82-year-old man in South Korea chokes to death after eating ‘still wriggling’ octopus

Man went into heart arrest after eating Korean delicacy

Representational image: A cook preparing dish at a restaurant in South Korea (AFP via Getty Images)

An 82-year-old man in South Korea died of a heart attack after choking on a live octopus dish served as a local delicacy.

The incident took place in the southern city of Gwanju on Monday, where fire station authorities received a report of san-nakji being stuck in a man’s throat.

Salty, sticky and chewy, the name of the dish – san-nakji – literally translates to “live octopus”.

According to the fire station department, when the first responders arrived at the scene, the man was already in a cardiac arrest. They conducted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), but were unable to resuscitate him.

He was later declared dead at a local hospital.

The dish consists of dead raw octopus that is chopped and traditionally served drizzled with sesame oil, but is served instantly after chopping when pieces that are still in motion.

Served while the octopus tentacles are still wriggling, the food poses a safety risk and people are advised to cut it into smaller pieces and chew thoroughly before swallowing.

This incident is not the only instance in which people have died of asphyxiation from eating the dish.

At least three people have died from eating the live octopus dish between 2007 and 2012, according to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Fire and Disaster Headquarters cited by The Korean Herald.

The delicacy had earlier hit headlines in 2012.

In the shocking case of what was informally dubbed the “octopus murder”, a South Korean man was sentenced to life for allegedly killing his girlfriend while claiming that she died of consuming san-nakji, reported CNN.

The country’s supreme court later acquitted him citing insufficient evidence.

The dish had earlier gained worldwide attention after South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook’s 2003 cult classic Oldboy showed actor Choi Min-sik’s protagonist consuming an entire octopus alive at a sushi bar.