“Why do Koreans love dogs? It’s not cuddling I am speaking of.”
So, what is the driving force behind the impassioned Korean dog eaters? I have quizzically asked literally hundreds of avid dog eaters this virtuous question. I know right from the outset of reading this blog that you are repulsed, revolted at the very notion of eating a dog and your mind are already forged into permanence. No matter how amenable you think you are to vastly different cultures, Korean’s habitual eating of Dogs will surely be shocking, if you are not shocked now you can count on being shocked as you advance into this blog reading.
I am not a dog eater, but have unwittingly tasted the dog soup once, even had seconds. In all fairness I was beguiled into eating it so I don’t think I am culpable of this crime. It had a distinct scent, something I wasn’t accustomed to (Born and raised in Korea till the age of 10, lived in the US for 15 years, presently have been domiciled in Korea for over a decade), the taste wasn’t as bad as the smell, but it most definitely was an acquired taste.
The earliest memory I have of witnessing a dog eating process was when I was 8 or 9 yrs old, I can vividly evoke the images of my uncle with his cohorts unforgivingly bludgeoning the dog to its bloody death, the dog was first hit to the ground, subsequently to be hanged by the neck for the final punishment. The dog’s unfettered howling of despair reverberating from the repeated beating still resonates in my ears, and could never fully expunge the memory of it. My uncle and his friends were not homicidal maniacs or psychopaths, but loving people with loving families with loving girl friends who all spectated with sheer excitement, eyes glowing at the prospect of eating a tender dog achieved by assiduous beating.
They assert that it’s all in the name of having a delicious tender meal, but perhaps it is a form of sublimation, hence cathartic for something they wish not to speak of. The eyes give away everything, they couldn’t possibly have those fascinated glares from the perfunctory prerequisite beating preceding a tender dish, those glowing glares could only be procured from having the genuine excitement of the soul from watching and partaking in the beating.
The logic behind the beating is to make the meat tender when cooked, this has never been scientifically substantiated, but it’s an axiom that has been held for centuries. Once the dog is dead the first part to be eaten is the liver, it is to be eaten raw and to be served to the elders. The liver is the best part of the dog and has the most nutrients they say, do not want to let any of the nutrients slip away bay cooking them, it is imperative to eat it raw to consume all of its nutrients. If you were to witness this whole procedure you would agree these images would be reminiscent of the most vicious Comanche Indian in a movie you probably have seen at least once in your life. Once again, this is devoid of any scientific findings. No part in a dog should go to waste for every part is enriched with nutrients, so they say. Every part must be integrated into a meal, and so it does. The most popular form of eating a dog is as a soup, but pretty much it can be cooked and served the same way as the shrimps that can be whipped up by Bubba Blue from the Forrest Gump movie, you can fry it, boil it, steam it, so on and so forth, sky is the limit, I even once heard stories of a friend putting dog meat in his ramen noodles. One thing I have yet to hear is the dog jerkey as in beef jerkey.
During the summer time in particular it is common for people to propose eating a dog soup (Boshin-Tang) to fortify the body with nutrition that has dissipated along with the ceaseless sweat that douses the body on any given day during the summer time, pick any day during the summer time and stroll round the blocks for 10 minutes and the sweat manifestation is that of a marathoner in the midst of his race. It’s not the same as what most westerners are accustomed to, the heat coupled with humidity is what fuels this deluge of sweat. The heat compounded with the humidity equates to that of a monolithic sauna.
I am sure you have gathered by now that I am not a proponent of dog eating, but to be honest I can get past the eating part, for I know having the palate for dogs isn’t intrinsic, but was learned, and hence was acquired through the culture you were born into, kind of like religion, I am not a Muslim because I wasn’t born in the Middle East, it has nothing to do with the virtue of my character. Eating snails is equally stomach-churning to me there is nothing humans won’t eat on earth. I hear cannibalism still exists today.
What I have trouble reconciling with is of course the obvious violence, also the stratification of dogs holds as a paramount issue above all to me. Not all dogs are to be eaten, there are inviolable dogs. Pure breeds are not to be eaten, but to be cherished and loved, but only the mutts are to be eaten, yellowish brown dogs to be more precise. To me this is an a priori knowledge as is with 2 + 2 = 4, and that is, no matter what culture you were nurtured by, by the power of your judgment, isn’t it obvious that all dogs are the same? And that you are undeniably dog bigots? How are poodles’ behaviors different from brown mutts? I would didactically, rhetorically assert to dog eaters with penetrating stares, the answer is None! Absolutely none! Zero zip. Some idiots would invariably say “Um… Well.. they eat poop.” Mutts in Korean are referred as Ttong(Poop) Gae(dog). “The reason for mutts residing in the rural areas eating their own excrement is to nourish their malnourished bodies, because they are fed very poorly. If a German shepherd were to be nurtured in rural areas of Korea, they, too, would invariably surfeit themselves in their own shit. Do you concede? No? Is the color of their blood any different? Do they squirm different when pain is inflicted?” I would sarcastically say in response, and yes with a ponderous reluctance they would all nod.
Why is it that they would never eat a poodle, but would eat a brown dog? Even the most voracious dog eaters wouldn’t perceive a miniature schnauzer as a prospective meal, but a brown mutt, yummy! This to me is the ignorance that has been exacerbating my peace of mind for years. Dare to know, free yourself from the tutelage of others and utilize your own brain for forming a judgment. I would invoke the words of Immanuel Kant, an educated man is someone that can entertain an idea without accepting it, Aristotle would say. “Let the cycle stop with you, ignorance has been endowed by your seniors, but know that your school of thought is profoundly flawed, by all means, if eating a dog satiates your inner desires do eat them, however eat all dogs the same, Ok?!, or not, but you know, have you heard of multi-vitamins? You should really try them! It has all the nutrients your body requires, and you know how cheap pork, chickens, and beef are now days?” This would be in response to their other line of defense “umm. Well I feel so rejuvenated, and lively, and umm.. well my skin feels better, and um well my stamina at night is greatly prolonged hehehehe..(wink, wink).” Now again no dog can ever supplant a Viagra, scientists would have a field day with this fact. I would go off on a tangent with these dog eaters at the sake of stigmatizing myself as a weirdo for the equality of all dogs! And without fail as we part they mumble the words “fucking weirdo ………………………………………….”
In all fairness, owed to much negative publicity from foreign media, most young generation of dog eaters in Urban area are educated enough to have guilt, and shame looming over them as they gormandize over dogs on an oppressively hot day. I’ve espied closeted dog eaters, they always flush in shame as they say yes to my animated words “YOU EAT DOGS OH GEE GOLLLLY YOU?, NO!!!! NO WAY YOU TOO!!!”
Daniel Lee
broods@gmail.com
What a stupid article. Do you eat other animals? I bet you do. It would be ironic if vegetarians accused you of being ignorant and uneducated for eating white and red meat.
You are making it sound like eating dog is bad. What about all the other animals you eat then? Is it not just as bad? Maybe if you made a point focused on the practice in which dogs are prepared for a meal, that would have been a point in which the majority will agree with you on and my self as well.
Also, your article sounds like majority of koreans habitually eat dog. They don’t. What the hell are you talking about.
I fully acquiesce to my ignorance, and yes this is what allows me to blissfully eat chickens. I rarely eat red meat,,,,