Exotic food for athletic performance?

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The author of this article, Brian Lee, is the National Staff Writer for The

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For anyone who isn't familiar with this issue, please check out the following

site, which unlike this article, contains the truth about dog/cat consumption in

Korea: http://www.koreananimals.org/index.htm

 

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Thanks, Rita

----------------------------

 

September 17, 2004 KST 22:34 (GMT+9)

 

Exotic food for athletic performance?

Macho Man needs Slim Jims, Tony needs his Cornflakes and Popeye needs his

spinach. Everyone has his own favorite yummy that makes him tick. Nothing new

about that.

And now, admit it. You too are thinking of dog stew a la Seoul. With mad

cow and all the poultry crossed off the menu, you are in a corner with little

room left to dodge. Man's best friend is here to the rescue.

Korea's reputation for exotic dishes is rock solid. Especially, when it

comes to dog meat, the peninsula is the undisputed leader in that category. Or

so it seems.

It certainly looked that way when an e-mail correspondent wrote: " Why do

Korean athletes eat dog meat or other exotic dishes? Do they really believe it

boosts their performance? "

To be honest, I am no expert on this matter; nor do I think there is a

single person on the peninsula who has done a scientific study on this

particular question. But although perplexed by it, I'll give you my five minutes

of wisdom here because it may be a question popped by others.

While a layman might think that edible dog meat is sold over the counter

in Korea like beef, that's not quite the case. Nor are restaurants that serve

dog meat dishes flooding the country like the countless McDonald's restaurants

here.

Speaking of dogs, the pet industry is growing exponentially and veterinary

clinics are spreading like mushrooms. All these things serve to preserve the

health of pets so that they can die a natural death and have a long relationship

that is of mutual interest to both parties. Having said that, you might wonder:

What is all this dog talk about?

Summer is a time when demand for dog meat is higher than any other time of

the year. In accordance with the traditional delineation of a year's 24 seasons,

every year around July and August there is a date designated as chobok (this

year it's July 20) that marks the beginning of the hottest period, which ends on

Aug. 9 this year, a date that is called malbok. Chobok means the beginning of

the summer heat, while malbok means the end.

Now, old folklore has it that because during those hot summer days one

gets easily exhausted, he should take care of his body by eating dog meat. That

was thought to boost stamina. Chicken soup with ginseng is another alternative,

but let's concentrate on the dog.

The word bok here derives its meaning from Chinese characters of which one

stands for " dog. " The fact that the same period is called the Dog Days in

English since the Dog Star rises and sets with the sun, tells us there is some

correlation (one I just found out).

Now, if it tasted bad, I would think that this long tradition would have

vanished a long time ago. That it has not brings us to the fact that at least

partially, it's part of our culture. People from different cultures might find

it an alien dish but then this should not be the only one.

So here is my answer to why Korean athletes eat dog: because some of them

happen to like the taste of it. It's that simple. And there is really no

distinction between athletes and non-athletes.

Personally, I have never tasted it but that's because I never had the

chance to do so. And if for some psychological reason someone thinks he gets an

extra boost, so be it.

It's just part of the Korean culture.

 

 

by Brian Lee <africanu (joongang.co.kr)

 

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200401/02/200401022355437009900091009101.html

 

 

 

2004.01.02

 

 

 

 

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