Man dies after live octopus gets stuck in throat

An 82-year-old man has sadly died after consuming and choking on a raw octopus dish.

On Monday (23 October), emergency services were called in the southern city of Gwangju. When they arrived at the scene, medics were unable to resuscitate the man who was later pronounced dead.

The local South Korean delicacy known as 'san-nakji' (which literally translates to 'live octopus') is known for being a risky meal. The tentacles continue to move, with suckers being known to stick to people's throats as its being consumed.

San-nakji is known to have a salty and sticky taste with a chewy consistency. It is prepared by chopping raw octopus and drizzling it with sesame oil, before serving instantly while the tentacles are still wriggling. Despite being dead, they continue to move because of the continuing nerve activity

The dish is said to have become even more popular following a scene from 2004's Oldboy, where the main character was shown chowing down on a live octopus at a sushi restaurant.

According to the Korea Herald, such tragedies are not uncommon in the country.

Data from the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters revealed that three people died between 2007 and 2012 from asphyxiation as a result of consuming the food.

Two more were reported in 2013, and another man in his 70s died later in 2019.

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.