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An Introduction to the Cat and Dog Meat Trade in South Korea
Dog meat is often consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body’s heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one’s “Qi”, the believed vital energy of the body. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.Over 100,000 tons of dog meat, or 1.5 million dogs, are consumed annually in South Korea. Although a fair number of South Koreans (approximately 42% to 60%) have eaten dog meat at least once in their lifetime, only a small percentage of the population is believed to eat it on a regular basis.
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law (식품위생법) does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on February 21, 1984 by classifying dog meat as ‘repugnant food’ (혐오식품), but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.
The primary dog breed raised for meat, the Nureongi (누렁이), or Hwangu (황구); is a non-specific, mixed breed.
There is a large and vocal group of Koreans (consisting of a number of animal welfare groups) who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like ‘I Love Pet’ have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. However, despite this growing awareness, there remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but do feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.
The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju (개소주).
DOG MEAT IN KOREAGaegogi (개고기) literally means “dog meat” in Korean. The term itself, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang (보신탕; 補身湯, Body nourishing soup) (sometimes spelled “bo-shintang”).
The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones[further explanation needed] were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.
Although their Mohe ancestors did not respect dogs, the Jurchen people began to respect dogs around the time of the Ming dynasty and passed this tradition on to the Manchu. It was prohibited in Jurchen culture to use dog skin, and forbidden for Jurchens to harm, kill, and eat dogs, as the Jurchens believed the “utmost evil” was the usage of dog skin by Koreans.
PICTURES FROM DOG MEAT FARMS & MARKETS (click to enlarge)
DOG MEAT IN NORTH KOREADaily NK reported that the North Korean government included dog meat in its new list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram in early 2010.
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Take Action for South Korea’s Dogs
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News About South Korea’s Dog Meat Trade
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Factsheets About South Korea’s Dog Meat Trade
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Editorial About South Korea’s Dogs and Dog Meat Trade
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Resources in the struggle to end South Korea’s dog and cat meat trade
Dog meat consumption is an evil custom that doesn’t belong in a modern society as well as a vice harmful to the mental health of our citizens. In my opinion, the fact that our society has been wasting national resources on utterly divisive internal conflicts in all walks of life, such as politics, economy and religion from ancient times is a natural result of evil practice of betrayal and a loss of trust in humanity through the slaughtering and eating of dogs which is then applied in human interactions consciously and unconsciously.
Beopjeong Buddhist Priest South Korean NationalVIDEO GALLERYError: The video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zXXXlWMdCE) couldn't be embedded.Dog Song, Dog Meat
What happens in Jeju Island chosen as one of the New7Wonders of Nature. Thousands of dogs in Republic of Korea’s Jeju Island are raised for dog meat, another animal abuse in South Korea
Stop It! Campaign
Documentary Dog Meat (2013). English caption is available. Director Jung Jeena/ STOP IT! Campaign/ www.stopitkorea.org.
Closing dog meat farms in South Korea
Ending South Korea’s dog meat industry. Closing dog meat farms and saving lives.
Draw My Life | Dog Meat Trade in South Korea
The latest in a series of “Draw My Life” videos from the perspective of animals, this short film shows what dogs endure every day in the South Korea dog meat trade. This heartbreaking industry is both cruel and completely unnecessary. Please choose kindness and choose vegan.