What kind of dogs do they eat in Korea? Why do they eat dogs in Korea (8 photos). This is a national tradition
One of the non-sports leitmotifs of the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang was the struggle of animal rights activists and all those who sympathize with animals against the old Korean tradition of eating dog meat.
It all started with the fact that the bronze medalist of the team race Dutch speed skater Jan Blokhuysen at a press conference either out of annoyance that he had to settle for third place, or out of real concern, he accused the Koreans of treating dogs poorly. “Please treat dogs better in this country,” advised Blokhuysen. The Koreans, who from time to time throw a stone into their garden, did not really like the athlete’s attack, so they staged a flash mob on social networks in which they accused the Europeans of interfering in the internal affairs of the country. As a result, the head of the Dutch sports delegation apologized: “I am forced to raise the issue of the incident that occurred at the press conference. On behalf of our entire delegation, I formally apologize for the athlete’s remarks.”
Soon, rumors appeared in the media that dog meat is sold in Korea on every corner and even in the Olympic village, and in public catering every now and then they strive to replace chicken or beef meat (chickens and cows are not so actively sympathized with at the Games) with dog meat. Animal rights activists, who had previously disliked cruel Asian traditions, quickly joined the conflict and took to the streets with slogans: “A dog is your friend or your food,” and photo and video footage of dogs being killed on Korean farms. They had previously signed a petition calling for a boycott of the Olympics in a country where they eat pets.
“South Korea is the 14th largest economy in the world, but in this country 2.5 million dogs and thousands of cats are slaughtered every year. This is called "healthy eating." Animals are forced to endure hardships and unimaginable torments from the moment they are born until the day they are killed. And South Koreans truly believe that the more a dog suffers, the more it will enrich the quality of the meat and increase the health benefits for the consumer. If South Korea wants to be respected as a nation of conscience, then South Koreans should strengthen their animal welfare laws and permanently ban the consumption of dog and cat meat,” the petition said.
Some Olympians joined the animal rights movement and decided to independently rescue the dogs that Koreans let into the “longevity soup.” For example, a gold medal winner Canadian figure skater Megan Duhamel will take home with her a dog that she bought from a dog meat farm. The girl named the puppy Mu-tai and wrote on social networks that he loves to sit in her arms. Now Duhamel encourages all athletes to follow her example. Coach Duhamel was surprised where the athlete found the dog, because there are no such farms near the Olympic Village, and no dogs were seen.
WHY DO THEY EAT DOGS IN KOREA?
Eating dog meat in Asian countries is an old tradition; only in China dog meat has been used as food since 500 BC. They ate dog meat in ancient times not only in Asia, but, for example, in Mexico. As for Korea, initially dogs were not perceived there as “friends of man,” but were raised as livestock. Today, nothing has changed in this regard; dogs, like cats, are not pets. According to Koreans, the difference between livestock and pet is subjective.
There is absolutely no religious or mythological explanation in the tradition of eating dogs, he told a MIR 24 correspondent. Candidate of Historical Sciences, Head of the Korean Sector of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Vorontsov. According to him, Koreans, like other Asians, eat dog meat because they believe it is healthy.
“This is a national tradition. Why do some people eat pork and others don't? In the eyes of Muslims, we can all also look blasphemous. Why do you need to go with your charter to someone else’s monastery? This is an ancient tradition that was born long before the advent of Europe, and in China already at that time there was a highly developed civilization and a whole class of highly educated people. It is good for health, they say. Many people consume various animals to maintain a healthy body. There is no religious or mythical explanation. Koreans prefer to eat specially farmed dog breeds, but that doesn't mean a pooch can't get into the pot. Many people talk about the cruel way of killing dogs, but why don't lethal injections be given to cows, pigs and chickens? Probably, the Dutch would also be indignant if they were told that their national mills were already tired,” said the historian.
Asians believe that dog meat increases potency and cures tuberculosis, which affects, for example, many rice harvesters who spend most of their time working in water. Such explanations allow Koreans to maintain dog markets, which horrify tourists and all those who are not close to this part of Asian culture. Dogs are kept there, really, like cattle. In cramped cages there are 20-30 animals sitting on top of each other. They are slaughtered right in front of the customers. Today in South Korea there are more than 17 thousand industrial dog farms and 2-2.5 million dogs are slaughtered every year.
But even such conditions of life and death for dogs are the result of the struggle of animal rights activists, including world-famous stars. Literally 10 years ago, dogs were slaughtered right on the streets, and not in a specially designated place.
The fact that Koreans, like other Asians, will give up dog meat in the near future is unlikely, Korean scholars believe. Today, dog meat is a holiday food that is not included in the daily diet, he said Candidate of Historical Sciences at the Institute of Asian and African Countries of Lomonosov Moscow State University Konstantin Asmolov.
“Koreans have long responded to these accusations like this: “. There is nothing we can do about it.” If during the 1988 Olympics, when the Koreans were more dependent on external opinion, they renamed dog soup "longevity soup" and removed such restaurants from the streets, placing them inside alleys rather than on main streets, but now the Korean position boils down to the following: “We don’t force anyone, we don’t do anything with particular cruelty, we don’t include this food as mandatory. “Whoever wants to be offended, let him be offended, but we are not going to look back at anyone.”
For a number of reasons, the tradition of eating dogs is associated specifically with Korea. Everyone knows that Koreans eat dogs. But a dog is food for festive occasions. All kinds of talk that the Koreans will sell you dog meat under the guise of pork is the same as assuming that they will cook you sturgeon and pass it off as pollock. Dog meat is not an everyday food - it is an elite food for special occasions. But this meat is not very expensive,” Asmolov said.
At the same time, the expert notes that today they eat less dogs in Korea, and the topic itself often becomes a litmus test for the media and the public. Korean society is not aggressive about discussing this problem. We're used to it.
“All these things are connected with the fact that, firstly, a more Europeanized generation has appeared, for whom a dog is not food, but an object for “usi-pusi,” and secondly, a generation has passed away that remembers what it’s like to live in the village and slaughter livestock there ourselves. Young people are accustomed to the fact that sausage is miraculously produced in their refrigerator. Moreover, since Korean public opinion is not very aggressive in this direction, this is a good way to score points on a topic that you can raise without significant risk. That is why this scandal is not really a scandal. On the one hand, animal rights activists have something to worry about, but on the other hand, have you seen many demonstrations for the rights of French frogs? Please note that in relation to China or Korea, animal rights activists are foaming, and for some reason they forget about other countries where dogs are also eaten,” Asmolov noted.
Bans on killing dogs have been introduced in the Philippines, Singapore and Hong Kong, but experts say the ban has not been implemented in practice. Dogs have been killed and are still being killed. But there is room for socio-political maneuver and the operation of black markets, of which there are quite a few, and their activities can no longer be regulated. In Vietnam, even more dogs are killed than in Korea - about five million a year, and even stolen dogs are often used for meat there. The level of dog consumption has continued in Cambodia.
HOW THE DEATH OF DOGS CELEBRATE IN CHINA
When experts talk about the lack of ritual in eating dog meat, they still miss one important event that takes place in China. Every year in the city of Yulin, from June 21 to June 30, the summer solstice is celebrated, the most important tradition of which is eating dog meat. In 10 days, city residents slaughter about 10-15 thousand dogs, believing that they are driving away the heat of the summer months.
In June 2015, a petition was prepared in the UK demanding that the festival be banned; the initiative collected three million signatures. The Chinese government even met the public halfway and banned the bloody holiday. However, this led to citizens accusing the state of aiding European influence in the country. The government quickly abandoned the ban, arguing that the Yulin festival was too old a national tradition and that dogs were killed humanely these days. However, footage that appears online from time to time from the Yulin festival suggests otherwise. Joyful Chinese sit at tables and watch dogs being killed.
For a long time, South Koreans were outraged by the desire of Western animal rights activists to take away their right to eat dog meat. They made strong arguments for the normality of their tastes. But now the tradition is disappearing by itself
Animal activists from the groups Animal Liberation Wave and Last Chance for Animals are protesting against the dog meat trade. Seoul, July 2018 Photo: Ed Jones/AFP
On Thursday, November 22, Korean authorities began dismantling the country's largest dog slaughterhouse complex, located in the city of Seongnam. Under pressure from animal rights activists, the area that previously housed six slaughterhouses that slaughtered dogs to serve special cafes and restaurants will soon be cleared of relevant structures and equipment, and in their place the municipal authorities plan to set up a park.
Last year, in the same Seongnam, handicraft dog slaughterhouses that operated in the local Moran market, considered one of the main centers for the sale of dog meat in South Korea, were destroyed. Despite such measures, the sale of dog meat itself is still considered acceptable. Traders were only prohibited from displaying live dogs for buyers to choose from, which, after purchase, were slaughtered and butchered on the spot. Just as the current closure of slaughterhouses that support dog meat restaurants does not mean that those restaurants themselves automatically close. Dog meat now finds itself in a gray area in Korea - eating it is not prohibited, but it is increasingly something to be ashamed of. Moreover, this status of dog meat has been determined in the last decade. And this makes us think about whether there are any unshakable customs and habits in our world, and whether the protection of traditions always justifies the efforts made.
Olympics without the taste of dog meat
If you ask a resident of Russia in which country they eat dogs, the answer will almost certainly be Korea. Despite the fact that dog meat is quite acceptable in the cuisine of some regions of China, and is also eaten in Southeast Asia, it was Korea that turned out to be the place on Earth with which the “enlightened world” has a strong association with eating dogs. And this is due, not least of all, to how Koreans themselves have treated their culinary tradition for at least the last 30 years. Although there have been debates about the extent to which it is acceptable and acceptable to eat dogs in previous years, one of the important turning points at the time was the country's preparation for hosting the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Then, preparing to receive delegations from all over the world, the authorities especially tried to eliminate everything that could negatively affect the country’s reputation in the eyes of foreign guests. It was then that restaurants and eateries serving dog meat were decided to be removed from the main city streets and moved somewhere to the back. At the time, the authorities' decision was met with indignation. Defenders of traditional values believed that the authorities were showing unacceptable servility towards foreigners and that there was no need to fuss with the feelings of guests when it comes to ordinary national food. However, worried about the country's reputation, the authorities went even further, declaring the raising of dogs for slaughter and the production of dog meat illegal in 1988. However, no punishment was established for violating this law. The actions of the officials seemed to emphasize that the state was experiencing some embarrassment from the existence of the custom, but would not act with direct prohibitions.
A Seoul restaurant waitress serves dog meat to students at the French Lyceum on April 12, 2002. French activists have condemned the consumption of dog meat in Korea and stepped up their campaign ahead of the World Cup finals.
Photo: Kim Jae-Hwan/AFP
Guarding traditions
The first reaction to the bans was outrage. At the same time, criticism from foreigners, of course, caused particular irritation. For a long time, the campaign against the slaughter of dogs for meat in Korea was led by Brigitte Bardot, who, after leaving the film industry, devoted herself to protecting animal rights. She publicly called this tradition “barbaric.” In response, Bardo began to receive thousands of indignant letters, the senders of which did not advise the representative of a country where they eat snails and frogs to discuss someone’s culinary traditions.
When South Korea and Japan were scheduled to host the FIFA World Cup in 2002, FIFA called on the republic to ban the trade in dog meat and dog dishes out of respect for the feelings of the championship guests. In response, a group of Korean parliamentarians took the initiative to immediately restore legal status to the sale of dog meat as a protest against shameless interference in the country's affairs.
Of course, the indignation at foreign criticism and the pointing out the hypocrisy and hypocrisy of representatives of Western countries lamenting the fate of Korean dogs was not uniform. In Korean society even in those days there were opponents of eating dog meat, who were skeptical about the value of this custom. Nevertheless, the voice of the defenders of tradition was strong. In the end, they could be understood. Eating dog meat is no more terrible than eating any other meat. Moreover, a special type of dog is used for food in Korea, close to Spitz dogs, which were traditionally raised specifically for subsequent slaughter - no personal relationship is established with these dogs, they are not members of someone’s family. It is difficult to say what kind of character and intelligence a dog has, which for generations has been selected only for the quality of its meat.
The dog enters the house
However, with all these completely reliable arguments that could allow everyone to continue to eat dog meat, feeling like sensible traditionalists, something in Korean society began to change on its own.
As Korea prepared for its next major sporting event, the Pyeongchang Olympics, organizers preferred to talk about eating dog meat as a dying tradition. The chairman of the Pyeongchang 2018 organizing committee, Kim Jin-sung, responded to a corresponding question asked of him during the Olympics in Sochi, and replied that this time he does not expect any protests about eating dogs, since no one eats dog meat in the country now. In any case, he does not know a single such person in his environment. Of course, the outright cunning of an official does not require exposure. And yet, even for such a denial of the obvious, there are some grounds. Koreans are indeed eating less and less dogs and are inclined to listen to the arguments of supporters of a ban on dog meat. According to a 2015 survey, 37 percent of South Koreans reported eating dog meat. This is significantly less than the data from previous years. In 2017, 70 percent of respondents claimed that they do not eat dogs. Moreover, among teenagers, the proportion of those who refused dog meat reached 80 percent.
Not all of those who have stopped considering dogs as a source of food consider it necessary to completely ban dog meat. Nevertheless, the sharp decline in interest in this aspect of national cuisine is really noticeable. This is explained primarily by the fact that Korea itself has changed. The dog has become a common pet in the country; Previously, due to traditions and living standards, dogs were rarely kept at home. This means that the psychological attitude towards eating their meat has changed. But most importantly, Korea has become an economic giant, widely integrated into the world economy; its youth, at least the educated part of it, consider themselves on the global agenda. She simply does not need to adhere to an extremely controversial culinary custom that causes confusion or, conversely, unhealthy interest among foreign interlocutors. Now the reluctance to kill dogs in order to eat them is not some stereotype imposed on them from the outside, but simply a normal part of the beliefs of an educated city dweller. In addition, the semi-legal status of dog meat also affects the characteristics of its sale in not very prestigious markets and in special restaurants. Which can also work as a limiter. One way or another, the owners of such restaurants themselves say that the demand for dog dishes is constantly decreasing. This turns into a specific treat for older people who are not ready to give up old habits.
Serious arguments can be found in defense of any controversial tradition. They can be sentimental or extremely rational. If such a tradition is criticized by an outsider, this causes an instinctive protest. And there is also a reason for such a protest: an outsider may turn out to be a hypocrite or simply not very smart. However, all this is not at all a reason to hold on to such bonds forever. Sometimes you can just become a little richer, look at the world a little more broadly, and you yourself will stop wanting to eat dogs. There are plenty of such “dogs” in every culture.
Perhaps few topics can generate as much interest as the topic of Koreans eating dog meat. A person may not have specific ideas about the social structure or history of this country, but he will definitely show off his “dog erudition.” Quite often, the topic of eating dogs becomes the subject of jokes and sarcastic remarks. But despite all this, many misconceptions and myths still arise around this topic.
Doggy There are many different names for his soup in Korea. For example, the oldest is considered to be “gaejangguk” (개장국) - a soup made from dog meat and soybean paste. Another name is posinthan (보신탕), today it is mainly served in Korean restaurants. Also, the names “yongyangtang” (영양탕) – a soup enriched with nutrients and “sacholtang” (사철탕) – a soup for any season are often used.
If we look at history, the dog was not historically a domestic animal. The concept that a dog is “man’s friend” came only towards the end of the last century under the influence of globalization along with Western values. Moreover, in ordinary speech the words “dog” and “dog” are considered abusive. If you look at popular collections of folk tales and legends, you will see that there are not so many stories in which the dog acts as the hero’s devoted friend. But much more often there are stories where dogs are presented as either neutral animals without any specific characteristics, or even as dangerous and unkind creatures sent from the other world.
The concerns of some tourists who fear that in a Korean restaurant they will be given a dog instead of the beef or pork they ordered are, to put it mildly, groundless. Don’t worry, they won’t slip it to you, the dog is more expensive. If you think Koreans eat dog every day, then you are very mistaken. Dog meat was never an everyday food, it was either seasonal or medicinal food. But in North Korea, such food is more common. There, dog soup is called tankogikuk (단고기국) and they are not at all embarrassed to eat it.
By the way, it is interesting to note that another popular Korean soup these days, yukkaejang, is also related to dog meat. And although today only beef is put in it, the second syllable (“ke” - dog) in its name treacherously betrays the “dog origin” of this dish.
I went to Korea for examination and treatment, but I decided to make an interesting trip out of the dull medical examination, and I succeeded. A complete examination, thanks to the first-class system of the Korean Severance clinic, took me only 5 hours instead of the usual month in Russia, so I devoted most of the tour to studying Korea.
And you know, it's really cool here. I stopped uploading photos to my Instagram (nemihail), but now I use it exclusively for video stories, which subscribers see immediately after I took them, and after a day they disappear forever, a very interesting format, so if you want to travel with me , then add yourself, there is still a video from this restaurant hanging there. Well, if you are more accustomed to the photo version, then everything can be quickly found on my Telegram channel (telegram.me/nemihail).
The tradition of eating dogs is gradually dying, today it is quite expensive and young people are not ready to overpay, so the visitors of such restaurants, with rare exceptions, are older people and tourists who are interested in trying everything.
This is quite an old and very famous restaurant in Seoul.
As in many traditional restaurants, people eat while sitting on the floor on special cushions, and the floor itself is well heated.
The finished dogs are butchered right in the common room in your presence.
The cost of a 200g serving is 25,000 KRW (Korean won or $25)
The finished meat is steamed on a special burner with a small gas cylinder.
Almost any national restaurant serves Panchhan snacks. The minimum composition of panchhan is kimchi (cabbage).
And radish.
The most delicious meat of a dog is on the ribs. The cut meat is placed on an onion bed and partially covered with onions.
While the main dish is steaming, dog meat soup is served on the table. Like many Korean soups, it is very tasty, but somehow I couldn’t pick out anything special about the dog in it.
Rice must be served with the soup. Koreans use it like we use bread.
The meat is served with a special sauce made with sesame oil.
The contents of this plate should be mixed well, the meat should be rolled in this sauce and wrapped in onions. This is how Koreans eat meat.
Local vodka is also very popular among ordinary Koreans; it is not very strong and costs only $1. Vodka is almost always advertised by young Korean women.
Well, and most importantly, dog meat is very tasty, to my taste it resembles lamb meat, I would even say that it is more tender and tastier than lamb meat and there is no obsessive lamb smell. So if you have the opportunity, don't deny yourself the pleasure.
Would you eat dog?
This report was very difficult for me. In one country, people and society there are two completely different views on dog question. It’s as if cannibals and those who don’t eat human flesh coexist with us at the same time. And now you know that your neighbor in the stairwell ate his grandfather, but you continue to greet him in the elevator and celebrate the New Year together in the yard. I don’t know what else this can be compared to.
IN
In Seoul you can find both a cute cafe with pets that you can play with over a cup of tea, and a market where they sell dog meat, and the dog you like will have its head crushed with a stone and then butchered, like a lamb in Muslim countries.
Warning! This publication does NOT contain scenes of violence against animals. However, if you have a strong imagination or a weak psyche, please refrain from reading this post.
1 You won’t find dog meat at a regular grocery market. Or indistinguishable from other meats laid out on the shelves. Only the Koreans know, this is their little secret, which has long become known to the whole world. And the world perceives this, most often, with hostility and negatively. There is one place in Seoul that specializes in selling dogs for food - the Moran Market at the subway station of the same name. Seeing a man with a camera, sellers begin to block the windows, wave their arms and shout. And they really don’t like foreigners here, and for good reason: many compassionate tourists began to demand that the animals be released immediately, or, returning home, they posted photographs of baked dogs online and incited international animal protection organizations.
2 I also felt very sorry for them. One dog has visible bruises; he was beaten severely. They are all kept in cages and treated like any other animal prepared for slaughter.
3 The most popular dog meat dish is “health soup”. Koreans who eat this meat believe that it prolongs life and cures many diseases, primarily of an intimate nature. In some Seoul (and even Russian, for that matter, in the Far East this is par for the course) cafes, even a foreigner can try this soup.
4 The last seconds of this dog’s life: (When I caught up with them, a short squeal was heard from the pen, like a sob, and immediately fell silent.
5 In the same country, in the same city, ten kilometers from the terrible market, there is a dog cafe. In quite the opposite sense.
6 Guests are greeted by a motley gang of smiling animals. They welcome every new visitor as if they were their own mother! It is impossible to remain indifferent!
7 There is no food here, only drinks like tea, coffee and smoothies, and also dog food that you can feed to your favorite dog. First-time visitors are given a set of rules, the main one of which is that visiting the cafe is completely free, but you need to buy at least one drink. A glass of hot green tea here costs more than in ordinary Seoul cafes, six dollars. But by Moscow standards it’s even inexpensive.
8 This is not a menu, as you might first think, but a card with information about the dogs that live in the cafe. Breed, name, age, favorite food...
9 The cafe is not a shelter or a kennel, you cannot take the dog you like, they are taken care of well here anyway. The project itself is exclusively charitable, and it resonates in society. In the metropolis of Seoul, there are millions of people who love dogs, but for many reasons cannot get one. Korean apartments are very small, and animals need space.
10 Special people monitor the comfort of the dogs; they are walked several times a day, they are cleaned after them, fed, and their hair is combed.
13 Such cafes with animals are common in many countries of the world, nothing unusual. In addition, just a few kilometers away is the Moran market, where dog meat is openly sold.
14 Such is the contrast. They say that young Koreans, striving to be like Europeans, absorbing the values and culture of the Western world, do not accept dog eating in any form, and within a generation such markets may disappear.
15 I apologize for combining these two topics into one. But it was very important to show both points of view on the same thing in one, inseparable society.