Live Octupus

I bought a camera today, (it took me all of about 12 hours after getting paid to realize the necessary expense, and also to get excited about buying a new gadget. fyi, it's pink) and good thing, too, because today we ate live octupus! I have heard about this since even before I came here, and Gina and I decided it was a "now or never" situation since she's leaving so soon. You can see Ana, Kyung-hee and me in the cab on the way there, and then the bountiful harvest of sashimi, broiled fish, aforementioned octupus, oysters (though Gina said they're not technically oysters, but "oyster's cousin") and all the various accompanying side dishes. We also had a 3rd course of spicy fish soup, but that isn't in the picture. I've included video of the little squirmy guys below.

My take on the octupus was that it tastes a lot like octupus they serve at sushi restaurants, which I believe is boiled. The only real difference in taste was they were a bit more chewy, and a bit slimy. I've always loved octupus sashimi. Of course, beyond taste, was the experience of eating something that is still moving in your mouth and that must be chewed many times to completely "die". If you don't chew it enough, it can still be moving when you swallow it, so hearty chewing is recommended. The most interesting thing about it was the sensation of their little suckers actually sucking at my tongue and the inside of my cheek. The bigger the section you eat, the more powerfully they can "adhere" to you. When taking them off of the bowl, sometimes you literally have to pull at them, because they're sticking very powerfully to the bowl and/or each other, and of course wiggling around almost violently. Good times, people. Honestly, I think that my favorite thing about Korea is that there are so many new things to eat. Please enjoy the video of their hacked off wriggling little tentacles.