marsh Snails

The following is a table of general components of marsh snail flesh. “Dry weight basis” means the content ratio calculated excluding moisture.

General Component Table of Marsh Snail Flesh (Dry Weight Basis)

The above component analysis result is not for marsh snail oil, but for marsh snail flesh. Since marsh snail oil is made by melting marsh snail flesh, the components of marsh snail oil can generally be understood by examining the marsh snail flesh. Let's briefly look at the general components of marsh snail flesh.

The characteristic of the general components of marsh snails is that they are high in protein, and nutrients are not biased but evenly abundant.

The producer/supplier of this product is Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd. (CEO: Jo Byeong-chan). About 25 years ago, CEO Jo worked in the freshwater snail wholesale and retail business, harvesting and selling snails in the Donggang and Jecheon regions of Yeongwol. Captivated by the benefits of freshwater snails, CEO Jo established the private company Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail in 2009 and began producing processed freshwater snail products. In 2020, based on 25 years of experience in harvesting, processing, and selling freshwater snails, CEO Jo established Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd., a company specializing in freshwater snail processing.

Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd. received HACCP certification from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2022, and as of 2024, it produces and sells freshwater snail oil, snail concentrate, live freshwater snails, shelled freshwater snails, freshwater snails for broth, and snail broth. Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd. takes pride in being a company that produces hygienic and safe freshwater snail products. Here is a brief introduction to Yeongwol Pyeongchang Freshwater Snail Co., Ltd.

Contents per pack: 25% freshwater snails, 75% broth

This is a food item with no legal requirements for prior review.

This food item is not subject to legal requirements regarding import declarations.

This food item is not subject to legal requirements regarding genetically modified foods.

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