The dog meat debate in Korea

Posted on : 2012-07-21 09:52 KST Modified on : 2012-07-21 09:52 KST
A wide range of South Korean opinion leaders weigh in with their views on the consumption of man’s best friend
Lee Kyeong-ja
Lee Kyeong-ja

Eating dog meat is a divisive issue among Koreans. In the past, a cultural relativist argument was made to support the tradition of eating dog meat in Korea. It was claimed that eating the cute critters was a unique aspect of Korean culture that couldn’t be understood by outsiders. But in recent years concerns over animal welfare have come up and clashed with those older values.
It was not easy to get some famous figures to voice their opinions on the eating of dog. The social controversy has been always simplified and reduced to a ‘civil vs savage argument’ or ‘yes or no for cultural relativism’. One of the interviewees demanded his comments not be published, saying he once got in trouble after appearing in a newspaper feature about a dog meat restaurant.
“I didn’t know about the restaurant before I participated on the trip for feature story. But they claimed I was a frequent customer of the restaurant after the article published. I got complaints from several animal protection groups,” he said.
Under these circumstances, 9 influential figures shared their experiences with and views on dog meat in interviews held between July 12 and 17.

 

Interview Questions

1. Do you eat dog meat?

2. What are your reasons for eating or not eat dog?

3. Do you have any personal experience with dogs or dog meat?

4. What’s your opinion on legislation about dog meat?

(i) Dogs should be managed under the Livestock Sanitation Act.

(ii) Government should ban the consumption of dog meat?

(iii) Any other opinions.

 

 novelist
novelist
Dog meat soup is the best when you lack vigor

1. I love eating dog meat.

2. When I was young, my family raised cattle, pigs, chickens, and dogs. I didn’t eat dog meat then, but ate beef, pork and chicken. I never thought of live poultry in the backyard when I was eating chicken. Same for pigs, even though I remember once my mom brought a newborn piglet in the freezing cold winter and took care of it for few days. I oppose prejudice related to dietary choices.

3. When I started my literary career in 1973, one of my seniors took me to a restaurant located in Jongno 3-ga. The stew was really good, and later I heard that it was dog meat stew. I haven’t declined the chance to eat dog meat after that experience, because the stew was really good.

I once visited a national textile factory near Hanoi, Vietnam. People from the company asked us what we wanted to eat. I half-jokingly suggested dog meat and they said they also eat it. The Vietnamese cooked the meet like Korean style boiled beef slices. We had it with salted shrimp and vegetables. I was kind of glad that Vietnam people also eat dog meat.

The best experience of mine was in my hometown, Yangyang in Gangwon province. In the summer, when I was still in my 40s, I tasted boiled meat with coarse salt, alongside the valley of the southern Mt. Seorak. I still can’t forget that taste. I realized that it was a real tonic for rejuvenating the body in the dog days of summer.

In my early 50s, I traveled around the countryside of Yunnan, China. After the harsh trip, I was diagnosed with a liver problem and got some medicine for my illness. But my seniors suggested eating dog meat instead of taking a pill, which might be harmful for other organs. I ate dog soup for 10 days, and recovered so well.

I usually finish the draft of my novel in a year, but towards the end I always feel lethargic. If I feel my energy is ebbing away, I ask my seniors to go for dog soup.

4. (i) I think dogs have to be managed under the Livestock Sanitation Act like other domestic animals, pigs or cows.

Cho Guk. professor at Seoul National University Law School
Cho Guk. professor at Seoul National University Law School
I’m stuck between dogs as companions and dogs as food.

1. Yes, sometimes I eat dog. I don’t visit the restaurant by myself, but if the seniors or elder people want to go, I don’t decline. I think I eat dog meat once every two years.

2. I think the opinions differ according to generation. The older generation raised dogs for guarding house or for food. I remember my father also liked dog meat. Pork and beef were so expensive in the old days, and the culture of eating dog meat came about naturally.

When we look up ‘Gyeongguk Daejeon’ of Joseon Dynasty [a comprehensive legal code used from the late Goryeo Dynasty to the early Joseon Dynasty], cattle was used for farming. People had to have permission from a county magistrate to slaughter a cow for food.

It was hard to obtain protein from beef or pork in the old days and the dog eating tradition continued to my father’s generation. The younger generation came to consider dogs companions. I’m right in the middle of those two generations. So if seniors want me to go eat dog meat, I cannot reject it on the basis of animal rights or something.

3. When I was in elementary school, my family had a pet, a spitz. One day, when I got back from school, the dog had disappeared. I was so furious after I heard that my grandmother sold it to a dogman.

4. (i) I think it should be legislated soon to improve the current unsanitary slaughter conditions. In terms of animal welfare, dog farming has a lot of problems. Even though they are raised for food, they should be provided with all their basic needs. I think that problem can be solved through the law.

But eating dog meat doesn’t necessarily have to be legally prohibited. I think the issue of dog meat turns on how people’s values have changed and will continue to change gradually. When the younger generation gets old, understanding about dog meat will have changed a lot.

Kim In-Guk
Kim In-Guk
I’m a bit sorry to say that I ate it yesterday

1. Yes, I do eat dog meat but only if I end up at a restaurant that serves dog meat, not by my intention.

2. I don’t think we should not eat dog meat, but recently I have felt pity for dogs.

3. It is said that Korean Catholics have a dog meat eating culture. When the Catholic Church was persecuted in the late 19th century, the believers fled to the mountains. They didn’t have enough protein, and that was one of the reasons for eating dogs.

When I was studying theology, we raised a dog by feeding it leftovers. We used to have it before the summer came. I remember having dog meat soup one summer day with my friends. But, those are all old memories. I don’t want to eat dog meat anymore.

(Why?) I just feel uncomfortable. There are so many things to eat other than that, so why do we have to eat dogs? (Do you still eat dog meat?) Well, actually yes, I had it yesterday. I was invited a seventieth birthday party of an old man, and that was the only food provided. I couldn’t say ‘no’.

I actually have quite a lot of memories with dogs. When I was in elementary school, I came home and couldn’t find my pet dog. I cried so much, and I even drew a picture of the dog. A few days later, my dog escaped from the new place and came back to my house, which was an hour away by bus.

I couldn’t help but send the dog back to the new owner, because the contract had already been signed. My dog was sold to guard the orchard. I heard that he lived quite long, and had a wonderful life.

4. I have nothing to say about the law, but kind of feel ambivalent. If they really have to be on dining tables, it would be better managed under the law… but I feel sorry for them at the same time…

 priest at Okcheon Catholic Church
priest at Okcheon Catholic Church
Cry for dogs but not for cows?

1.Yes, especially when I don’t feel well, I eat dog meat soup. Recently, my father was in bad health, and we went to the restaurant a few times to eat it. For me, dog meat is for restoring health.

2. Well, I don‘t think it matters whether to eat or not. It has been used for cure so long. If your body doesn’t accept the meat you don’t have to eat, but there should not be a standard for eating or not eating.

(Do you like dog meat? Do you think it’s delicious?) No, actually it doesn‘t taste that good. Beef tastes much better. I don’t eat it that often, but only when I feel exhausted. I recently ate dog meat with my father when he came to visit me in Seoul.

3. Some people in the countryside still raise dogs to eat. I don‘t think the third person can decide whether it’s right to eat dog meat or not. Edible dogs are not my pets… and that’s what they are raised for… People might ask me how on earth I eat dog meat. But does that question only apply to dogs?

Cows also can understand what people say and feel, and sometimes they even cry. It doesn’t make any sense to me to be sad about eating dogs while it is still okay to be happy, like singing a song when cutting beef.

My pet dog died last March or April. I had been living with him for three and a half years. I first saw him on the internet, a notice saying he was being given away. I visited that house and saw him sitting in the corner by himself. He looked so adorable, and I brought him home. I named him ‘Japchae [Korean mixed dish of boiled bean threads, stir-fried vegetables, and shredded meat]’ because he was crossbreed.

I left my dog at a farm just for a few days because I was traveling. At the farm, he ate rat poison by accident and died. As soon as I heard that news I cried so much, like someone close to me died. Even my wife mistakenly thought I had gotten news about some other girl’s death or something.

4. (i) Dog farming should be more sanitary, I think. Oh, but I’m afraid of my remarks causing a backlash. But, a lot of people still eat dog meat. I bet you can realize it if you visit the restaurant right in front of broadcasting station. There are a lot of signatures of celebrities who’ve eaten well there.

Kim Won-hyo
Kim Won-hyo
Bad memories of dogs being killed

1. I eat as little meat as I can manage and haven‘t eaten any dog meat since last year.

2. That doesn’t mean I became a vegetarian. In the past, the way Korean people treated dogs differed from how Westerners treated them. Now in Korea, the relationship between dogs and humans and our sense dog’s value are also changing. The argument over eating dog meat is situated between two cultural cords. One is the cultural relativism and the other is how to define the relationship between dogs and humans. In the past we didn’t notice contradiction between dogs as food and dogs as pets. Now we are well aware of the differences and relations have been reversed. However, treating someone who eats dog food as a barbarian is not right. It is definitely wrong to say one side is civilized and the other side is barbaric.

3. When I was young it was terrible to see dogs tied to a bicycle, dragged, and beaten to death by their owners for food.

4. (ii) In the past we ate dogs because we didn’t have enough of meat. But, now we are eating it because of the taste. It is no longer an issue of food shortage. Therefore, I think we should ban eating dog meat.

 Comedian
Comedian
I am a vegetarian wannabe

1. No, I do not eat dog meat.

2.To be honest, I don’t usually eat meat. Since I eat some fish, I’m like a half vegetarian, but anyway I am a vegetarian wannabe. Especially, these days I try to avoid eating meat. For me, there is no difference between dog meat, pork, and beef. I have been skeptical about eating meat for a long time and have no experience with dog meat.

4. I think there should be facilities solely for the slaughtering and processing of dogs. I take a negative stance on eating meat in general but not particularly on the eating of dog meat. Rejecting dog meat is a prejudice that stems from western thoughts and culture. For me, it is hard to differentiate between eating beef and dog meat. Whether I eat dog meat or beef I feel guilty

Jin Jung-kwon
Jin Jung-kwon
The issue of raising and slaughtering animals should be regulated by law

1. I eat dog meat once every 4 or 5 years. I don’t really enjoy eating it but if someone wants to eat dog meat with me I don’t refuse.

2. Since my childhood I have never refused to eat meat because I was influenced by God’s words from Genesis “Be fruitful and increase in number…. Rule over every living creature that moves on the ground.” If eating meat is good for my health there is no question about it. I often went to eat dog meat with my pastor and fellow congregants. In such surroundings I have never developed critical feelings about the issue.

3. 21 years ago, after I finished my last judicial examination my father kept giving me dog meat for a month. Dog meat soup for breakfast, dog meat stew for lunch and boiled dog meat for dinner. He seemed to believe there was no other food except dog meat to improve my health.

4. Over the long term, we should discuss the issue and lean toward (ii). However, since law shouldn’t overlook the reality we need to implement 1 right now. Thanks to Hankyoreh I’ve thought about the issue for the first time. I’ve had dog meat only twice or three times in the past ten years. I think I should consider not eating dog meat at all.

 professor at Liberal Art School of Dongyang University
professor at Liberal Art School of Dongyang University
Dogs are my family

1. I have two poodles at home, so how could I eat dogs? They are my family. I brought one of them when she was only two months old. Now she is 17 years and 4 months old and can’t see things properly. (Don’t you guys in baseball eat dog meat a lot?) Some people do, some people don’t. It depends on the person. In my case, everyone knows that I have dogs and nobody asks me to go eat dog meat.

2. Even though I do not eat dog meat, I don’t ask others not to eat it. I think it is part of food culture. I cannot try to stop others from enjoying their culture.

3. When I was in middle school, I hated so much when the village people hung and beat a dog before eating it, for a dog day of summer. Since I was little my family has had dogs. My family believed that if a child raises a dog and feels affection toward the dog the child will grow up as a warm-hearted adult who shows love and concern for other people.

4. If I had to choice between (i) and (ii), I would go with (ii).

Park No-ja
Park No-ja

I’m not comfortable eating dog meat

1.Two years ago, I stopped eating dog meat. Before, I ate once every two months. I never really enjoyed eating dog meat but most of the time I just followed my friends who liked it. A few days ago, poet Song Kyung-dong finished his probation and got sick and needed to be hospitalized in a Green Hospital. I visited him there and he was eating dog meat. I had a bit of it with him while drinking soju. There are not many people who eat dog meat these days. It’s not like eating beef or chicken, and I just feel uncomfortable eating it.

2. That all depends on one’s choice. If we consider current industrial farms, we cannot say only eating dog meat is barbaric. Lee Oh-deok, the late writer said if someone proves that eating dog meat cures diseases, he will eat it, but if not he won’t be able to eat it with pleasure.

3. One of my relatives’ goal was to eat a hundred bowls of dog meat soup every summer. Whenever he sees me he brings me to a dog meat restaurant.

4. (i) I don’t eat dog meat anymore because I feel uncomfortable. I heard that some dogs are raised in a massive factory farm and some of the owners even give them dog meat feed. One of my friends, who returned to farming, said he doesn’t eat dog meat unless the dogs were raised by him.

 

Translated by Kim Ji-seung and Jang Ju-hae, Hankyoreh English interns

 

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