Seongnam City has sparked controversy [Yonhap News, Korean] by registering an online dogmeat shopping website.
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e-Bosin.com
This entry was written by Robert Koehler, posted on July 3, 2007 at 6:05 pm, filed under Asides, South Korea. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.
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32 Comments
Wonder why there isn’t an English version of the page.
man… everyone over there eats dogs, why do they care so much what other people think?
I remember reading a funny anecdote by a Korean war veteran who saw ROK forces eating dogs and being disgusted. But as the war progressed, he started to eat dogs too. I guess he got sick of C rations.
During the war, my grandparents had a reputedly very smart and loveable dog. The bbalchisan stranded around byungsan told them to kill the dog, because it was yepping too much. My family ate the dog, but reportedly my grandfather didn’t eat his dog… Mind you, my grandfather was an avid dog eater. Of course, I wonder why the bbalchisan didn’t just take the dog with them for food. I guess they were being nice.
#2
“everyone over there eats dogs, why do they care so much what other people think?”
Because most Korean people don’t eat dog meat.
News update: The website will be closed down following the order, or the suggestion, of the City of Seongnam.
http://news.chosun.com/site/da.....00854.html
“Because most Korean people don’t eat dog meat.”
There are three mung-mungtang restaurants within a square kilometer of where I work in downtown Seaoul.
#5
There is no mung-mungtang restaurant within a square kilometer from my home in Seoul. You can find many M tang haters in South Korea.
FQ, Why the certainty?
Who cares if some people want to eat dog meat? Dogs are animals, aren’t they? We still eat (non-primate) animals, don’t we? Many of them, including dogs, are just fine about eating us.
e-bosin.com seems like a great idea: A legal, slightly shameful good with niche appeal and a dispersed customer base is perfect for online distribution. It’s like selling sex toys over the Internet. They’re not unlawful, but the places that sell them are hard to find and you wouldn’t want to be spotted going into one of those shops. Or so I hear…
I’d rather eat a dolphin than a dog.
Granted we’re just trading anecdotes here and you’re probably right about “most” Korean people, but I’ve been to three other mungmung restaurants in Seoul besides the ones I mentioned, and most of the men in my office and the last company I worked for like the mungmung as well. Younger people aren’t into it as much, granted, but it’s still popular for a big segment of the population.
Ask Mr. Marmot what he thinks
#7
I’m just trying to say what I know. I don’t like eating animals that have some intelligence such as dogs and whales. Maybe I’m discriminating animals by intelligence. I know this reasoning is flawed because then I can eat stupid human beings.
if forced to make the choice, i would much rather eat a stupid human being than a smart dog.
“illegal” has a really funny definition here, doesn’t it? a weekend of prostitution, boshintang, and embezzlement seems to be in order.
“I know this reasoning is flawed because then I can eat stupid human beings.”
And if you reason another way, you are against eating exceptionally intelligent… cows, chicken, etc.
So maybe meat should be labeled by some measure of intelligence taken prior to slaughter.
Yeah, pigs are smarter than dogs, as we all know.
And to the (non-primate) comment, monkey meat is still eaten in China and Southeast Asia, and gorilla meat is eaten in some African countries.
#13
Yeah, I admit that I’ve eaten countless chickens and cows, being willfully blind to their possibly high individual intelligence.
Well, I’m not sure how the pro/anti-dogmeat vote would break down, but then again, I really don’t care. Personally, I hate hongeohoe, I have no idea how people in Jeolla-do eat it, and I’m sure if you asked one, a sea skate has just as much depth of emotion as a dog. I wouldn’t tell people, however, not to eat it just because I don’t like it.
BTW, if you’re looking for a good place for a bowl of meongmeong, try Ssarijip in Gugi-dong. The setting is great and the food’s fantastic.
FQ, I was actually wondering why you were so sure that there aren’t any “4 season soup” restaurants within a square kilo of your home.
“I hate hongeohoe” Mmmm, a fish that tastes like paper soaked in ammonia…it makes bundaegi more appealing by comparison.
#17
I lived in the neighborhood for about 30 years, and the only M tang place remaining there turned into a regular barbecue restaurant about six years ago.
Apropos of my comment #8, it may be that dog meat is illegal in Korea. Honestly, it’s hard to keep up with what is and isn’t illegal, given that most of Korea’s laws are only enforced in sporadic “crackdowns” followed by a return to ignoring the law just as before.
Ye Olde Chosun is on the case.
From the article vis a vis the legality of dog meat:
Ahhhh, there’s the Korean legal culture we know: We’ve adopted a law to shut up that annoying Frenchwoman, but the President and a significant segment of our public like the product, so we don’t enforce that law.
Isn’t this thread past due for a sob story from some sanctimonious wonderbread crying about the “special” relationship between dogs and humans which conveniently provides them an exemption from ending up in our soup?
Always solid entertainment.
How much is that doggie in the window
The one with the waggley tail
How much is that doggie in the window
I do hope that doggie’s for sale
“[W]e do not take strong measures to regulate the practice since we have a tradition and culture of eating dog meat and many people enjoy it.”
Tradition and culture - the cornerstones of good nonobservance of the law. Heck, some of the geriatric johns at the local dahbangs could make the same argument in support of the ‘trade’ that goes on there.
There’s an Ida Daussy statute on the books?
There is a little known dog-farm on Kahoolawe catering to the local Korean crowd that conducts a very covert smuggling exercise to get the goods around the islands.
I’ve never seen the dogs, but going by the meat, they must be big. Dog laulaus (in the oven) seems to be a popular local variation.
People can eat whatever they want, as long as it isn’t an endangered species.
(Viagra saved countless animals…so could this site.)
“I’m sure if you asked one, a sea skate has just as much depth of emotion as a dog. “
I doubt sea skates have emotions or awareness of self, but in any case, I have no problems eating any animal as long as it is treated humanely. The farmer I buy chicken from slaughters the animals himself in a more humane and far more sanitary way than underpaid, overworked illegal immigrants in a Tysons’ factory.
Like Toulouse Lautrec, I believe meat is made more tender the more the animal is terrorized before the kill. I favor chasing poultry (my preferred “white meat”) around with a copy of the tax code and a picture of Hillary Clinton.
I hate to say it, but Mr. Bevers made a very good point over at that other blog, to wit:
I would replace “Koreans” with “the Korean government,” but otherwise he’s on the mark: this is a policy of hypocrisy. Nota bene: my agreement stops there; the seolsa sentiments are entirely his own.
#30 - Very funny, it made me laugh out loud at work.
I’m a huge fan of boshintang myself, but I am also a dog lover. Go figure.
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