Eating dogs - Korean culture?

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As IAKA and KAPS actively campaign against the Korean

government's attempt to give legitimacy to dog and cat

meat trade in the eyes of law, campaigners and

supporters who joined the campaign may come across the

usual culture objection. The below article may be

helpful in countering such objections.

 

Many thanks to those who have been sending protests to

the Korean government. Please encourage others to do

the same.

 

 

Yoon

 

 

http://www.geocities.com/yoons_choi/culture1.html

 

Eating dogs - Korean culture? by Yoon Kerr

 

I have observed the tendency to justify the

consumption of dog meat from a few area of British

media. It puzzles me a great deal why they want to

believe that eating dogs is a part of Korean culture.

Their attitudes then stem from multiculturalism, which

in turn probably stems from their guilt over their

past imperialism.

 

No matter what is their true motive in their

justification of the cruel and unjust practice, they

do not do any services to either Koreans or Korean

culture. Such a belief shows gross ignorance in Korean

culture if anything and an insult to Korean culture,

hence an insult to Koreans.

 

Any society has its share of cruel and undesirable

practices in their past or even today. Let's assume

hung, drawn, quarter was, as a way of execution, only

practiced in a few countries including Britain. Do you

believe that as a part of British culture, provided

that culture is something worth keeping and to be

proud of? Do you believe no foreigners, at the time

such execution was practiced, should have protested to

such a barbaric practice because it was no concern of

theirs? Do you not care a bit when torture and murder

practiced on a wide scale in another country?

 

It is a gross ignorance of Korean culture to regard

the consumption of dogs as a part of Korean culture.

It deliberately ignores many Koreans who find such a

practice horrifying and something to be rid of. It

also doesn't acknowledge the fact that eating dogs is

a threat to Korean culture and violation of its

essence. There is one underlying element which is very

crucial to various aspects of Korean culture. That is

reciprocity.

In no other culture, I have seen such emphasis upon

the value of friendship. In no other culture, I have

seen people loving their dogs as much as the dog

loving Koreans do even as those who eat dogs want to

justify their behaviour at the expense of true

understanding of their own culture. This is why so

many animal activists in Korea believe eating dogs is

wrong. Such a belief reflects the true understanding

of their own culture and genuine love towards their

culture.

 

And yes, some practices can betray the essence of

culture and that's the case with the consumption of

companion animals in Korea. It is a sad fact but the

fact does not justify the practice in the name of

culture. On the contrary, to honour and protect

animals who repay love with love and royalty is to

understand and respect Korean culture in true sense.

Those who try to justify Koreans eating dogs,

Westerners or Koreans alike, do great disservice to

Korean culture and Koreans.

 

 

 

=====

Friends of dogs

http://www.friendsofdogs.net

Dogs brighten our life with their gift of love. It is our turn to help our dogs.

Please help organisations who are fighting to get dogs out of the food chain.

 

http://www.koreananimals.org/

http://www.animalsasia.org/

http://www.linisgobyerno.org/special_projects.htm

 

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