Strong currents pose drowning risk during harvest; always cook thoroughly to avoid lung fluke infection

Police and fire department personnel conduct a search operation after a person in their 60s went missing while catching daeseugi freshwater snails. [Newsis]
Police and fire department personnel conduct a search operation after a person in their 60s went missing while catching daeseugi freshwater snails. [Newsis]

Among this month's seasonal catches, daeseugi — freshwater snails found only in pristine, first-grade water — stand out as a popular quarry. They thrive in clear, cold streams with strong currents, which is precisely why extra caution is needed from early summer onward: collecting them carries a real risk of accidents.

Daeseugi inhabit rivers and valleys and are easy enough for beginners to catch, but fatal accidents keep occurring among those who let their guard down in seemingly shallow water. According to the National Fire Agency, rescue operations involving daeseugi-related water incidents totaled 59 from June through August between 2022 and 2024, with 14 victims transported to hospital in cardiac arrest. In South Jeolla Province alone, eight people drowned while collecting daeseugi over the past decade, from 2016 to 2025.

Clear streams and valleys can look shallow but may deepen suddenly or conceal powerful currents. Daeseugi favor precisely those stretches, so collectors can be swept away in an instant.

There is another hazard to keep in mind. Daeseugi carry a risk of lung fluke infection and must never be eaten raw — they must be cooked thoroughly. According to the KDCA's National Health Information Portal, paragonimiasis is contracted mainly by eating daeseugi, crabs or crayfish raw or insufficiently cooked. The lung fluke parasitizes the lungs and can cause complications including pneumonia and pulmonary abscess.

Daeseugi must be purged for three hours before cooking and always eaten fully cooked. [Provided by Woori's Table]
Daeseugi must be purged for three hours before cooking and always eaten fully cooked. [Provided by Woori's Table]

With just two precautions — safe harvesting and proper cooking — daeseugi are a flavorful and nutritious food. They are particularly noted for supporting liver function, thanks to their rich content of amino acids and taurine. Taurine stimulates bile secretion, helping the liver work more efficiently.

Domestic animal research supports this. A study published in the Korean Journal of Environmental Biology (2018) found that oral administration of daeseugi extract (300 mg/kg) to liver-damaged mice over five days reduced liver damage markers to levels comparable to the control group.

Garlic chives make an ideal pairing. Their vitamin C boosts iron absorption from daeseugi. The combination also works well in terms of traditional Korean medicine's concept of food properties: the warming nature of garlic chives balances the cooling nature of daeseugi.

When making daeseugi soup, adding garlic chives at the end preserves their aroma. The dish known as olgaengi-guk is the classic example — "olgaengi" is the Chungcheong dialect word for daeseugi. The soup is made by dissolving doenjang in the broth and simmering it with garlic chives, mallow and other vegetables.

Daeseugi and garlic chive pancakes are another option, made by mixing boiled daeseugi meat and garlic chives into a flour batter.

Before cooking, the snails need to be purged to remove soil and debris from their digestive tracts. Rinse them under running water, cover with water, drape a sheet of newspaper over the bowl and leave for about three hours. Once purged, pour boiling water over the snails, then immediately transfer them to cold water and rinse. The hot water makes it easier to extract the meat.

A daeseugi dish topped with garlic chives [Getty Images Bank]
A daeseugi dish topped with garlic chives [Getty Images Bank]

gorgeous@heraldcorp.com