According to sources, Noh claimed he was "hungry" after skipping breakfast. I mean, who needs a bowl of cereal when you can have a nutritious wall-banana, am I right?
But the story doesn't end there. Instead of feeling guilty about his impromptu snack, Noh went ahead and taped the peel to the wall. Talk about taking ownership of your actions!
But don't worry, the museum staff didn't let this act of hunger ruin their precious artwork. They simply replaced the eaten banana with a fresh one. Crisis averted.
BBC reported that the incident, which lasted more than a minute, was recorded by Mr Noh's friend. The Leeum Museum of Art did not respond to an email inquiry by the BBC. However, it told media that it will not claim damages against the student.
The banana on display is reportedly replaced every two or three days.
In videos posted online, shouts of "excuse me" can be heard as Mr Noh takes the banana off the wall. He does not respond and starts eating as the room goes quiet.
He then tapes the peel to the wall and poses for a moment before walking off.
Mr Noh later told local media that he saw Cattelan's work as a rebellion against a certain authority. "There could be another rebellion against the rebellion," the Seoul National University student told KBS.
"Damaging an artwork could also be seen as an artwork, I thought that would be interesting... Isn't it taped there to be eaten?"
When told about the incident, Mr Cattelan said, "No problem at all".
This is not the first time bananas used for Mr Cattelan's work have been eaten by a visitor.
In 2019, performance artist David Datuna pulled the banana from the wall after the artwork was sold for $120,000 (£91,000) at Art Basel in Miami.
I guess this just goes to show that hunger can strike at any moment, even when you're surrounded by priceless works of art.
