In the Korea Herald, Kim Seong-kon talks about Koreans’ preference for dogs over cats. Of course, I prefer dogs myself — more meat.
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24 Comments
Dogs make better fashion accessories because they come in a greater variety of colours and sizes, it’s that simple. The same can be said about the popularity of dogs in North America.
then how come in Korea they only seem to be selling one type of dog at the pet shops, the fluffy white balls of annoyance?
And why do all of my friends have what seems to be the exact same fluffy white furball?
*Sigh* What passes for journalism in Korea.
#2.
Of course, some breeds will be the trendy one to own.
Maltese, yorkies, chihuahuas and poodles were quite popular in the 90’s (which gave birth to some pretty ugly mutts, may I add). Yorkies and maltese are still quite popular.
Surprisingly, huskies were also popular about 5 years ago (flaunting newfound wealth and all)…but people soon figured out that apartments and large sporting dogs don’t always make a good match.
“Even if you beat a dog, it will return, yelping and wagging its tail vigorously as if it has already forgiven you.”
Ah, so that’s why they prefer dogs.
“Korean pet shops … are bursting with dogs…”
Puppy mills… Oh, so cute…
This is one of those inexplicable Korea behavior patterns that I won’t ever understand (like why Koreans insist on driving large, 4-door cars in such a small country with limited driving and parking space).
You would think that cats would make the perfect pet in Korea. They are small, quiet, and very clean… absolutely perfect for apartment-dwelling Koreans. But for a variety of silly reasons based on old superstitions and folk tales, cats are animal-non-grata in the home. Silly…
I’m reminded of a student who used to own a cat but her family decided to get rid of it. “Why?” I asked. Because, she told me, it would bring dead animals into the house, so they thought the cat hated them. I considered explaining this this is a sign of affection for the cat, but I figured why bother…
I think for Koreans, it might take some positive exposure to cats before they start to accept them. An ex boyfriend of mine was terrified of cats until he helped me raise my kitten which I kept even after he and I split up. He always told me how he still hated cats — except my “Soju”.
And just the other day when the dry cleaning service I use came to deliver my clothes, the delivery guy asked where my cat was (he always likes to give Soju a friendly scratch when he delivers my clothes.) I told him the cat was at the vet’s recovering from a UTI and he told me he missed the little fur ball and hoped he recovered soon.
Even my landlord, who prohibits animals in the building, has allowed me to have my cat and his wife and son buy little toys for him.
Overall I’ve found that Koreans are terrified of cats at first, but after they have had positive exposure, they start to like them.
#7,
One rather vapid Korean co-teacher I had a few years back once told me that Koreans are afraid of cats because of their eyes. I wouldn’t take her word for it, though. She also tried to convince me that Koreans don’t like sweets and that rice isn’t a cereal (yeah, she started the strangest arguments).
If you replace the word cat with foreigner in jodi’s post, it’s pretty damn funny.
koreans don’t like sweets.
They don’t eat sweets for desserts.
they don’t eat cake after dinner.
Japanese bakery style is Korean bakery style. You’ll find that pretty much everything is a little bit less sweeter than products found in great establishments such as Dunkin Donuts, Krispe Kreme. I’ll guaranttee you, bring a Korean some carrot cake or coffee cake, they’ll complain it’s not that good.
Look into this one for me and verify it. I’m fairly confident that the Japanese culture is much more accepting of cats. I think it’s tied to their mercantile days and when cats were good creatures who protected the rice from mice. Perhaps all bullshit, but I think I picked that one up somewhere. I don’t think it’s bullshit.
and just to clarify, I’m quite confident that the Koreans copied the Japanese bakery style, not the other way around.
I came to this realization after eating and shopping around New York City’s Japanese stores.
Cream-pan, etc, etc.
Not so funny if you use reo speedwagon.
actually, shik-hae is obviously going to debunk my sweets talk, but I’m still insistant the Koreans have a weaker sugar tooth than the west. They prefer things tasting like gochu-jang.
I would be more impressed with Koreans’ “love” for dogs if it was accompanied by any sort of training. Waaaay too many dog owners in this country do not train their pets nearly enough. And they think spaying and neutering is “cruel.”
> Traditionally, Koreans tend
> to prefer dogs over cats?
Really? Is there a tradition of dogs-as-pets in Korea? I thought dogs were considered more like tolerated scavengers. I cannot recall seeing paintings of noblemen with their pets, like in European paintings. I totally could be wrong here (have not read much about pets in Korean history), but that is the impression I have.
> Koreans will seldom abandon
> “man’s best friend,” but seem
> to rather easily throw out cats.
Uh, no. Abandoned dogs are a real problem in Korea (as in the West… maybe more so). People buy puppies because they are “cute”, but as the animal gets bigger or more unruly (because they are not trained well), off to the countryside it goes.
Oh, Robert - plenty of cats get cooked in Korea, too. But they are used for medicine, not dinner. My previous landlord’s mother used to do that, back in Andong.
Mongolian love dogs and hate cats, but for very different reasons. A dog could be a reincarnated relative, so you better be good to it. Cats are just “evil”.
and any apple pie that is not made by McDonald’s, I assure you Koreans would not be getting 2nds of it.
Maybe so, but I’m still confounded over the addition of sweeteners to thing that (to the American palate) are supposed to be salty or savory. Things like chips, beans, tomato juice, pickles (well… sweet pickles are known in the West, but we have dill pickles, too)… It seems that while there may be less tolerance for really sweet things in Korea, but the sheer variety of foods which are sweet is much broader.
A lot of Korean women are actually scared of cats. Something to do with their eyes I believe. Foreign observers noticed that Korean shamans would catch and kill cats because they believed cats to bring bad luck or something of that nature, so their could be a cultural force at play here, although the influence is quite primordial.
As for me? I think dogs just have more personality. According to Pulp Fiction, that’s why it’s so hard to eat them, because they have so much “personality.”
“Dunkin Donuts, Krispe Kreme”
…which are making a killing in Korea (especially Krispe Kreme with it’s double glazed donuts (ie. extra sweet))
So, they don’t eat cake for dessert… Koreans still eat cake.
Ever try the potato chips? Sweet.
Korean barbecue?
Sweet.
Korean beer?
Sweet.
Korean alcohol (soju)?
Sweet.
So, Koreans don’t like sugar? Yeah, right.
I think we have to cut WJK some slack - he’s stuck in the Seoul of his youth on this one. He probably has it right for his era.
And what about those delightfully colored, boxed “sweets” of Korea that aren’t sweet at all?
Please put more sugar on my “toast.”
nary a word in that fluff piece about the need to spay and neuter strays and house pets coz “throwing them out” makes it everyone’s problem when the heat starts. there’s been quite a cat population explosion in my neighborhood in the last two years … yet of course no one seems to know what i’m talking about when i suggest that removing the testicles of cats and dogs would of great benefit to society. nah, having stray cats that get in nasty bloody fights all night and wake up at dawn to beg for food or rip through every trash bag in the street for a chunk of KFC—THAT’S A GOOD THING!!
“One rather vapid Korean co-teacher I had a few years back once told me that Koreans are afraid of cats because of their eyes.”
Someguy, I’ve heard that from many students over the years. Your coworker likely believed it too. I gather that while most South Koreans no longer believe that North Koreans have the eyes of wolves - as was suggested/taught until the 90s - many still seem to think that cats’ eyes are evil/dangerous/scary. So are, as we are all aware, electric fans…
“Maybe so, but I’m still confounded over the addition of sweeteners to thing that (to the American palate) are supposed to be salty or savory. Things like chips, beans, tomato juice, pickles (well… sweet pickles are known in the West, but we have dill pickles, too)…”
Exactly. I don’t get it. Never will. I’ve commented on the sugary BBQ chips and pizza pickles in the past, but the tomato juice is nothing short of a tragedy. Vile stuff. Good luck finding a decent Bloody Mary outside of Itaewon…
“Please put more sugar on my “toast.”
Worry not about the sugar nor the marbled faux ham in your “toast”. Same goes for the half stick of margarine it gets cooked with. The accompanying bottle of soy milk cancels out all the bad stuff!
Ah, toseuteu. So bad… but soooooo good!