Fwd: Sue Cho's article

[Guest guest]

KoreanDogs , " yoons_choi <yoons_choi> "

<yoons_choi> wrote:

Sue Cho's article 'Dog meat is no traditional Korean food' is

published in Friends of dogs' site. Please circulate.

 

http://www.geocities.com/yoons_choi/culture3.html

As a Korean, I find it very insulting that some people talk about dog

meat as if it was a real Korean traditional cuisine. Dog meat eaters

often claim that dog meat is good for their health. There is no

sicentific or medical truth to back up this claim. According to the

research by Koreans and Westerners, it was found that there is no

better or special nutrition with dog meat compared to other

livestock. It has higher fat content than other livestock. There is

more risk to develop Palsy. From a public health point of view, it is

unfortunate that these lies are widespread among dog-eaters as there

are far more Koreans these days who suffer from heart attack, high

blood pressure and Palsy than before due to over consumption of high

calorie food.

 

Dog meat, although some Koreans accept it, there are also other

Koreans who do not as it results from disheartening cruelties,

misconception and greed. Some Koreans have been eating dogs in some

part of our country and in some times in our history but it never has

been eaten by the majority of Koreans as Korea was for a long time a

Buddhist country and still many people believe in Buddhism.

 

A few traces in our history and continuing practice by selfish and

heartless people do not make dog consumption as our culture. Truth

known, dog eaters in Korea are mostly middle and upper class, middle

aged men with power and position. They barricade themselves from the

majority Koreans-non dog eaters and tries their best to indoctrinate

others to believe it is our culture and protect their myth that says

dog meat will boost their sexual energy.

 

Korean traditional food is simple and honest. There is no disguise

with colour or fake smell and, most of all, there is no deliberate

cruelties on animals with Korean traditional food. If we look at the

names of Korean traditional food, most Korean food names are followed

with its main ingredients. Dog meat is called " Four season stew,

Nutrition stew, Body healing stew " which doesn't sound like Korean

traditional food but very much sound like business invention.

Also the cruelty involved in producing dog meat makes it a very

unlikely candidate for traditional food. The dog meat traders beat

dogs to death so that all the blood vessel would burst and the meat

become red.

 

Another point is Koreans tend not to disguise the smell of its

natural source. If Tofu or cabbages are preserved, although they

smell very strong, our ancestors still didn't put any herbs or

alcohols to make the original smell fake aromatic. However, with dog

meat, they are using different kinds of herbs to erase the smell of

dog, which is again very unlike Korean traditional food.

 

Even though people know that dogs and cats are much more involved in

human society, some, especially dog meat eaters, would insist that

cow, pig, poultry, fish, dogs, cats and etc are the same. This

totally ignores the fact that one of the reasons we value human life

more is because of our relationship to each other and our emotional,

social capacity. But let us consider some would want to insist on the

equality so that no animal will be killed for food. That will be

surely better for animals and us?

 

Unfortunately this equality theory has been abused to justify eating

dogs, cats and other kind of animals with uncommon intelligence

anywhere in the world and to increase the number of animal species

available for human consumption. This type of use would not make our

life any better but lead us to destroy the uncommon gift and

blessings we have, the trust and bond we form with our companion

animals. It is far more positive to encourage each other to cut down

the species of animals available for human consumption. That way, we

will be closer to make our life more peaceful and respectable.

 

Respecting another country's culture shows open mindedness but it

needs to be done with thoughtful care and not in irresponsible manner

for the very sake of the country you want to understand and show

respect. In Korea, there is a word, " Me-Pung-Yang-Sok " which

means " Beautiful custom and good morals " and refers when one culture

deserves respect. I have never heard any Koreans call Dog meat as " Me-

Pung-Yang-Sok " .

 

Dog meat consumption is NOT a real Korean traditional food but the

base of animal cruelty in Korea.

--- End forwarded message ---