Brigitte Anne Marie Bardot, a French animal rights activist, once said that Koreans are “dog-eating barbarians” who love consuming dog meat. Pet lovers might agree with her statement, but Koreans responded that it is a part of a tradition that is deeply rooted in history. Furthermore, the current generation is striving to break down stereotypes that many people have toward the Korean dog eating culture.
Tracing back further than the 4th century, Boshintang, also known as “dog meat soup”, came to existence centuries ago. Korean ancestors defined dogs in two different ways. 犬 [Gyeon] represents dogs that were used for guarding their houses and 拘 [Gu] means for dogs that are used for meat. Korean ancestors needed provisions that could replace cattle and pigs. Cattle were significant to agricultural society in order to let them to plow a field. To Koreans, pigs were only eaten during the special days. Therefore, they came up with dogs that could be easily obtained and are nutritious.
However, Korea’s old tradition is gradually diminishing, since public opinion and people’s perspective on Boshintang have altered. On June 24th 2018, 177,549 people supported a petition to create a new law for prohibiting dogs and cats killings. Unfortunately, not many non-Korean are aware of this, but merely believe that Koreans are just uncivilized. There have been increasing numbers of dog owners in South Korea recently. According to the research taken from ‘Last Chance for Animals’ in 2015, 21.8% of South Koreans have responded that they are raising pets, and this is a 4.4% growth compared to prior research which was 17.4% in 2010. Due this, there has been a decrease in the dog meat industry. It was estimated that approximately 199 producers shut down.
Boshintang itself is deeply embedded in South Korea’s history, and many Koreans nowadays are striving to let go their practices and save stray dogs from slaughter. It is vital to understand their cultural background without stereotyping through one’s own culture and try to keep up with the current trends in the issue.
Sooyoun Kim | Staff Writer
Komentáře