The Most Dangerous Thing in Call of Duty Wasn't a Gun.

I played the new Call of Duty with my friend Timmy, who was visiting Korea. We had preordered it, so we could start the campaign before the official release.

The first chapter is set in Korea, and the streets and buildings looked incredibly realistic.

We were getting pretty immersed in the game when something unexpected appeared on the screen.

Hongeo.

It was a package of hongeohoe, or Korean fermented skate, sitting on a convenience store shelf.

Timmy seemed more interested in the food than in shooting enemies.

"What's that? What kind of food is it?"

I told him it was hongeo, and he immediately said he wanted to try it.

At first, I thought he was just saying that. But he kept bringing it up while we played. Before long, he was insisting that he had to try it while he was in Korea.

The problem was, I wasn't a fan of hongeo myself. I'd tried it when I was younger, and honestly, I had no desire to eat it again. The smell and taste are pretty intense because the skate is fermented. It's not exactly an easy food to get used to, and I don't know anyone in my circle who actually enjoys eating it.

"Trust me, it's not for everyone. Let's just get something else."

Timmy wasn't listening. He has always been a big fan of food, but this time, he was unusually obsessed with trying hongeo.

Eventually, I gave up.

Fine. If he wanted to try it that badly, I'd just have to let him find out for himself.

We headed to a convenience store near my place, but then I remembered something. I'd never actually seen hongeo for sale at a convenience store before.

I looked it up and found that some GS25 stores in Korea sell it. At least we knew where to look.

By that point, I was starting to get stubborn, too. If I didn't get him some that day, I had a feeling he'd keep talking about hongeo for the next several days.

So we bought some.

Even at the checkout, I gave him one last chance to back out.

"Are you seriously sure about this? If I buy it, you have to eat the whole thing, no matter what. Deal?"

Timmy nodded with the confidence of someone who believed there wasn't a single food in the world he couldn't handle.

All right, then. I hoped he'd actually like it.

But as we were about to head home with the package, I had another thought. What if we opened it at home and the smell spread throughout the entire place?

That wouldn't be great.

So we sat down at the outdoor table in front of the convenience store instead.

The moment we opened the package, that unmistakable fermented smell hit us.

I was used to it, but Timmy certainly wasn't. I could practically see his confidence draining away.

Here we go.

People walking in and out of the store seemed to notice the smell, too. Some of them wrinkled their noses. Others kept glancing over, probably curious about why a foreigner was sitting outside a convenience store about to eat hongeo.

"People usually drink makgeolli with hongeo," I told him.

Timmy liked makgeolli, the Korean rice wine, so I poured him a glass. Maybe that would help.

Timmy picked up a piece of hongeo. For someone who had been making such a big deal about wanting to try it, he suddenly seemed to have a lot more respect for the little piece of fish in front of him.

"Go on. Give it a try."

He finally put it in his mouth.

A few seconds later, his expression changed.

He started chewing, trying to look as though everything was perfectly normal. But the longer he chewed, the less convincing his performance became. He looked like he was trying to negotiate with the piece of hongeo in his mouth.

He was doing his best to get it down.

I tried not to laugh.

"So? I told you not to eat it."

Timmy clearly wasn't ready to admit defeat. He nodded as if everything was fine, then picked up another piece.

Apparently, one bad decision wasn't enough.

He took a sip of makgeolli and tried again, but this time, he ate even more slowly. The guy who had practically begged me to buy hongeo was now treating every piece like a serious commitment.

In the end, he put his chopsticks down.

He'd had enough.

And just like that, my friend's hongeo adventure, all sparked by a scene in Call of Duty, came to an end.

Of course, that doesn't mean every foreigner dislikes hongeo. Some people enjoy it just fine. It just wasn't for Timmy.

Next time, I hope he won't get so excited about trying every food he sees in a video game.

At least not when it comes to hongeo.