Calls increase to end sale of dog meat in South Korea and for the country to part with culture and tradition.
Seoul, South Korea – For a long time, South Korea has been associated with a stereotype that many of its people enjoyed eating dog.
At every major international sports event hosted by Korea, including this month’s Winter Olympics, activists fight to root out the centuries-old custom.
The 1988 Seoul Olympics marked the first time South Korea received international criticism for eating dog.
During the football World Cup in 2002, French actress Brigitte Bardot campaigned to boycott the event.
This year, nearly 500,000 people have signed a petition against the Winter Olympics. Animal-rights groups are even offering a VR experience of dog meat farms to raise awareness.
In South Korea, dog is neither illegal nor fully legal. It is categorised as livestock but not as food by the Ministry of Food and Drugs.
Historically, dog was a popular dish on the Korean Peninsula, especially as a cheaper source of protein than beef or pork, which were valuable resources in a farming society.
There are royal records from the 16th century describing an official who particularly liked the meat (grilled) and whose followers bribed him with dog to get promotions.
„Eating dog was a widespread custom in Asia,“ Joo Young-ha, a food historian and the author of the book Why Do Koreans Eat Like This?, told Al Jazeera.
„Records dating back 150 years show French missionaries eating dog meat in Korea because they realised they wouldn’t get protein otherwise.“
In a country where about one-third of households now own a pet, public opinion is turning against canine cuisine.
Last year, the country’s biggest dog market closed – dog merchants in Moran Market, located less than 30km outside the capital Seoul, traded about 80,000 dogs annually.
„Nowadays, it’s different. South Korea is no longer a society where you can have dog meat openly,“ Joo said.
It’s not just the outside world that perceives dog-eating as an outdated custom, according to Joo. Many South Koreans, influenced by Western norms, side with the international outcry against the industry’s often inhumane practices towards „man’s best friend“, he said.
