San-nakji

Common card · No. 256665

San-nakji (Korean: 산낙지) is a variety of hoe (raw dish) made with long arm octopus (Octopus minor), a small octopus species called nakji in Korean and is sometimes translated into "baby octopus" due to its relatively small size compared to the giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). The octopus is most commonly killed before being cut into small pieces and served, with the nerve activity in the octopus's tentacles making the pieces move posthumously on the plate while served. The octopus's highly complex nervous system, with two-thirds of its neurons localised in the nerve cords of its arms, lets the octopus show a variety of reflex actions that persist even when they have no input from the brain. Less commonly, a live octopus is eaten whole. The dish is sprinkled with sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds. Animal rights activists, including People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have protested the dish as animal cruelty, arguing that octopuses feel pain, while proponents contend...

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