South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (2023)

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James Pasley

2023-08-15T18:11:23Z

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (1)

In April this year, South Korea's first lady Kim Keon pledged to try to stop dog meat from being eaten in South Korea.
Her statement was met with backlash from the dog meat industry.
Dog meat has been a traditional food source for centuries in South Korea, but it has been falling for years.

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South Korea's dog meat trade appears to be on its last legs.

After being a traditional food source for hundreds of years, its place in South Korean cuisine has become contested over the last few decades.

In 2016, the industry was responsible for supplying about 2 million dogs for meat from about 17,000 dog farms. By 2023, the number of dogs for meat had fallen to around 700,000 to 1 million and the number of farms had fallen to about 3,000 to 4,000.

For centuries, South Koreans have eaten dog meat.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (2)

It's thought to regulate body temperature so it was often eaten on hot days. One common stew was called "Mong-Mong Tang," which translates to "woof-woof stew."

Sources: Time, New York Times, Guardian, Guardian

Dog meat isn’t only eaten in South Korea. It’s consumed in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, North Korea, and across Africa.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (3)

According to an animal rights group, in 2017, approximately 30 million dogs were killed in Asia annually for their meat.

Sources: Time, BBC, New York Times, Guardian

South Korea's dog meat trade has come under increasing scrutiny over the last decade.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (4)

This is partly due to its reputation as a wealthy country, as well as the fact it has a proper dog farming industry.

Sources: Conversation, Time, BBC

Another reason is some of the brutal techniques involved.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (5)

In 2018, Marc Ching, an activist with the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation, told USA Today the issue was really about how the dogs were being killed.

"In Korea, they usually put a noose around the dog's neck and take them out back, hang them, and beat them," Ching said. "Another method is they just smash their head open."

"Sometimes they do electrocution," he said. "They shock them and burn them or de-fur them. With electrocution many times they are still alive. It is terrible."

Sources: Conversation, Guardian, USA Today

The other reason is years of vocal protesting from animal rights groups.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (6)

Protesting has had an impact elsewhere, too. Last month in Indonesia, authorities announced it would ban dogs and cats from being slaughtered at a meat market on the island of Sulawesi after years of opposition by activists and celebrities.

Sources: Time, AP

South Korea's dog meat industry has been on a downward trend for years. In 2016, it supplied about 2 million dogs for meat from about 17,000 dog farms.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (7)

The farms supplied a variety of dogs including golden retrievers, Labradors, chihuahuas, Huskies, and Rottweilers.

Sources: New York Times, Al Jazeera

By 2023, the number of dogs supplied to restaurants had fallen to around 700,000 to 1 million and the number of farms had fallen to about 3,000 to 4,000.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (8)

Sources: New York Times, Al Jazeera, New York Times, Al Jazeera

In 2018, South Korea faced increased international scrutiny when it hosted the Winter Olympics.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (9)

The government knew it was coming and offered restaurants cash incentives — 2 million won, or around $1,850 — to stop serving dog meat and remove any mention of it from their signs.

But it wasn't taken up by many restaurants, and even the few that did accept the offer lost so much business they went back to selling dog meat dishes.

Source: NBC News

The dog meat trade took another hit in June 2018 when a South Korean court ruled that killing dogs to eat them was illegal, although actually eating dog meat remained legal.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (10)

In response, Cho Hwan-ro, a dog farm association representative, said, "Cows, pigs, chickens, and ducks are all raised to be consumed. Why not dogs?"

One theory for this resistance is known as "carnism." Social psychologist Melanie Joy told Euro News defined "carnism" as a process of categorizing animals as either companions or farm animals.

When an animal is categorized as a farm animal, it's more palatable for it to be killed and eaten, whereas the killing of companion animals is more difficult to accept. Joy said it was a global phenomenon but specifically applied to specific animals in specific countries.

"We treat different animals very differently simply because we've been conditioned to do so," she said.

Sources: National Geographic, Euro News

Korean dog meat farmers have argued that the dogs they breed are different from dogs kept as pets. But this distinction has narrowed in South Korea over the last three decades.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (11)

Joo Young Ha, a professor at the Academy of Korean Studies, told NBC News that in the late 1980s, people didn't keep dogs as pets in South Korea. They were primarily a source of meat.

He said it was only in the 1990s that South Korea began to follow Western trends like having dogs as pets. By 2019, almost 5 million South Korean homes had a pet.

Sources: BBC, CNN, NBC News

Suh Eun-kook, a psychology professor at Yonsei University, told CNN that human's have a different relationship with dogs because the animals provide "unconditional satisfaction."

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (12)

"People judge people but dogs don't judge people," he told CNN.

He added: "This unconditional love from dogs seems to have contributed to a growing popularity of keeping dogs as pets."

Sources: BBC, CNN

In 2021, the government established a task force to review the dog meat industry and consider a ban after a poll showed 84% of the Korean population no longer ate dog meat.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (13)

That same poll showed that only 59% of South Koreans actively wanted to ban dog meat.

So far, after meeting more than 20 times, no ban has been imposed.

Sources: Euro News, Time, BBC

In April, South Korea's first lady Kim Keon-Hee declared she "will try to put an end to dog meat consumption before the tenure of this government ends."

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (14)

"I think that is my duty," she said. In response, dog farmers rallied and made formal complaints against her.

But a South Korean politician named Han Jeoung-ae told Time she applauded Kim's declaration and had put forward a proposed law to end the trade. Her bill would compensate farmers who willingly shut down their farms.

Sources: South China Morning Post, Al Jazeera, Time

Yoon Chu-wol, a dog meat restaurant owner in Seoul, told Time the days of a booming dog trade were already over.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (15)

"I only earn one-third of the money I used to make," Yoon said. "Young people don't come here. Only ailing old people come for lunch."

Source: Time

It's still unclear if the dog meat industry will be banned.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (16)

An association of dog farmers has asked for the chance to keep it going until its main clients — mostly among the elderly — die and the industry naturally disappears, estimating that would happen in about 20 years' time.

Source: Time

But that request has not been agreed to and a number of animal rights groups have said they oppose a slow wind-down of the industry.

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (17)

Source: Time

South Korea's dog meat trade may be on its last legs as farmers face low consumption and threats of bans (2023)

For centuries, South Koreans have eaten dog meat.

Dog meat isn’t only eaten in South Korea. It’s consumed in Vietnam, Indonesia, China, North Korea, and across Africa.

South Korea's dog meat trade has come under increasing scrutiny over the last decade.

Another reason is some of the brutal techniques involved.

The other reason is years of vocal protesting from animal rights groups.

South Korea's dog meat industry has been on a downward trend for years. In 2016, it supplied about 2 million dogs for meat from about 17,000 dog farms.

By 2023, the number of dogs supplied to restaurants had fallen to around 700,000 to 1 million and the number of farms had fallen to about 3,000 to 4,000.

In 2018, South Korea faced increased international scrutiny when it hosted the Winter Olympics.

The dog meat trade took another hit in June 2018 when a South Korean court ruled that killing dogs to eat them was illegal, although actually eating dog meat remained legal.

Korean dog meat farmers have argued that the dogs they breed are different from dogs kept as pets. But this distinction has narrowed in South Korea over the last three decades.

Suh Eun-kook, a psychology professor at Yonsei University, told CNN that human's have a different relationship with dogs because the animals provide "unconditional satisfaction."

In 2021, the government established a task force to review the dog meat industry and consider a ban after a poll showed 84% of the Korean population no longer ate dog meat.

In April, South Korea's first lady Kim Keon-Hee declared she "will try to put an end to dog meat consumption before the tenure of this government ends."

Yoon Chu-wol, a dog meat restaurant owner in Seoul, told Time the days of a booming dog trade were already over.

It's still unclear if the dog meat industry will be banned.

But that request has not been agreed to and a number of animal rights groups have said they oppose a slow wind-down of the industry.

References