And just like that, the traffic evaporated. As I knew it would. I guess what happened yesterday was the Czech version of an Instalanche. Now that Eastern Europe has come to know Korean gaebul, they turn to other things.
My own thirst for knowledge about the gaebul hasn't been slaked, however. I'd like to know where it's usually found, and how the fishermen retrieve them. Is this manual labor done by divers? How far out does one have to go to find these creatures? Do they hide among the rocks and coral, or do they bury themselves in the undersea sand? Although I can imagine what they eat, I'd like to know for sure what it is and how the eating's done. And how the hell do they reproduce in such vast numbers? Does the answer lie in the gaebul's disturbingly phallic shape? Is there some mysterious, yet-to-be-discovered sea-vagina that these little guys penetrate regularly, squirting their gaebul-juice? Does the sea-vagina lead to an immensely fecund marine uterus that periodically spews out baby gaebul in clouds of tiny millions?
And what animals prey on the gaebul? Considering how easy the creature is for humans to catch, it's got to be easy pickings for the local sea life. Which creature is the greatest gaebul-hunter of them all? Does the gaebul have any defenses against predators, or is reproduction its only real defense, with every lost gaebul being replaced by two more?
Questions. Only questions.
_
Sunday, February 13, 2011
the thrill is gone, but the mystery remains
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Real quick: gaebul live in the sand, generally in tidal flats. They burrow U-shaped holes in the sand where they spend most of their time. This is probably their best defense against predators, as I assume most predators are going to go after more exposed prey.
I'm not sure exactly how reproduction works, but I do know that there are separate male and female gaebul. Unfortunately, the sperm is released in the same way as fish sperm, i.e., outside the body, so there are no giant sea-vaginas. Well, at least as far as gaebul are concerned. There may be other sea-vaginas out there. One can only hope.
(I have this limited knowledge of gaebul thanks to an article I translated once--you would not believe how much I have learned just from translating various articles, etc.)
A reply to your latest email is coming soon, but just to answer the last question you asked: yes, of course.
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