TLDR – Worst Mistake in Korea

Ok, so this Worst Mistake In Korea question is kinda similar to our Funniest Story in Korea question. We’ve got loads of miscommunication in English stories at our school, but we didn’t want to do another one of those stories, so we decided to stick to a different theme this time: bad restaurant experiences.

We actually rambled on for a very long time in this video, and we had to cut out one of the stories because it went on for too long. Here’s the story that we cut out: we went to a Korean Hway (sp?) restaurant, which is another word for sashimi restaurant. Except it’s not sashimi, we know. It’s a different style, with different fish, and different country, with different people. Yes, we know we know we know. Sashimi is just the closest equivalent we can think of.

Aaaanyhow we were going to have some hway because we were feeling adventurous and we wanted to try something that we’re not used to. We ordered the expensive platter, which was 50,000 won. Maybe that’s not really expensive otherwise, but we’ve been in Korea for a long time now, and so having a meal that costs more than 12,000 won a person is considered luxurious. When the plate of seafood came out, it was similar to the experience we had with the pig fat: it wasn’t what we had expected. No salmon, no tuna. It was just a bunch of fish that we didn’t know the looks of. A lot of it was delicious, though, and we gobbled that up in a heartbeat. Some of the other things, however, were less appetizing, and we were very hesitant to eat them,.

The one that really threw us off was this spiked sea shell red demon of a thing. It wasn’t an oyster, because we know the looks of oysters. This was almost jelly like in the middle. It looked like Satan’s boggers, if we had to describe it. Don’t ask us to name it, because we don’t know. Anyhow, we both looked at this sea monster and thought to ourselves, what the hell, we should give it a shot. We decided that we’d each grab a piece, and on the count of three, we’d ingest Satan’s boogers. 1. 2. 3. We each put it up to our mouths. Martina puts hers in, but I didn’t. I wanted to see Martina’s reaction. Ha! This made her very upset, but Martina’s great at maintaining her composure. She decided to fake her reaction, rather than screaming and writing and spitting it out immediately. “It’s not bad” she told me. “It’s a little different, not for everyone. But you should give it a shot.” Damn! How was she so convincing?

I was suckered into trying a piece myself. Now, here’s something you should know about me first: I’m a grown man, and I have full control over my body, and a very high degree of motor skills as well. For some reason, though, as soon as I put this sea demon in my mouth, my mouth opened right back up, and my tongue pushed it out. I didn’t even know it happened until Martina started saying “EWWW SIMON WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!?” I just spit that thing out like a baby being spoonfed something nasty. Tongue out, food out, trail of drool behind it. I grabbed the napkin quickly to cover up by mess, but by then it was too late. I had already embarrassed myself, unwittingly. I think my mouth was possessed. Or I think it was just survival instincts kicking in. My body knew that I shouldn’t be eating this thing, even if my mind didn’t know it. Yay survival!

Does anyone know what that shellfish thingy might be called? I’m sure Satan’s Booger isn’t it’s actual name. Martina asked her Korean friends about it also, and a lot of them said that most people don’t like it, but a few enjoy it with some soju, because it makes the soju less bitter. Whatever it may be, though, I doubt we’ll be trying it again any time soon. The pig fat, though, we’ve heard better stories about, and we’re getting accustomed to chewy meat, kinda, so we’d be willing to give this a second shot. Supposedly it’s really good for your skin? A lot of young Korean women eat it, supposedly. We don’t know what it’s called, either.

So that’s it for this week. Also, today’s our anniversary, so this video’s coming out a bit earlier than usual. We’ve got plans for tonight! Huzzah!

Tagged As:

confusing, korea, Korean Food, Korean Language, Life in Korea

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