Dog soup banned in South Korea

Press, 26 April 1984, Page 12

Dog soup banned in South Korea

NZPA-Reuter Seoul The South Korean Government has banned restaurants from serving traditional soups made from dog and snake meat to improve the country’s image for the 1986 Asian Games and 1988 'Olympic Games to be held at Seoul. A Government statement said the ban, which had already been enforced in Seoul, would now take effect throughout the country. Both snake, and dog are eaten in several Asian countries, including China. Seoul civic authorities reported that 300 dog meat soup shops which had served the dish in the capi■tal had been closed and others were being phased out.

Dog meat soup (boshintang) is believed by many Koreans to help invigorate health during the hot summer months. Snakemeat soup is traditionally served in the cold winter months.

The ban has caused a lively debate in Seoul newspapers with readers’ letters

complaining that local habits formed over hundreds of years should not be changed to suit foreigners. The Government, however, has received strong protests from dog-lover organisations in the United States and Europe over the dog-eating. Some people breed dogs and fatten them for the summer months, as cattle or sheep are reared in other countries.

Dog meat is cooked by boiling and is eaten with a sauce of hot red peppers and garlic powder.

The meat is often seen on show in traditional Korean open markets and this has offended some foreign tourists.

Dog and snake meat are by no means the most prominent of Korea’s traditional health foods. They also include fried grasshoppers, deer antler horn powder, bull testes powder, and the famous ginseng root which is believed to increase sexual performance.