https://www.france24.com/en/as...-for-animal-activism

Eating dog meat was once seen as a way to improve stamina in the humid Korean summer. But the practise has become rare – largely limited to some older people – as more Koreans consider dogs as family pets and as criticism of how the dogs are slaughtered has grown.

Activists say most dogs are electrocuted or hanged when slaughtered for meat, though breeders and traders argue there has been progress in making the slaughtering more humane.

Support for the ban has grown under President Yoon Suk Yeol, an animal lover who has adopted six dogs and eight cats with first lady Kim Keon Hee, also a vocal critic of dog meat consumption.

Proposed by the ruling party and with rare bipartisan support, the bill was passed by an overwhelming 208 votes with two abstentions in the single-chamber parliament.

The legislation, which states its purpose as “to eradicate the consumption of dogs” will take effect after a three-year grace period. The breeding and slaughtering of dogs to produce meat for human consumption will be punishable by up to three years in prison or 30 million won ($22,800) in fines. The bill does not stipulate any penalties for eating dog meat per se.

“This is history in the making,” said Chae Jung-ah, executive director of Humane Society International Korea, an animal protection group. “We have reached the tipping point where most Korean citizens reject eating dogs and want to see this suffering consigned to the history books.”

In a survey released on Monday by Animal Welfare Awareness, Research and Education, a Seoul-based think tank, more than 94% of respondents said they had not eaten dog meat for the past year and about 93% said they would not do so in the future.

Previous efforts to prohibit sales of dog meat failed in the face of industry protests and the bill seeks to provide compensation so that businesses can move out of the trade.

Son Won-hak, an official at the Korean Association of Edible Dogs, a coalition of breeders and sellers, said the group plans to take the matter to the country’s Constitutional Court to question the law’s legitimacy but did not elaborate.

The agriculture ministry has estimated as of April 2022 that some 1,100 farms were breeding 570,000 dogs to be served at around 1,600 restaurants.

The farmers’ association said the ban will affect 3,500 farms raising 1.5 million dogs as well as 3,000 restaurants.

Never been to South Korea. How does dog appear on these 3K restaurant menus? Is it listed by breed/species, like fish, or just generic “dog” and preparation method?

-Rob

It appears as Hot Dog on the menu like here.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
Never been to South Korea. How does dog appear on these 3K restaurant menus? Is it listed by breed/species, like fish, or just generic “dog” and preparation method?

-Rob

Most Korean restaurants are not varied in the menu.

If you want Kimchi soup, you go to the kimchi soup place, if you want soft tofu soup you go to the soft tofu soup place.

When I was there 9 years ago there we very few "boshintang" (the word for dog meat soup) in Seoul, as even back then they were trying to change the image.

So when you go the boshintang place you order a size of soup bowl. That's generally how the menu's work in Korea, especially with the more traditional places.

Tasted a lot like goat to me.

I suppose that makes sense. Still, I figured there might be a difference in taste between caged mutt and grass-fed Pyrenees.

-Rob

quote:

Eating dog meat was once seen as a way to improve stamina in the humid Korean summer.

Sexual stamina, according to a Korean officer I knew.

I was stationed at Camp Long for 13 months in 1990-91. I once asked him why Koreans ate dog meat. He immediately blushed. I said that I was truly interested. He replied "Makes you go 'umph' while quickly bending his forearm up.

Driving to Seoul one day, we passed a small flatbed truck loaded with dogs in cages. We knew where they were going...so did they. You could see it in their faces. I have never seen sadder eyes on a dog in my life.

Haven't been to Korea, but I have been to plenty of farmers markets in China and I have had dog meat there. When you see those dogs in cages at the market, you have no temptation to pet them. They are not cuddly, domesticated dogs, but raised as livestock. They don't even look the same.

quote:

Originally posted by BurtonRW:
Never been to South Korea. How does dog appear on these 3K restaurant menus? Is it listed by breed/species, like fish, or just generic “dog” and preparation method?

-Rob

Breed type isn't important, the dishes are stews and soups; you won't find steaks or chops. The places that serve dog usually are specialty restaurants where there's some appeal to 'older times' or, smaller towns where the population is 'more traditional'. Historically, Asian food was seen as having medicinal qualities, ingredients and dishes needed to paired correctly, flavor profiles and temperature was equally important. In many traditional medicines, there's a belief that eating certain animals will give you greater virility for others, it's simply the only way to the next meal.

Countries that have dog meat consumption usually have a history of famine and poverty, and pet ownership was more of a luxury. Keep in mind, horse meat is available for consumption many parts of Europe, not unusual to see a specialized butcher shop.

quote:

South Korea bans consumption of dog meat

But kitty kats are OK.

quote:

Countries that have dog meat consumption usually have a history of famine and poverty, and pet ownership was more of a luxury.

That makes sense.
If it's simply the only way to the next meal, I get it... but I'm glad it's ending there.

Mrs Q (Korean original) showed me a documentary about this infamous dog buyer (for meat). Every place that he goes to, the dogs can sense who he is, and they were trembling in fear, running and hiding, many became incontinent right there. Sad.

Oh, and the older Korean men who buy into this stamina bullshit are morons. Advertising anything that can boost your stamina, and they fall for it. The dogs suffered because of them.

My neighbor is married to a Korean. We go out for Korean food on a regular basis. He often jokes that there are never any dogs running around near the Korean restaurant we frequent. His wife talks about the fear she had growing up in South Korea. She said North Korea is always threatening.

I was there for a year and didn't interact much in the community other than going to a few bars but there were usually little pop-up tents or covered tables that set up on the street corners at night.

Those were the guys that we knew sold Kigoki (dog strips). Beef was Bulgoki, chicken was Chicken Bulgoki.

(Probably mangling the terms but I mainly stayed on base and hung out at our hooch if I was going to drink)

For anyone interested, meat in Korean is 고기, and is usually transliterated to “gogi” in the Roman alphabet (e.g., English). That then is combined with a descriptive word for the type of meat. “Gae” means dog, and therefore dog meat is “gaegogi.”

As an exception to the above rule, bul means “fire” and therefore bulgogi actually means “fire meat,” and refers (I believe) to how it’s cooked. Although bulgogi may be beef, that’s not the literal translation of the term.

As an aside, a long-ago friend named his pet Gaegogi as a semi-joke, and which resulted in responses ranging from laughter to mild shock from people, including Koreans, who were familiar with the word.

(Different transliteration protocols have been used at different times, and therefore non-Roman alphabets are rendered differently by the various methods. The Roman spellings I used are from the Internet.)

I served at Camp Sabre (Munsan-ri) South Korea 69-70 and dog meat could be found out in public...Once while out on convoy going thru a village a dog was hit by a army truck and 2 people grabed the dogs leg trying to go two different direction when someone came out with a large knife and the dog was immedately cut in half and going in two different directions........................... Several years ago when South Korea hosted the Olympic Games the Korean Government went around the country in areas where foreign people possibly would go while attending the Olympic Games so as not possibly offend the foreigners...... And sometimes Americal soldiers had like camp mascots the were normaly kept on a locked chain with a lock on both ends to make sure the mascot did not become somebodys meal. ............................. drill sgt.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Countries that have dog meat consumption usually have a history of famine and poverty, and pet ownership was more of a luxury.

That makes sense.
If it's simply the only way to the next meal, I get it... but I'm glad it's ending there.

This can be a difficult one when you have several generations that's developed the taste for foods which are seen today as taboo or, near-taboo, meanwhile modernity has moved life beyond the difficulties of the past.
Not sure if the South Korean govt is providing any kind of compensation for those farmers who's business is the raising of dogs.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
Oh, and the older Korean men who buy into this stamina bullshit are morons. Advertising anything that can boost your stamina, and they fall for it. The dogs suffered because of them.

Totally, and that's how they probably sold the concept in the first place, generations ago when any source of protein was so severely needed. I can kind of get it, and I am also glad it's ending.

We have a S. Korean dog meat rescue.

He is a Jindo/Lab mix.

He came quite traumatized, and it has taken two years for him to adjust to a real dogs life.

I am so glad to read this!

quote:

Originally posted by smschulz:

quote:

South Korea bans consumption of dog meat

But kitty kats are OK.

Nope, I have never seen cat meat in east Asia.

Funny story - a younger American on a trip with me finished the presentations he needed to do for a 3 day meeting in 2 days so we let off to go sightsee on the 3rd day. The other company sent a translator with him to a nearby seaside amusement park. He told her the story about restaurants in the U.S. being accused of serving cats in place of chicken and the translator said "WHY? Cat tastes terrible!"

Dog is also served in southern China - I spent some time in Guangxi province which borders on Vietnam.

The dogs are food breeds, as others have stated, and somewhat "generic". Like if you order Chicken or Lamb or Pork in the U.S. - no breed or origin is indicated.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:
For anyone interested, meat in Korean is 고기, and is usually transliterated to “gogi” in the Roman alphabet (e.g., English). That then is combined with a descriptive word for the type of meat. “Gae” means dog, and therefore dog meat is “gaegogi.”

As an exception to the above rule, bul means “fire” and therefore bulgogi actually means “fire meat,” and refers (I believe) to how it’s cooked. Although bulgogi may be beef, that’s not the literal translation of the term.

As an aside, a long-ago friend named his pet Gaegogi as a semi-joke, and which resulted in responses ranging from laughter to mild shock from people, including Koreans, who were familiar with the word.

(Different transliteration protocols have been used at different times, and therefore non-Roman alphabets are rendered differently by the various methods. The Roman spellings I used are from the Internet.)

In practice however, many Koreans will not know what you're asking about if you refer to a dog as 개 (gae), because dogs are called 강아지 (kang a ji), the word for puppy.

This is all to say, if you talk about 개고기, MOST koreans will think you are asking about 게거기, (crab meat) which is pronounced exactly the same way.

If you want the dish obviously you ask for boshintang.

I'll caveat this with, my explanation would be correct in the city, where I never once saw dog meat for sale, only places that served the meal. In rural areas there may indeed still have been places that sold raw meat for home use.