2024-04-07 00:43:03
The historical center of Seoul attracts visitors for sightseeing and shopping for luxury goods. But part of the locals are heading here for another goal – to taste the dog meat soup. With this experience, which is increasingly criticized even by the Koreans themselves, but the pleasure-seekers will soon have a hard time. A law passed earlier this year will soon outlaw the breeding of dogs for meat.
From our Asian correspondent – One of the attractions of the Jongno district, the former center of Korean dynasties, is the covered market, which is one of the largest in the country. From the stalls waft the scent of seafood and the colors of all kinds of fruit shine, visitors can touch all types of textiles intended for everyday wear as well as those used for home decoration.
A little further away, there are restaurants that many local residents don’t know about or prefer not to admit their existence in the capital of a country of 51 million people in East Asia. But each of the local stallholders can advise where the establishments serving the so-called bositang, dog meat soup, are located.
In a narrow alley on the opposite side of a busy street, there are two, the only ones left when the nearby dog meat restaurants began to disappear over the past decades. CNN reports that between 2005 and 2014, up to 40 percent of them disappeared from Seoul. The decline continued in the following years. Cages with live dogs, whose lifespan depended on the number of customers, also disappeared from the adjacent streets.
South Koreans explain how the new dog meat ban will affect their lives. | Photo: Le Hiep Ha
Today the situation is different. Although neither eating nor raising dogs for meat is prohibited, they do not fall into the same industry as livestock. Dog farms were thus not subject to inspections and the authorities did not regulate them in any way. Inadequate hygiene measures and poor conditions, where several large breed dogs are crammed into small cages without the possibility of movement, are commonplace. In addition to animal rights organizations, the current First Lady Kim Keon Hee, who owns six dogs, also began to draw attention to the problem. The media there often cite her campaign as the reason why lawmakers unanimously approved a ban on breeding dogs for meat in January of this year.
The law will enter into force in 2027. After that, authorities will punish the breeding, killing and sale of dog meat intended for consumption with a fine of 30 million won (520 thousand crowns) and up to three years in prison. Consumption itself will not be subject to penalties. “The goal of this law is to contribute to the strengthening of animal rights, respect for life and harmonious coexistence between humans and animals,” the lawmakers said, according to the AP agency.
The tradition has gotten a bad rap
The last restaurant in the area stands directly across the street and advertises its offerings on signs above the entrance. “Sixty-year tradition,” adds the inscription on one of them. They did not want to talk to the Aktuálně.cz reporter about what the legislators’ decision means for the owners.
A shop window beckoning for bositang, dog meat soup. | Photo: Le Hiep Ha
“They are ashamed. Eating dog meat is perceived badly, they don’t want to be associated with it,” explains their answer, the translator accompanying the Aktuálně.cz reporter. The editors got the same reaction from a restaurant in the countryside, about an hour outside of Seoul, where this type of dining room is more common. According to the British station BBC, there are approximately 1,600 of them remaining in the whole country.
Jeong, 76, from a nearby restaurant in the center of the capital, is more forthcoming. “They’ve had that business for over fifty years,” he says, pointing in the direction of the restaurants, not sure which one he’s talking about. “I know the owners, we’ve all been doing business here for a long time,” he adds while preparing ingredients for the kitchen in front of the business entrance.
She didn’t think about banning dog meat herself, she ate bositang a long time ago and she doesn’t have any pets. He also doesn’t talk about it with his friends from the aforementioned restaurants. “He doesn’t cry,” sums up their feelings. “They should get good compensation from the government,” a woman from a nearby stall joins the conversation.
Seventy-six-year-old Jeong | Photo: Le Hiep Ha
Financial aid to farmers and restaurateurs was also mentioned by politicians. It is not yet clear what exactly it should look like. There are approximately 1,150 dog farms in the country, and South Korea is also the only country in the world with large dog breeding facilities. Most of them have more than 500 individuals, but there are also those where there are up to seven thousand dogs, AP writes. The Korea Food Dog Association believes that compensation should reach up to two million won (almost 35,000 crowns) per dog, reports the local Korea Times. Annually, farmers beat two and a half million of them.
Dog soup to cool the blood
Dog meat dishes gained popularity in Korea in the 1950s, when the country was in a civil war and people did not have enough food. Then there was the tradition of the so-called dog days, the three hottest days of the year, when people would go for bositang soup to cool their blood. The dish is also supposed to help men with potency. All Koreans interviewed admit that they also ate it when they were younger, during the dog days.
The consumption of dog meat is common in several Asian countries, for example in China, Vietnam or Indonesia, but it arouses the greatest emotions in South Korea. In addition to the first lady or the French actress Brigitte Bardot, who criticized the practice at the beginning of the millennium, the number of dissatisfied locals is also growing. Only a fifth of respondents in last year’s public opinion survey said they were in favor of preserving the tradition.
The survey also showed that 84 percent of respondents have never eaten dog meat and do not plan to in the future. In addition, more than half of the respondents believe that the tradition damages the country’s name abroad, citing a BBC survey.
Animal rights are not a topic in the country
“It’s good that they banned it, it shows that we are a developed country,” thinks 60-year-old Joo, who is walking her dog Chik. “Dogs are the only animals that can communicate with people, recognize our love and are loyal. We also know from history that people have kept dogs,” explains a woman who has a clothing store on the corner of the market.
“It’s an old people’s tradition, maybe that’s why it’s not disgusting to them. But younger people look at it differently, nobody wants to eat dogs anymore,” said 41-year-old Alice Yoo in Itaewon, a different part of the city that is targeted by younger Koreans. “A lot of people have dogs and the market for pet supplies has grown tremendously,” he explains while walking Sandy about what has changed.
32-year-old Hwang Geumbit, the owner of a dog cafe, also talks about the gradual change. “I think the government did it to get votes in the elections, rather than really wanting to help the animals,” he says over the constant barking of dogs waiting to be adopted here. “Animal rights are not a big issue in Korea,” he believes.
This is confirmed by 43-year-old Korean Mike, who admits that he only learned last week that animals other than dogs and cats feel pain. “I saw a video about killing cows and apparently they have consciousness too. I started thinking about it. But no, I can’t be a vegetarian. Not in Korea,” he adds, referring to the cuisine based on meat and seafood.
Video: Dog soup is the best for stamina, recommended by Korean TV (3/8/2021)
Dog soup is best for stamina, recommends dog meat Korea Central Television | Video: Phuong Phuong DPRK Daily