Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
An 82-year-old man in South Korea suffered a heart attack after choking on a piece of live octopus, a local delicacy consisting of freshly cut – still writhing – tentacles.
According to fire department officials, Gwangju City fire department officials said they received a report Monday morning that a piece of live octopus was stuck in a man's neck.
When emergency responders arrived on scene, the man was in cardiac arrest and administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), officials said.
Officials did not say whether the man survived.
Sannakji is a small octopus that is chopped into small pieces and eaten raw, and is often eaten in coastal areas or seafood markets in Korea.
The name of the dish translates to “live octopus,” but this is a bit misleading. The octopus is killed and its tentacles partially cut off before serving.
However, it is served immediately after being sliced and is so fresh that the nerves in the tentacles are still active, making the octopus appear “alive” as it continues to move around on the plate.
Wild octopus is often eaten with sesame oil, sesame seeds, and sometimes ginger, and has a chewy texture.
This story appeared in a 2015 episode of Anthony Bourdain's CNN series 'Parts Unknown.' When celebrity chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain visits Korea to sample everything from soju to Korean fried chicken to live octopus, Bourdain uses chopsticks to pry the gooey tentacles off his plate.
The dish has made headlines before, with local media reporting several cases over the years of guests choking or asphyxiating to death after eating “live octopus.”
Perhaps the most well-known case, the 'octopus murder', saw a South Korean man sentenced to life in prison for killing his girlfriend in 2012 and claiming it was a live octopus accident. 2013 due to insufficient evidence.