SOUTH KOREA – Eating Sannakji in Seoul, a live octopus (#TBT)

Eating Sannakji in Seoul, a live octopus
Eating Sannakji in Seoul, a live octopus

#TBT [ThrowBackThursday] week 19 of 2015. This week, something I remember from my visit to South Korea, 1 of the 52 countries I visited prior to 2015.

Eating Sannakji in Seoul, do you dare?

I have been in South Korea only once in Seoul for a short four day business trip but had three things on my bucket list:
1) good business, of course 🙂
2) see Seoul major sights
3) eating Sannakji in Seoul

My bucket lists when I travel always have something on it with food. This time it was not different. I always search the web for typical, sometimes strange, things to eat. I found that in Seoul you could eat a live octopus cut into pieces called Sannakji. These pieces still “live” and move and the suction cups can be dangerous if they get stuck in your throat. People did choke. The raw octopus is served with some sesame and sesame oil.

Eating Sannakji in Seoul, a live octopus
Eating Sannakji in Seoul, a live octopus

As I had no clue where to be able to order this I asked the hotel for a nearby place. Once I arrived and wanted to order Sannakji they looked very strange and said something in Korean like “no no this not good for you Western guy”. I made it very clear this is what I wanted and 10 minutes later the dish was in front of me. It moved on the plate! To be honest the only thing that made me hesitate was that dangerous part. When I wanted to take the first part with my chopsticks that seemed easier said than done. The pieces stuck to the place with the suction cups so they are not easy to pick up. Finally I got it and just moved the pieces to the side of the place to have the suction cups release themselves from the plate. The taste was good but the shewing was quite difficult. Not something I need to eat every day to be honest, but did try it and took it of the bucket list. See the video below for the moving octopus, enjoy 😉

Curious what I did more in South Korea? Read it here.

Stay tuned for more stories and subscribe to the newsletter or follow CTB on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram including Instagram stories; on all social media you can find CTB @christravelblog) to get updated information.

Did you visit South Korea too or do you have questions? Please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Love to hear from you!