I had Monday and Tuesday off this week in celebration of 주석, Korea’s version of Thanksgiving. For the holiday I went South to Pusan, Korea’s second biggest city located off the coast of the East China Sea. Pusan is a beautiful place with great beaches and delicious seafood.
By far the most memorable experience I had there was eating 산낙지, or living squid. The plate was brought out with the small tentacles of the squid still squirming around. 산낙지 is a dangerous food, apparently, a few people have died in the past by not chewing well enough. The squid is still alive when they swallow, and latches on to the inside of their throat and suffocates them.
I went to grab one with my chopsticks and it wrapped itself around the tip in a stranglehold. Ready to do battle with my food, I dipped it in some soy sauce and attempted to put it in my mouth. The tentacle hopped from my chopstick and latched on to my outer lip with its little suction cups. I started laughing. I tried to work it into my mouth with my tongue, and soon it latched on to that. Then the little guy hopped from my tongue to the inside of my cheek. From there I began to fight back. After a couple of chews the lively squid stopped moving and I was able to swallow, with a shot of soju for good measure. The taste was actually quite nice and I enjoyed eating several of the living tentacles, making sure to chew well each time.
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