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.

FISHING INDUSTRY
South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. The total land mass of the country is 98,480 km2, but usable land is only 20% of the total and thus the population is concentrated around the coast. The Korean Peninsula is surrounded by the East, West, and South Seas, a coastline that extends for about 2,413 km. Endowed with an abundance of fisheries resources, Koreans have developed a distinct seafood culture with annual per capita sea food consumption of 48.1 kg. Years of capturing wild fish, together with improved fishing technology, have led to a continuous decrease in capture production in South Korea in recent years, and consequently led to a greater attention to aquaculture to meet the increasing demand for aquatic products.

THE ENVIRONMENT
Large mammals such as tigers, bears, and lynx were once abundant throughout the Korean peninsula. However, they have virtually disappeared due to human settlement, loss of forest habitat, and over-hunting. The Siberian tiger has not been sighted in South Korea since the 1920s. Bears and wildcats can still be found in the more remote areas, such as Jiri-san and Seorak-san. South Korea also has several indigenous species of deer, including the roe deer and the Siberian musk deer. Wild boars have been growing common in recent years, thanks to reduced hunting pressure. But there are a number of environmental issues in South Korea. These include pollution, land use, and habitat preservation.