Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Dog meat dispute resurfaces
A government decision to impose strict regulations on processing and selling dog meat has reignited an old controversy over the traditional Koreans' practice of eating dog meat.

The Cabinet last Wednesday decided to draft measures that prohibit any brutal slaughtering of dogs and set hygiene guidelines on the processing and sale of dog meat. The Korean government has been under severe criticism both at home and abroad for turning a blind eye to the cruelty dogs are subjected to before they are slaughtered and the meat sold in back alleys. Since the current laws on animal protection and slaughtering don't include dogs as animals fit for human consumption, the processing and merchandising of dog meat has gone underground with no official guidelines to guarantee hygiene and animal welfare.

The dog meat soup called 'Boshintang' or nutrition soup is commonly consumed by Koreans as a special traditional cuisine, and restaurants specializing in the dog soup are easily identifiable.
by Lee Sun-young, The Korea Herald (March 14, 2005)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2005/03/14/200503140005.asp

[harri2002]

i love dogs... i'm gonna boycott korean companies... why don't you foreigners write to the blue house, ministry of agriculture, etc.?

[casey's moon]

we're not going to get into this debate again, are we?

[thebum]

Sorry to say, I'm going to get a bit into this debate.

I love dogs, but I also see no problem in eating them. I will probably try dog someday. It's just meat.

[harri2002]

[canadian_in_korea]

They had something on the news about this last night....my husband said the main focus was on how Korean people believe that there are dogs you have as a pet and ones that are bred for eating....but in reality the "dog man" gathers up all the strays that people have thrown on the street. So he said they were basically saying....start being responsible. As far as it goes for "changing" the dog meat industry in Korea.....it is the same as everything else. As a foreigner....we can't change Korea....we can write all the letters we want to...its not going to make a difference....the bottom line is.....Koreans will change Korea. If they stop eating it....then there is nobody to sell it to. As the younger generations of Korean get older....they will mold Korea to be what they want it to be....it might or might not include dog meat..who knows. I once got a letter from an "animal rights" group in Canada...asking me if I thought that it was ok to commit crimes if it was to protect the innocent...(animals)....I'm assuming that they were refering to "domesticated" animals...that is the difference for us....a dog for most people is domesticated.....cows, pigs etc....are livestock.....I think people could argue this point forever....when it all comes down to you....its up to you what you eat....I won't tell you not to eat it....and you won't tell me to eat it....and all will be fine..

[The Bobster]