On April 19th, dog meat stew, also known as bosintaing (보신탕) was featured on a food delivery app. Alarmed, a citizen reported it to an animal protection organization and insisted action be taken regarding the matter. As a result, the organization reported the issue to delivery app companies, which in turn responded by banning all dog meat products from their menus.

The policies state that the sale of dog meat is prohibited. However, some vendors fake their menus or change the names of their products that contain dog meat and continue to operate, posing a challenge for the companies responsible for monitoring these restaurants. According to research conducted by the Humane Society International (HSI) in 2020, 89.8% out of 1,000 respondents have never consumed dog meat, and 58.6% of which supported placing the prohibition on dog meat. Consumption of dog meat is no longer customary in South Korea, as most Koreans consider it to be inhumane and outdated.

The start of the practice of dog meat consumption dates back to the mid-Joseon era in the 1500s. Then in the latter part of the Joseon era (the 1630s), it became the main food consumed during boknal (복날), The dog days of summer, which refers to the period from July to August. 

The main reason behind the practice was for protein, as during those times in the summer, common sources of protein, such as cows, were used for farming purposes. Therefore, many people looked for dogs as sustenance. According to Dongui Bogam (동의보감), a book written by the royal physician Heo Jun (허준) during the Joseon era, “Dog meat makes [the] stomach comfortable, fixes blood veins, strengthens intestines and stomach. Also, it strengthens marrow, which helps the spine and knees, and it strengthens one’s stamina.”

However, during President Rhee Seung-Man’s regime in the 1950s, dog meat was banned across the country. First lady Francesca Donner Rhee was Austrian-born, and she thought it was unsanitary and uncivilized to consume dog meat. However, it gained popularity again in the 1960s when the Moran Market (모란시장) formed. From then on up to the year 2001, 54 restaurants opened.

Dog meat became a popular ingredient again in the 1980s, which is when it received global attention during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. As a result, the government categorized dog meat as hatred food and banned the sale. However, menus that included dog meat were sold under different names like yongyangtang (영양탕) and sacheoltang (사철탕).

During the 2002 World Cup, the National Dog Meat Restaurant Association, which made up of 150 restaurants that serve dog meat, served samples of dog meat menus to visitors of the 10 different stadiums that hosted the World Cup in South Korea. The samples, along with leaflets outlining the nutritional and cultural values of dog meat consumption, were distributed in order to remove the prejudice against dog meat consumption amongst foreigners and encourage visitors to try the restaurants that served these menus as well.

Additionally, students from Seoul University set up a website with articles in both Korean and English to outline the benefits and cultural significance of dog meat consumption in the country, and had started a petition to promote dog eating, which garnered over 11,000 signatures.

The consumption of dog meat was common during the early 2000s. In 2006, the number of the annual consumption of dogs marked two million. In one study, 567 out of 1,025 respondents said that they had consumed dog meat. At that time, those who opposed the consumption of dog meat were more focused on cultural identity rather than animal rights. For example, in 2002, when Jay Leno, then-host of NBC’s The Tonight Show, mocked Koreans for consuming dog meat, Korean internet users expressed their frustrations by bashing the online comments on the broadcasting station’s website. They were frustrated because of the direct insult that they felt from the host. 

 

However, starting from the mid-2000s, animal rights organizations called for the prohibition of dog meat consumption. The controversy regarding this issue was brought to light during the Jangsu-Dong incident (장수동 개지옥사건) where the harsh treatment of dogs was explicitly shown via mainstream media in 2006. The incident included the inhumane acts towards the dogs, where the dogs were starved by the farmers while being domesticated. In that same year, 75% of the survey respondents opposed consuming dog meats even given their past experience.

In 2008, farmers who raise dogs for consumption founded the Korea Dog Meat Organization (대한육견협회), and have been advocating the legalization of dog meat ever since. They favor the mass production system of dog meats just like for beef, chicken, and pork.

In 2017, there were 2,862 dog meat farms in total and 781,740 dogs were being domesticated. 422 farms were taming more than 500 dogs. However, the issue of dog meat consumption is no longer a pressing concern as people’s conception has changed over time.

 

The attitude towards pets differs from one generation to another. According to the HSI, for the young generation specifically, the interaction with their pets has given increased interest and empathy towards them. This has contributed to widespread interest in animal protection and negative perception towards the consumption of dog meat. Even among younger generations, the increased interest in human rights gave rise to the awareness of animal rights.

 

There are more than a million dogs tamed within the farms, but current standards only cover the issue of waste management of the farms.

However, dog meat is not approved as a food ingredient under the current law. According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety standards, dog meats were not part of approved ingredients for consumption. Dogs are included as livestock; however, it is not designated as poultry, which is necessary for approval for slaughter, production, and sale.

A combination of the words “dog” (개) and child (어린이). It’s used to describe puppies.