Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Cthulhu]

Just wondering if people have tried that most unique of Korean dishes, the original "kibbles and bits?" I tried it a couple of times ages ago when I first came here, but lost interest in it (it seemed dry and not very tasty--maybe a bad batch?).

Subsequently there was a scandal about some of the dogs coming from medical labs and I really lost my taste for it. Without government inspection standards (meat quality and checking the killing method of the pooches) I wouldn't touch it, though I'm not adverse to it in concept.

[atina]

these dogs are "beaten and started on fire alive" (I am quoting some Korean adult students of mine) to bring out the adrenaline

it would be very humane of you not to eat anything made of dog meat.

it is not my case to say that one type of meat should be eaten and another not but we eat to live and no animal should suffer in this way so that we can have their adrenaline

[Cthulhu]

Wow--I knew they were beaten sometimes but set on fire? Anyway, that's one of the reasons why I don't eat it these days. Gov't inspections and standards should remedy that; unfortunately, as long as the West demonizes dog-eating, the Korean government has to turn an official blind eye to it instead of regulating it.

[gbm]

What's this? The Great Cthulhu turns away from dog soup because it wants to be humane and it fears pollutants from medical testing? My, how aeons of sleep in Rl'Yeh have changed your ways, my lord!

Perhaps if you want to be humane, though, you should take the opposite approach - or at least appear to. Try to de-demonize dog-eating among foreigners and hope the government starts regulating it. After all, shouldn't we be demonizing entities such as shoggoths instead of dog soup?

On a more serious note, I can't wait to get a chance to try it even tho i'm a little scared after the medical lab thing . . .

The dogs suffer a little, but so do a lot of animals raised for food. Why not stop eating meat all together if you're worried about the humane treatment of meat?

[Cthulhu]

Now, of course Great Cthulhu always eats things whole! No time for good or evil, chewing or torturing. It's up to my followers to make 'em suffer a bit! But let me tell you, everytime I heard of someone chewing down on one of my stinky cousins in the movie theater I see red...

Anyway, I'm not for super-comfy humane treatment, but it is true that the killing method of dogs can go over the line at times. There's no comparison to beatings and shocks to "soften" the meat. Perhaps veal back home comes somewhat close, though for different reasons...

And yes, the medical testing wasn't good. I remember getting sick right after the second time I had it, just a couple of weeks before the papers broke the medical labs story. Made me think, I'll tell you.

[jaderedux]

Actually I sort of like it.

Now growing up in farm country and beings that my father worked in a meat packing plant. I am just not too squimish about butchering.

BTW....to properly kill beef cattle it is stunned first NOT KILLED. Then it's throat is cut and it is shackled by one hoof and hung upside down to bleed. The heart must still be beating while the blood drains or the meat tastes bad. Not particularly humane either.

I went to Moran Market and they have large dog butchering section. Was a little disconcerting but, I didn't see any animals being tortured.

These animals are not pets, they are raised for meat just like cows.

But, everyone has a line they won't cross. In China I refused to eat cat and I won't eat silk pupae.

I don't condem anyone for not eating it and I don't try to convince anyone they should eat it. It is a cultural thing in some Asian countries. (not just Korea)

What does piss me off is the likes of Bridget Bardot and that bunch of rich, elitist snobs wailing and whining about something they don't know anything about. And oh by the way before she got a so called conscience Ms. Bardot sported a fur or two in her day.

My two cents.

Jade

[chi-chi]

"These animals are not pets."
Yes, they sometimes are. It is a special type of dog native to Korea, and I have seen them chained up or fenced up as pets, also I saw one in the vets office when I had my cat immunized.
I do not know the name of the breed, but it is a big, white dog. (Well, not really big, but bigger than the tiny toy dogs around here.)
Anyways, whatever but just so you know the dogs ARE kept as pets sometimes.

[Zyzyfer]

I tried it once. It was alright, but nothing I'm all eager to go eating just to say I did it or even because it was enjoyable. Just not my kinda taste.

[saw6436]

The house I currently live in was once used to raise dogs for consumption. Perhaps the previous owner was an exception but I have never seen nicer facilities "for livestock" anywhere. These critters had it good (until the end). I enjoy a nice bowl or two of dog soup 3-4 times of year (summer is best). It is not my favorite Korean dish but I never turn down the offer to eat it. Another good way to eat dog is to steam it and eat it like you would Kalbi.
I must admit that my first time eating it I was a bit squeemish but I quicky got over it (found the dogs lower jaw bone in my soup the first time - teeth and all). As to the cruelty to the dogs I have yet find evidence to support that claim. The two favorite methods of killing the dogs seem to be clubbing and hanging. But I have never heard of burning it to death. I questioned the owner of a restaurant about BBQing dog and she told me that fire actually produces a strange smell and taste in the meat so you would never want to burn the meat. That is why all you will find is dog soup or steamed do meat.
And yes pet dogs do end up in the pot. What Koreans refer to as a "Dung Gae" literally "shitdog". But not the tiny mutts, must be a big dog. And no koreans do not eat Chindo Dogs (at least not full blooded ones). Of course I always claim that if Koreans can catch it they will eat it, so perhaps there is a recipe for Chindo Dog Soup.
Once of my best buds over here and I were talking once about pets we had when we were kids. After telling me about how smart, loving and gentle his dog was I asked what happened to his dog. His reply "my friends and I ate it". In his view it was a dinner just waiting to happen from the beginning. It reminded me of the time in middle school when my friends and I bought a calf, raised it, named it, played with it (we rode it like a horse) but after 2 years we butchered it and our families shared the meat. We were all a bit sad to kill "General" but that is why we bought him in the first place. Face it, in parts of the world somethings are considered to be livestock and in other parts pets.

[batman]

This reminds me of a discussion from pusanweb.
The originator of that discussion posted this link
http://koreananimals.org/dogs.htm
Interesting website devoted to the welfare of animals in Korea.
As far as dog meat goes, I have never tried it nor will I.
I do not condemn those that eat it as 'meat is meat is meat'.
There is a dog butcher in Daeyeun Traditional Market who cuts and sells a variety of dogs.
Funny, but I never feel much sorrow for the little toy poodles when I see them on the block.
The idea that only the large dog (looks like the Cheju dog) is eaten is little more than a fallacy.
Any dog is game (especially male dogs who still have their cherries intact).
There is an area north of Nampodong in Busan where one can find a collection of dog sellers.
Their living quarters are bare and bleak but nothing too hideous.
The meat industry in America is by far much much worse (especially the superlarge producers).

[stargazer]

I was at the aforementioned Moran market one day and saw a whole dog which had been barbecued alive. It was lying on top of a cage which held five live dogs. Its lips were curled back and I couldn't help thinking how cruel a death it had suffered. I had a neighbour in Sokch'o who raised dogs for food and he would beat them unmercifully before he finally killed them. I like to eat meat , but I don't think the animal should suffer incredible pain.

[jaderedux]

Stargazer, I am not being sarcastic in any way but if you saw how beef was slaughtered you wouldn't eat it either. Remember, they are feed sometimes to the point of not being able to walk well. Put in a trailer 40 to 45 at a time.

Many have broken legs and and are terrified as they are led to the "knocking" line. They smell the blood and are prodded and poked into line. They are then "shot" with a gun in the forehead which stuns them but does not kill them. A shackle is placed on one leg and it is suspended in the air. While they are alive their throats are cut so the still beating heart will pump the blood out. The sound of the animals being led to slaughter is not all that pretty either.

Lets not pretend that beef is slaughtered in a humane way. Same goes for how we raise chickens, hogs and veal. Veal being the most despicable.

So who is the "most" cruel? Hard to say I guess. I just try not to moralize to anyone about this sort of thing as unless you are a vegan the moral ice is pretty thin.

I tend to disagree about the pet thing. Most of the Koreans I know tell me they do not eat dogs that are pets. Now some breeds are both pet and food but family pets are not eaten. But maybe they tell me this to appease my western sensibilities.

Anyway, interesting discussion.

Jade

[Hyalucent]

[simulated stereo]

I like it.

[Hank Scorpio]