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May 12, 2008
Dog meat on the menu in Korea (illegally)
From The Wall Street Journal online: Seoul Hounds Meat Vendors For Cleaner Chow
Dog meat is illegal in Seoul, but not in the rest of South Korea, according to the Wall Street Journal. Nevertheless, many Seoul restaurants serve it anyway. Lately though, dog meat has been linked to salmonella and staph infections, leading to calls to classify dogs as livestock in order to bring dog meat under food safety regulations. Here's a brief excerpt. The article is worth reading.
No official estimates exist on the size of South Korea's dog-meat industry. A 2006 survey by KBS-TV, one of the three main national networks, found that one in three respondents had eaten dog meat. It also found that consumption patterns were no different between people who had dogs as pets and those who didn't. Only 9% of respondents thought it should be banned.
"It's very high in protein and it doesn't leave you with a sense of fullness," says Kim Moon-suk, a 60-year-old who eats dog meat several times a year and says he likes it better than beef but not as much as chicken. One recent night, he sat down for a bowl at a casual restaurant called Kwang-kyo Grandmother's House, tucked way in a small alley in downtown Seoul. He said he came after a doctor's check-up earlier in the day revealed high blood pressure. "The doctor said I should eat some tonight," Mr. Kim said.
I suppose this bothers me a bit because I share my home with two dogs. Here's an interesting post on eating dog meat on WeirdMeat blog, including photos and a link to recipes.
May 12, 2008 in Food culture, food safety | Permalink
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Comments
How low can South Korea get? This is sick and disgusting. They are really no better than the North deep down inside they are exactly the same.
Disgusting people.
Posted by: Adriana Levis | Sep 10, 2008 9:01:08 PM
Adriana - I find your comments extremely offensive and racist towards Koreans both North and South. Before you go judging certain cultures why don't you try and understand why their diets are the way they are in the first place.
Certain Indians with specific religions downright find Americans diet of beef repulsive and offensive just as much as Americans find Korean's dieting on dog meat but you don't hear them extending PETA war cries.
North Koreans are also great people but they have an austere government that controls everything they do. Do you not think that their people in general want the same freedoms that we as Americans get to enjoy every single day? They are starving over there. Do not look down on them b/c their leader and government are tyrannical.
You are a typical narrow minded American numbskull.
Posted by: Gene | Oct 14, 2008 7:14:55 AM
Korean people continue to claim that dog eating is a centuries old tradition, but in truth, Korean cultural heritage does not include torturing and eating dogs and cats.
Boiling cats alive to make "medicine" never existed before the 1980s, when the idea was first promoted by dog dealers as a moneymaking scheme. Until the 1980s, dog eating was a back alley vice practised by men seeking to boost their sexual stamina.
Even if eating dogs and drinking cat juice were cultural traditions, isn’t it time to abandon these barbaric practices ? As human civilisation and cultures evolve, many nations have shed so-called "traditions" that are rooted in cruelty, suffering and subjugation.
Korean dog butchers also emphasise that dogs reared for slaughter and consumption are "food" dogs, as opposed to "pet" dogs.
However, despite how they look on the outside, all dogs suffer the same pain when they are beaten, blowtorched, hanged and electrocuted.
People are not being "racist" and culturally insensitive when they speak out about these practices if there was no cruelty involved. I have seen the dog markets first hand and see how people torture and kill animals. Noone should be silenced with the argument of "tradition". Everyone everywhere should be humane.
--Thanks for your comments. I happen to agree when it comes to animal cruelty. DMB
Posted by: Tania Golzari | Jan 6, 2009 9:33:53 AM
No one has yet noticed the obvious that we should not eat animals that are carnivorous, and we stick only to vegetarian (grazing) animals like sheep, goats and cows, and stop eating pig, dogs and cats.
Posted by: Adam Harris | Sep 24, 2009 8:34:13 AM
