Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Dev]

I found this video about dogs in Korea. Yes, it also covers the controversy of dog meat. I think it's a great video because you hear both sides of the debate from the dog meat industry and an animal protection group. Maybe the only fault is has is that it's a bit dated - filmed before the World Cup. But, I doubt much has changed since then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMQHa0aJLfY

[Tundra_Creature]

I'm in the grey area. Fence sitter as usual.

Although I love dogs and I own a lovely pup myself, I don't really see any problem with another culture eating them (as long as they don't go taking mine).

Like most things, for me it's more about the condition in which the animals are. I'm no activist or a vegetarian, but I believe that there should be certain quality standard of living for animals and killed as humanely as possible. You know, at least have some enjoyment before they die (I realize how harsh that comes off). The cruelty is what I have a problem with. Very hard for me to sit through that part where the dog is hanging from the tree getting kicked.

[RMNC]

I've got to agree that eating dog is probably no worse than cow or pig or any other animal. People hate eating dogs because dogs have more personality than, say, a chicken. They're soft, they've got big eyes, they're friendly (most of the time) and people can't get that from a cow. All in all, they're probably not treated much worse than your average cow which is strung up and has it's throat slit and is left to bleed out before being processed. I honestly don't want to eat dog because it tastes and smells way too funky in my opinion. The beating the dog for flavor thing is supposedly pretty uncommon, from what I've heard, and again, it really doesn't matter, in the overarching scope of what it means to eat meat.

[Dev]

One of the problems with dog meat production is that it's a clandestine industry. Seems like there are no regulations for raising and slaughtering the animals. It's very probable that that dog suffered greatly before it made it to your table.

With this lack of inspection, you have to be concerned about whether the meat is hygenic enough for consumption too.

At least with beef, the industry is regulated and the slaughtering is fairly high tech with the animals being stunned with a bolt to the head fired by a gun. The slaughtering is done as quickly to minimize suffering.

Whether you choose to eat beef, chicken, pork or dog is something you have to decide for yourself. It's good to be as informed as possible to make that decision.

I think that Korea needs to adopt laws for the raising and slaughtering of dogs to legitimize the industry.

[drydell]

Aside from the whole dogmeat issue...

It's great to see the general fear of dogs dropping away now that soooo many people have them as pets here....

Even the massive old dog (not sure of breed - like a giant white husky) that lumbers along gwangalli beach for his twice daily walk gets loads of people grinning and pointing in delight, -the kids like to give him a good old patting too....

On a related note - If anyone gets a chance - check out the bbc documentary The Secret Life of the Dog The intelligence of the border collie Betsy on it is incredible -she has a 350 word vocabulary - and can identify 3D objects after only seeing a 2D drawing of them....

[lalartu]

like everything else in Korea, dog issue shows a huge contrast in Korea.

on one end you have dog lover, huge dog supply industry (including hotels, grooming places, spas and even services that we dont even have in US)

on the other side of the spectrum you get the direct opposite. people who love eating them. people who are so freaked out of the dogs that they scream in the hallway when they see one (happened to me a few times with my little dachshund poochie) and people who have never even seen a dog. i kid you not, i met a 24 year old uni student who has shocked when he saw my dog and said he has never touched one in his life.
following the licking and biting that my puppy loves to do, the dude jumped on my bed and was ready to run away.
i also met korean students in vancouver who would freak out and scream when they saw me walking my dog. they were my neighbord and i felt bad t how retarded they were. no better word for that kind of behavior, especially if you come to another country to study.

so like so many other things in korea, this is just another yin and yang issue. which is why i love this country so much hehe